Ellen Comes to Eugene...Is She Really Here?

The first story of the New Year is a doozy. The Ellen show came to Eugene, Oregon on Thursday for a special segment – a contest for tickets and a trip to the BCS Championship football game in Glendale, Arizona. This is the biggest Bowl game and the best the Ducks have EVER done. The excitement in Eugene is palpable and extremely contagious. The day started when Ellen Tweeted to her fans to come to the EMU - a gathering place for students at the University of Oregon - wearing their best Fiesta wear.

Kim and I decided to go check it out and of course try to be the big winners. We arrived early so as to get a good spot to hang out and “observe”. Ellen’s production crew was already there setting up cameras, monitors and lights. We knew we were in the right place. One of Ellen’s regular road reporters Jeannie, was on sight to do the satellite correspondence between the U of O segment, and the live feed with the show and of course Ellen herself. Kim was so excited she marched down to the crew and shook Jeannie’s hand and proceeded to explain that Ellen’s doppelganger was here and is a huge Duck fan. One by one the production crew turned to look in my direction and did admit to Kim, I looked like Ellen…that is as far as the production staff would go. BUT even the Ellen crew could not deny the Duck fans from meeting Ellen (or as close as they could get to Ellen in person).

It just took one person to approach me and request a photo and the flood gates were open... I became Ellen. By this time the crowd had grown to over 1,500+ people, some in full costume, most wearing Green or Gold, but all had Duck spirit. Slowly the rumor spread that Ellen was sitting at the top of the arena, and one by one the attention shifted from the stage where the Ellen production crew was set to film, to the “Ellen in the crowd”. Picture after picture and conversation after conversation I posed and conversed for over 5 hours with Ellen fans who found it uncanny that I would actually live in Eugene, be a huge Duck fan and that I was NOT Ellen. The most common statement of the day was…”How can you not be her, you even sound like her and act like her?”

Nic, my new BFF hung out with me the entire time. At first he thought I WAS Ellen, until I gently let him know that I really was not. He couldn’t believe it, but after awhile we had a great time hanging out together and he ended up taking well over 100 pictures of me posing with people. What a sport! He posted a picture on his facebook page and before long his friends were texting and ditching class to come see and meet Ellen too. Soon others around us were doing the same.

 

The photos seemed endless but I was more than happy to do it, because it made so many people giddy to be so close to Ellen, or as close as they could get anyway. I posed with babies and dogs, students and parents, children and grand parents. I was interviewed for a television show…not sure who or what, but they wanted to know all about me and why I looked so much like Ellen.

Upon realizing that I really was not Ellen, people would ask me questions like; Where were you born? Are you married? Who are you married to? What kind of car do you drive? Let us see your ring? Are you with the Ellen show? Where to you live? Will you dance for us? Do you work for Ellen? Do you know Ellen? Are they paying you? You should charge for pictures! Did they plant you up here? Are you really Ellen? Are you a look alike? Do you know you look like Ellen? Does this happen all the time? Are you sick of this yet?

The madness/elation continued until the crowd dispersed and Kim and I went on our way to our house on a hill in Eugene, Oregon.