Oregon State fans prefer tasty side dishes to swooshes
In addition to tailgate parties, fight songs and pep rallies, every fierce college rivalry needs a catchy T-shirt slogan.
Oklahoma fans don "Bevo: It's what's for dinner" shirts whenever the Sooners face Texas. UCLA students unveil anti-USC shirts that read "A Bruin is forever but a Trojan is only good once." And now a group of enterprising Oregon State supporters have created a creative T-shirt to commemorate their Civil War rivalry with Oregon.
"Potato Salad over Sneakers" probably doesn't make much sense to fans outside the Pacific Northwest, but the slogan is a reference to the primary sponsors of both athletic departments. See, Oregon has its infamous ties to Nike, whereas Oregon State's main backer is Reser's Fine Foods, which apparently makes a mean potato salad.
Here's an explanation from the T-shirts' creators:
This is more than rivalry tees, this is a movement! Potato Salad Over Sneakers is a place for all the true OSU believers. It's a place for the students, alumni, fans and supporters who want to come together and show who we are and how strong we can be. It shows that we are loyal and we appreciate what we have. We don't measure our success in dollar signs and uniform combos, but rather what we make of what we have. We work hard to make our institution better, together. We believe in the way we do things, we're comfortable with who we are, and we're better than they are!
The T-shirts cost $17, but $3 from each sale pays for tickets to Oregon State athletic events that get donated to youth organizations. Not bad for a unique piece of rivalry swag.
(Thanks, First Cuts)
