This past Sunday morning, at precisely 1:01 AM, Malcolm Marable, who plays cornerback for the Oregon State Beavers, was pulled over and ticketed for speeding. Marable was clocked driving 104 mph on Interstate 5, in a car that didn't belong to him, and without proper documentation. His total fine was reported as being $1,148 bucks.This offseason has not been a kind one for Mike Riley and the Beavers. Riley's already had to suspend two other defensive backs for getting into trouble, and something like this surely does not help things in Corvallis. Marable has been suspended indefinitely now, and Riley is going to make sure he pays for his poor choices.
Unless you are a die-hard Beaver fan, listen to sports radio on a daily basis, or follow local Beaver blogs, you may not have heard much about this story yet. It is getting media attention, just not that much media attention. And the coverage that this story is getting isn't very in-depth or complex. It's had a feel of "okay, here is something stupid this football player did a few days ago, he's been punished, and now you can proceed with the rest of your day as regularly scheduled."
If John Canzano has written a scathing column about it, I haven't seen it yet. He may have talked about it on his radio show though, but I don't listen to his show regularly, so I haven't heard it mentioned on there. The dudes over on Primetime has most likely mentioned it, but it surely has not generated many listeners who feel the need to call in to the show to talk about it, like what transpired when Cliff Harris was caught breaking the law in virtually the same fashion.
Everyone has kinda, sorta moved on from this Malcolm Marable story and don't care that much anymore. Well, everyone, except for Duck fans, of course.
I was poking around on Twitter on Tuesday night and saw the following tweet from a Duck season ticket holder: "What! A Beavers football player driving 100+ MPH on I-5??? Hahaha. Beaver Nation is sure quiet about this one!"
An obvious shot at Beaver fans and how they took the opportunity, after Cliff Harris was busted, to rake the Ducks over the coals for seemingly "allowing" or "condoning" Harris's legal troubles. It's a fair sports opinion to have and actually is a pretty good little jab, if you ask me. Nothing but some good ol' trash talk.
But it got me thinking of the bigger picture of sports fandom here in Oregon, and the dynamic between Duck fans and Beaver fans. I looked around on Twitter a little more that same night, and it quickly became apparent that there were more than just a few Duck fans chiming in about Marable getting arrested and the lack of publicity it was getting. Some were even borderline offended that Mike Riley wasn't hammering Marable and the masses weren't demanding he be removed from the team immediately. As I recall, there were calls for Cliff Harris's removal from the team after his misdeeds.
Then this question popped into my mind: Why are Duck fans so angered and why do they even care?
Before I continue, let me say this. I do not consider myself a Duck fan or a Beaver fan. My Dad has been a Beaver fan since before I was born and my older sister is a die-hard Duck fan. My sister loves the Ducks so much that she travels with the team, even going as far as Knoxville and Ann Arbor when they played Tennessee and Michigan, respectively. I have multiple reasons to root for both schools. So no way to call me biased or a Beaver homer and the like.
When it comes to college football in the state of Oregon, the game has changed over the past few years. There was a time, not so long ago, where the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers enjoyed relatively similar amounts of success. Yes, this is true, even though your run-of-the-mill Duck fans don't like to admit it. This is no longer the case with college football in the state of Oregon. The Ducks' football program has taken the "next step" as a football program and the Beavers have not. Duck fans don't give two shits about the Beavers, and the Beavers no longer have a leg to stand on when it comes to state bragging rights. The competitive gap between the schools has gotten so big now that the past three Civil Wars haven't been what you would call, "watchable." That is, unless you are a Duck fan.
With all this newly-found success and prestige, Duck fans everywhere are going to have to start learning how to deal with it a little better than they have thus far. And by better, I mean that they're going to have to get used to a little more scrutiny on their beloved team, and not get super offended every time someone says something negative about their coach, players or school. Look, I understand that part of being a fan (short for fanatic, remember) is feeling a sense of community with the team you root for, and defending the team and other fans who are part of that community.
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| These Duck fans are not annoying. The other ones are. |
This incident with Malcolm Marable is a perfect example of what I'm referring to with Duck fans. Listen, of course Cliff Harris getting busted is going to garner more media attention than when Malcolm Marable, who barely even sees the field by the way, gets busted for doing the same thing. Cliff Harris is one of the best defensive backs in the Pac 12 on one of the top two teams in the conference, not to mention a top five team in the nation. Malcolm Marable's main contribution to the team is returning punts. Oh and Darren Thomas, star QB for the Ducks, was also in the car "sleeping" when Cliff Harris was stopped by police.
Also, let me add this. It's going to be a very, very long and tiring life for all involved if every time the Ducks/Chip Kelly/Phil Knight gets criticized, the entirety of "Duck Nation" freaks out, logs on to Twitter, and blasts anyone who dares to disagree with them about their beloved, perfect team. Duck fans will eventually need to get used to it. It's part of the territory.
If you want to ascend to become one of the premier football programs in the nation, you are going to need to get used to a few more "haters" coming out of the woodwork to bash your team. If you want all the love and respect of ESPN, you're going to have to deal with the John Canzano's and the SportsByBrooks' of the world applying some pressure every now and then. If you want to be LeBron James, you will have to deal with going back to Cleveland every once in a while. Is this making any sense??
The fact is that Oregon is now one of the 10-12 best football programs in the country. As long as they stay at the top of the rankings, no amount of Beaver players is going to get as much attention as when a Duck player gets in trouble with the law.
Duck fans, you are the best football team in the state of Oregon. No one disputes that anymore. But because of the position that you and your football team enjoy, you're going to have to get used to getting a lot more attention, both positive and the negative kind as well.
