Last Saturday, the Oregon Football Association held their first ever charity event at Tigard High School. Former Oregon football coaches and players collaborated with MTV stars from The Buried Life and put on a stellar event packed with fun activities for every age. With a suggested $10 donation, cans of food or school supplies this free event brought fans from all over Oregon and people lined the field anxiously waiting for the charity event to start. Spirited OFA staff and music echoing through out the stadium greeted us.
The Buried life is a documentary style reality show formed a couple of years ago by four boys, Ben, Dave, Duncan and Jonnie. These Canadian boys were struggling with a lack of direction in their life and decided to stop wasting their life away. They made a list of 100 things they want to do before they die and #53 on the list was to get their own television show. To cross off list items they drive around North America in a giant purple bus that’s hard to miss. The Buried Life is currently filming season three which will include a basketball game with Obama and other crazy list items. The truly inspirational part of this show is that every time they cross something off their list, they also help a complete stranger cross something off their list. Having the cast host this event brought light to a good cause.
They kicked off the day with a children’s camp. Kids were able to participate in an obstacle course and football training exercises for free. Spectators got to watch The Buried Life cast and U of O football alumni assist and encourage the kids through out the camp. Following that was a performance by XILE performing “O TIME” which is going to be the new “duck anthem”. “Funny guy” Dave proved that their #33 item “compete in a krump competition” wasn’t all smoke and mirrors. He showed off his dance skills by competing in a dance off with a six year old fan and lost.
The most anticipated part of the evening was the flag football game. To even out the playing field they paired two of The Buried Life cast with Oregon football alumni and played a friendly and interactive game that even gave Puddles the U of O mascot some playing time. The icing on the cake was the amount of swag they gave away. Shirts, calendars, Nike merch and Shady Peeps were given to all spectators through out the game.
The Buried Life boys proved to be genuine and didn’t shy away from the crowd. Through out the day they took pictures and signed autographs for hopeful fans. Even with out the cameras these boys showed everyone that their hearts are more than film deep. Kids and even parents stood wide eyed when Ben, Dave, Duncan, and Jonnie made an effort to get to know the people that support their cause.
To see the boys’ full list of things they want to do before they die you can visit www.theburiedlife.com. Also, to learn more about OFA and other events they will be putting on, visit www.oregonfootballassociation.com.