In every state, there’s always a pair of teams that are rivals, and some rivals are from nearby states. But no rival is as famous and as heated as Oregon vs Oregon State.

They have been rivals for nearly 130 years, pretty close to when Oregon became an official state. And this year is possibly their last rivalry game ever due to the changes in divisions, meaning the PAC-12 may disband and split. But nothing is set in stone as of yet. The infamous Civil War game (they somehow or tried to changed the name in 2020 due to BLM but we still call it that) usually is held the day after Thanksgiving on Black Friday. The game is pretty much the state’s super bowl, everyone’s hyped up about it, and that’s when tensions rise in house divided households.

Growing up, my family is a house divided household. Meaning my dad is a beaver (got his master’s at Oregon State) and my mom is a duck (she grew up in the town where University of Oregon is located). And with that, there’s always back and forth on if I was going to be a duck or a beaver. And as early as seven, I knew about the rivalry and how it goes on in my family. So for the longest time, I was a platypus (half duck, half beaver). That is until my second year of college.

During the summer term, I was attending COCC and miserable, and my parents knew about it. Surprisingly, it was my mother who suggested that I go to Oregon State’s sister campus: OSU- Cascades. At first I hesitated due to unbalancing the beavers vs ducks scale, but after open house, I was sold. When I was applying for OSU-Cascades, my mom asked why I’m applying. I responded with A,B, and C; she responded in a whiny voice “I don’t want another beaver in the family!!!” And yes, I got accepted to OSU-Cascades and it was probably my only best year in college. I had the most fun and it was where I really felt like a college student.

In 2020, it was when the true rivalry in the family showed. The ducks were winning, but the beavers came around and won the game. My dad held his breath until they said “game over”. We cheered, high five and celebrated this “leap year” win for the beavers (they win every 4 years).Afterwards, he said “alright, go get your mother and let’s play fish.” I find her in the guest room, not happy and she cussed all the way downstairs like “screw you, screw you, Tom you’re sleeping on the couch.” Of course I know she is joking.

When Brennan entered the picture, he evened out the scale of rivalry in the household because he’s a duck fan. Two years and tonight, he has been teasing me with how well the ducks are playing and I’m like “shut up”. But at the end of the day, we all love each other no matter if you are a duck or a beaver.