The Harrington Family Foundation

Eugene, Ore. — Step inside Track Town Pizza and you'll see walls covered with photos of the international track and field legends who have lived and competed in this city.
From Steve Prefontaine to Alberto Salazar, Lance Deal to Mary Decker Slaney, each has his or her place of honor staring out at diners munching on such "classics" as the 100 Yard Dash (Canadian bacon, pepperoni, pineapple, black olives, ground beef and sausage) and the Triple Jump (olive oil, fresh garlic, spinach, feta, onion and sausage).

But at the front of the restaurant stands a shrine to guy who wears cleats, not spikes, shoulder pads, not a singlet. Propped inside a trophy case, a framed and autographed Nov. 11, 2002, Sports Illustrated displays a cover photo of former University of Oregon star Joey Harrington. Even in Track Town, the Falcons quarterback runs near the front of the pack of sports heroes.

Unlike most of the other honorees, though, Harrington is loved for what he did in college, not afterward.

"I know I can play in this league," the Sports Illustrated cover quotes Harrington as saying. Five years later, it's still an open question if he can. He is 24-48 as an NFL starter.

Here, though, he'll forever be a winner. Harrington went 25-3 as a starter for the Ducks, and the locals haven't forgotten.

"We'll always be Joey fans," said Phillip Barry, manager of The Cooler, a combination bar and breakfast place within a few touchdown passes of Oregon's Autzen Stadium.

The Cooler shows every Falcons game on its big screen.

"We all sit here and root for him, even when he's playing against our team. When he's playing Seattle, we might not pull for his team, but we'll pull for Joey and want some other guy to screw up," said Mike Dunaway, a breakfast chef who remembers Harrington as "a French toast and bacon guy."

It's not like Harrington is the only star Oregon football ever produced. Dan Fouts, Norm Van Brocklin, Ahmad Rashad and Mel Renfro all played in green. Harrington, though, delivered the school's first two double-digit-victory seasons and finished a school-best fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Fans chant his name whenever he shows up at an Oregon football or basketball game, and he shows up often. Harrington took advantage of the Falcons' open date to attend Saturday's Oregon football game against Southern California.

"He made a name for himself here, and people respect him not only for his ability at the quarterback position but for the kind of person that he is," said Nick Harrington, Joey's youngest brother and the senior manager of the Ducks' football team. "We always joke around saying if he would run for governor he would win in a heartbeat. People worship him over here."

Even the city's newspaper is still on a first-name basis with him. "Injury puts Joey back in lineup," read the headline in Thursday's edition of The Register-Guard.

The Detroit Lions drafted Harrington third overall in 2002. Since then, Eugene has changed allegiances as Harrington changed teams.

"When Joey was with the Lions, there were Lions fans all over town," Ducks fan Keith Clark said. "When Joey was with Miami, you'd see Dolphins hats and shirts. Now, it's Atlanta."

Every stop has been a head-scratcher as this town's adopted hero — he grew up in Portland — becomes another NFL town's goat.

"I'm disappointed," Barry said. "Part of me feels like he hasn't gotten a fair shake. He's the leader in the NFL for dropped passes. I don't put it all on Joey's shoulders."

"It's hard to see right now what the Falcons are going through," Nick Harrington said. "It's not quite the turmoil and the crap that he went through in the locker room at Detroit, but what's going on on the field, it's just frustrating. I feel bad for him."

Nick and middle brother Michael recently got replicas of Harrington's No. 13 Falcons jersey, and Nick gets mostly compliments when he wears it around town.

The Falcons might be 1-6. Here, though, Joey Harrington will always be 25-3.