“The life I love is makin music with my friends, and I can’t wait to get on the road again.”
After stops in Provo, Las Vegas and Seattle, the WSU Football Blog Road Warriors roll into Corvallis for a Pac-12 North Division clash with the Beavers of Oregon State. The North Division is where you’ll find the Pac-12’s few traditional “college towns” and Corvallis is certainly one of them. The Beavers are our closest cousins in the conference, if you will. We have a lot in common besides carrying the “State” moniker in our title. Our campuses reside in small towns and historically take a back seat to our cross state rivals, both academically and athletically. As a result, both fan bases are known for their self-deprecating humor and thick skins born from suffering decades of abuse from their snobby in-state rivals. Of course, once the ball is on the tee all these familial things will give way to 60 minutes of mortal combat, but up to that point, and I suspect after the final whistle, things will be downright friendly between our two fan bases. If we didn’t have a game at Provo on the schedule, I would recommend this as our #1 family friendly road trip. Wanna know what else a guy who has never been to Corvallis has to say about Corvallis? Find out after the jump…
This is what a “sun break” looks like in Corvallis.
I may have never been to Corvallis, but I do know this about the place. It rains there. In fact it is the rainiest place in the world. I know this because every time I have ever seen Corvallis on the TV, it is raining, or at least cloudy. It also looks like my kinda town. There are a couple things about Corvallis that, from the perspective of a person living in Utah, make it the most perfect place ever. First of all they are a mere 50 miles from the Ocean. I don’t even remember what an ocean is, let alone what it smells or looks or feels like. I imagine its awesome. Also, Corvallis has real bars and this brewery that looks like HEAVEN…
I bet their beers are more than 4%.
Despite all our similarities, there are some noticeable differences between the Coug and Beav crowds. For one, while we Cougs are usually farmers, the Beaver fans are mostly lumberjacks. At the end of the day, this just means we are both dirty and like to drink. Also, while Corvallis is a small town, it is still twice the size of Pullman, so you may get a bit overwhelmed by all the people (and you may even encounter a real life homeless person. Try not to take pictures). Beaver fans also have a couple things we Cougs are not familiar with:
- A “revenue sport” with a winning tradition – The Beaver basketball program, despite its current malaise, has a proud tradition that ranks in the top 15 all time for wins.
- A national championship that did not occur in the 19teens – The Beavs won back to back national championships in baseball in 2006 and 2007.
- A Heisman trophy winner – That’s right, Beaver quarterback Terry Baker won the Heisman in 1962!
Its unlikely, BUT, if some Beaver fans start to rub your nose in all their past glories, just remind them that while those are impressive accomplishments, we have Grizzly bears. That oughta shut them up.
This is what qualifies as an uppity beaver fan.
My recommendations to all you road warriors are:
- Bring your rain gear and be prepared for some blue tarp tailgating.
- Drink local. Oregon is home to a plethora of great breweries, distillieries and wineries.
- Definitely tailgate here. These will be some of the most fun and hospitable fans you’ll encounter on the road. They also have very lax public consumption laws. (A great take on the tailgating at Reser can be found here)
- Make the short trip to the Oregon coast. Sure, its October and sun bathing would be dangerous, but there is all kinds of kooky stuff like Ripley’s Believe it or Not, GIANT sand dune buggies, and more salt water taffy than you can wave a Coug flag at.
The finest in Northwest tailgate attire.
Now you are armed with MORE than enough information to make your road trip to Corvallis a success. Am I right? Next week we’ll head on down to Palo Alto and a date with the Stanford Cardinal. Until then, GO COUGS!
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