What a long, strange trip it will be: Duck fans to wear tie dye for October 25

Combat Ducks running back Noah Whittington signs autographs amid a mob of fans as the Fighting Ducks face off against Mighty Oregon in the Oregon Ducks spring game on April 26, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene.
Combat Ducks running back Noah Whittington signs autographs amid a mob of fans as the Fighting Ducks face off against Mighty Oregon in the Oregon Ducks spring game on April 26, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's a happening, and it's happening.

On October 25 for the home game against Wisconsin, Oregon fans are invited to "wear tie-dye" as the Oregon athletic department commemorates the anniversary of a 1978 concert featuring The Grateful Dead and Carlos Santana at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks, The Dead and Eugene have a long relationship. In an Oregon athletic department story by Rob Moseley, he wrote that the iconic band performed 10 times at Autzen Stadium between 1974 and 1994.

This year Deadheads celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the band. The '78 gig was a fundraiser for Oregon sports, particularly nonrevenue sports, and the spirit of counterculture, music, hacky-sack and devil sticks in the park remains tremendously strong in the Emerald City.

Legendary for their enthusiasm, Oregon fans will no doubt turn out in rainbow wigs, face paint and vintage tee shirts for the event, making Autzen even more raucous than usual if that's possible. The contingent from "Jump Around" Wisconsin will be in for quite a spectacle.

The Ducks and Badgers met last November in Wisconsin with Dillon Gabriel leading a fourth-quarter comeback for a hard-fought 16-13 victory to reach 11-0. Edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei played an exceptional game for the Oregon defense, posting five tackles, a sack and an interception.

If a box of rain falls, Duck fans are likely to break into a Mississippi half-step with an uptown toodeloo.

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