Most people think that the Civil War was fought from 1861-1865. You know what we say to most people? You are all wrong. It really started in 1894 and will continue until, well, forever according to most Duck fans. The rival teams have met 117 times over the last 120 years. As the Ducks get ready to face the Beavers for the 118th time in just a few short weeks we will turn our attention to a very important meeting of the teams. The year was 2000 and our beloved Ducks were ranked 5th, while the Beavers trailed behind like a little brother at 8th in the country. It was a big day for the Ducks and the Beavers, but it might have been a bigger day for someone else in the stands.
Die-hard Beaver fan, Michael Morrow was a pretty normal working guy, but like most die-hard fans out there, when he went to a game, he put on his personality. Sort of like how someone would put on a hat, or a helmet; that’s how he put on his game day personality. Morrow went home from work the night before the big Civil War game with one thing in mind: make a helmet to show his game-day personality. After doing some pretty questionable things, like jamming a few rubber duckies onto screws on top of his helmet, he created the very first Nutcase helmet.
Although the brains behind Nutcase can’t get his brain behind the right Oregon college football team, he knows what to put on top of brains, and that’s a Nutcase helmet. Morrow encapsulates the Oregon tradition of playing by your own rules, doing it differently than it’s ever been done before. Ultimately Morrow and his company used their eccentricities and entrepreneurial spirit to create a canvas for their consumers to express themselves.
You won’t see any Nutcase helmets on a turf field—at least not right now—but you never know what the future holds. According to Morrow, when you draw a Venn diagram with three circles, the area they overlap is the “Nutcase playing field.” What they deem the playing field is an area of equal parts, activity, expression and safety. They have created a product that is all of those things, and Oregonians aren’t the only ones who love the product. Nutcase has become a big name in not just in Oregon, they are known in Europe, Asia, Australia and the rest of North America. People all over the world relate to and enjoy Nutcase’s products because they are the truest form of expression. Where Morrow and his team saw a need and a way to answer a common problem; they’re making it cool to wear helmets again.
And all of this came from one Civil War game. If we get an idea as great as Nutcase at future showdowns between the semi-aquatic rodent and a waterfowl, Oregon is going to be even cooler than it already is. The fighting spirit that has been used to describe Oregon by many, including Morrow and his brand connector, Flip Mascher, is the same spirit that Nutcase was built on. Morrow has created a business from his innate spirit of creation.
Morrow, a native and archetypal Oregonian, understands how to make a smaller, Oregon-bred brand operate and progress into a national sustainable brand. Morrow used his Oregon relationships and pioneering spirit to build a community and emotional engagement around their product. Nutcase is not purely a product, but an emotional and creative outlet for people who, like Morrow, are not afraid to be a little nutty. Nutcase embodies the zany, eccentric and laidback attitude of Oregon, while encouraging people to be themselves, and take joy in the little things.
When asked about some of the negative aspects of being classified as an Oregon brand, Morrow replied, “People think of Oregon as the forgotten backwater, the little brother to everyone else. But you know what? Fuck you, we’re gonna do it differently.” Oregon is the land of rebellion and the playing ground for the mavericks. We are unassuming, confident and talented. We create, deliver and innovate. So take a note from Morrow, don’t be afraid to be different, to be a little nutty, embrace it.
