This Saturday three things I love will collide in Eugene at Autzen Stadium; my chosen home state Oregon, college football, and the Grateful Dead. When the Ducks take the field against the Wisconsin Badgers they will be sporting special uniforms that honor the historic connection between the Eugene area and the good old Grateful Dead. Here is the Ducks video introducing the unis. This video explains the connection.

My first ever trip to Oregon was to see the Dead in August 1993 when I was still in college. It was back when they allowed camping at Dead shows and the shows themselves were epic. I remember the blazing sun, the bleachers on the west side of the stadium bouncing during Help>Slip>Franklin’s and getting tripped over at all hours of the night as people wandered around. I also have seared into my mindstream the second set of the first show. Peak post-Brent Grateful Dead for sure.

I normally root for both Oregon and Oregon State (unless they are playing Stanford), but I will be rooting extra hard for the Ducks this weekend. It is too bad Bill Walton isn’t around to enjoy this collab.