A Cup of Civil War Apples

This is the weekend in the Pac-10 (and I believe throughout college football) where the local rivals face each other. That means Pullman, Washington will play host to the Apple Cup and Corvallis, Oregon will be seeing Civil War. I will be rooting for the home team in both instances. (If you're curious why, look here. Rule #1 and Rule #3, Scenario 3, subscenario 2 (whichever team wins goes on to a bowl game, the same game in either case) are called into effect).

I'm not sure when or how the battles got their names, but I've got some issues. In Washington the annual football rivalry is known as the Apple Cup. In Oregon anytime the two schools face each other it's known as Civil War. A Duck and a Beaver could meet at a bar for a beer and it would be known as Civil War. But if you look at the rivalries, Washington's run much deeper than Oregon's do. So while the Washingtonians are pelting each other with apples (and I wouldn't be surprised if I heard a story of that happening) Oregonian's are engaged in a very laissez-faire civil war.

And the whole Civil War moniker is very misleading. The schools are about 1 hour apart, both in the Willamette Valley. Oregon has some definite divides. The east vs. the west. The south vs. the north. Springfield vs. Eugene. But mid-Willamette Valley vs. southern-Willamette Valley? I don't think so.

At least I don't live in Texas. If I posted such disparaging remarks about football in Texas I think they could sentence me to the death penalty.