The Pac-12 Family: Oregon State
This is the eighth in a twelve part series on the mythical origin of each Pac-12 school . . . up next: the Oregon State Beaver.
To date, you have learned about mythical creatures from all over the Pacific Coast including what is now known as the States of California and Washington. In between these two lands, however, is the home of a rather large rodent known as the Oregon State Beaver. The Beaver was sent to enlighten the uncivilized and primitive lands between California and Washington and he was warmly welcomed by the scores of bumpkins living in the area.
Despite being the first magical being in what is now known as Oregon, the Beaver never really saw a great deal of success on the battlefield. He and his loyal followers have only been able to win three national crowns in all the time of Oregon State's existence. For the most part, the Beaver followed the poor example of the boorish Washington Husky to the north and wallowed in the pit of mediocrity for many years. For decades, California's Golden Bear and many other great beings would often wallop the Beaver both in their own homes and in the Beaver dam located the small town of Corvallis. After almost a century of mediocrity, the Beaver and his followers became desperate for any bit of success and began scouring all of the lands to help lead Oregon State to glory on the battlefield. The Beaver finally found someone to help lead all of his followers to glory lurking around the Trojan in Southern California. Many were weary to allow a man associated with the dastardly Trojan to lead the Beaver on the battlefield, but his critics eventually relented and all of the good folk in Corvallis gathered around to welcome their new leader: Commander Riley.
The Beaver within the town of Corvallis.
While he did not find success immediately, the commander laid the foundation for future and it was acknowledged by most that the Beaver was moving out of the realm of mediocrity. Commander Riley did not stay in Corvallis too long after his arrival because he was lured to the sunny shores of San Diego and eventually the festive city of New Orleans. One evening, however, he realized he missed the bumpkins of Corvallis and wished to return. Just five years after his departure, Commander Riley triumphantly returned to Corvallis declaring his loyalty to Oregon State and vowing lead the Beaver to glory for years to come. Under Riley, the Beaver saw a moderate amount of success making all in Corvallis delighted to have left their middling past behind them.
Commander Riley saw and has seen a fair amount of success, but has so far been unable to gain that illusive invitation to the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena. He has led the Beavers to victory in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and El Paso, but never Pasadena. Just a few days ago, it was believed by many that the Beaver would finally gain entrance to the grand stadium of Roses in Pasadena, but the Tree—in his horrifically evil manner—quashed the Beaver's dream of the Tournament of Roses during during their battle in the black lands of Palo Alto. While the Beaver has only seen moderate success under the leadership of Commander Riley, he has found a way to defeat the sturdy California Golden Bear on a regular basis. The Beaver seemed to always defeat the Golden Bear at the worst possible times for the Californian, and this simple fact led many loyal Californians to believe that there may be some sort of Beaver curse or hex against California's warriors. Just twelve months ago, however, the Golden Bear found himself victorious over the Beaver on the battlefield for the first time in five years making many to believe that any curse had finally been lifted. Tomorrow, the Golden Bear and the Beaver will meet up again in the distant town of Corvallis and Californian faithful hope that there will not be a renewal of the Beaver curse that had haunted them for so many years. The Golden Bear warriors plan on sending all of the residents of Corvallis back up into the hills and the words "GO BEARS!" are heard rising out of the hills surrounding the Beaver's dam.
