If you tune into the morning slate of NFL games on Sunday in hopes of watching Oregon Duck legends Marcus Mariota and Justin Herbert battle it out on the gridiron, look closely during warm-ups.
You might just see a little slice of Eugene down there on the field.
Of course, both program-altering quarterbacks hold a big chunk of Oregon in their hearts each and every day, but this matchup between the Men of Oregon will hold a little special piece of Oregon artwork to go along with it.
Both Herbert and Mariota are expected to be wearing a set of cleats designed by Justin Tigner, a high school art teacher at King’s Way in Vancouver, WA. He and his students have painted a number of cleats for Mariota over the years, and a pair of cleats by Tigner’s design were auctioned off at Herbert’s charity golf tournament in Eugene last year.
Tigner is licensed by the Ducks, and has designed posters for past bowl games, such as the 2011 BCS National Championship or the 2012 Rose Bowl. His fandom goes deeper than that, though. As with Mariota and Herbert, his blood runs green.
Tigner’s grandfather, Wally Still, was a running back for Oregon back in the 1940s, and he ran track with Bill Bowerman under Coach Hayward. If you ask me, that’s about as Oregon as it can get.
“I grew up less than a mile from Autzen Stadium,” Tigner told me. “I had no choice who my team was.”
He did have a choice about what he would do with the artistic gift that he grew up with, though, and he chose to marry his love for sports and design, finding a niche in cleat design. When he found out that Herbert and Mariota were going to be playing each other this year in the NFL, the idea formulated quickly.
“I am incredibly proud to be able to do this,” Tigner said. “These are two incredible people that do so much for their communities that it is an honor to help them any way I can.”
His way of honoring the two was by mixing in their roots with their current surroundings. For Mariota, that meant the Oregon Duck wings painted in red and black, set against the Atlanta skyline. For Herbert, the same can be said, but with Charger blue and the Los Angeles skyline as the backdrop.
For both, a rendering of Autzen Stadium, fit with the letters “EUG” is featured prominently.
“There was a lot of pressure when painting these,” Tigner said. “First, I wanted Marcus and Justin to love the designs. Second, I wanted Duck fans, Charger fans, and Falcons fans to love them as well. I know I can’t please every fan, but I want most of them to appreciate my respect for their teams.”
Regardless of what Falcons or Chargers fan think, the design should hold a special meaning for Duck fans. While these two Oregon legends have gone on to do incredible things at the next level, through all of that, they’ve still made it known that Oregon has their hearts.
To see more of his art and support his craft, you can click here.