Good morning, Duck fans. In the days and weeks leading up to the Alamo Bowl there will be plenty of time for others here at fishduck.com/we’resohumblewedon’tcapitalizefish to break down the Zone Reads and the tendencies of the Ducks, Longhorns, and whoever Mack Brown is coaching when New Year’s Eve rolls around.
Sign spotted in front of Austin 4-bedroom townhouse.
Likewise, there will be time for me to skewer the Longhorns, lately known as the Big 12’s version of WSU. Indeed times have been trying for the University of Cow.
Mack Brown’s last recruiting success — later disqualified for being 60 years old.
But today we are about celebrating the city that will host our beloved Ducks when they take on Texas in the Alamo Bowl. My crack(ed) staff found out the following tidbits about San Antonio.
1. Everyone Remembers the Alamo, but Almost no one Knows . . . that this legendary tale of a brave band of folks up against desperate odds and doomed to lose, would later become the template for a football team far removed from San Antonio, or anywhere in Texas for that matter. After all, no one loses like . . .
Has any team lost so often, and yet so well?
2. San Antonio was Named for St. Anthony of Padua: St.Anthony’s Feast Day is June 13th when, in 1691, a Spanish expedition stopped in the area near what is now San Antonio.
NOT the Anthony for whom San Antonio is named.
3. San Antonio is Home to the World’s Largest Sea World: Texans see nothing incongruous about being thousands of miles from the nearest ocean and having the world’s largest Sea World.
“Still no ocean in sight, Cap’n. Should I continue looking?”
4. Chili was Invented in San Antonio circa 1750. No surprise then, that natural gas was discovered soon thereafter.
“Good chili, Mom. But…”
5. Mark Twain Once Called San Antonio “One of America’s Four Unique Cities.” Joining, of course, Veneta, Scio, and Elmira, Oregon.
And a wondrous place it is.
For those of you that are going to the Alamo Bowl, have a great trip! But be advised of a possible venue change. The Alamodome is currently being used by the 2011 Baylor Bears who are continuing to score against Washington.
Go Ducks!
Related Articles:
Kim Hastings is a 1984 graduate of Northwest Christian College. He cut his journalistic teeth as sports editor of a paper in his home town of Fortuna, CA, and, later as a columnist for the Longview Daily News in Longview, WA.
He saw his first Oregon game in 1977 and never missed a home game from 1981 until a bout with pneumonia cut his streak short in 1997. He was one of the proud 3200 on a bitterly cold night in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1989 for the Independence Bowl, and continues to be big supporter of Oregon sports. He is an active participant on the various Oregon Ducks messageboards as “TacomaDuck.”