Hello, Ducks! You neither need nor want me to remind you of some recent history. Our Ducks, more talented by half than our opponent, have gotten waxed twice in a row by the Arizona Wildcats. When Duck fans heard the news that the Conference Championship Game was to be played against Arizona, one of two responses occurred.
BRING ‘EM ON! YEAH!
My personal response.
But I have had a few days to think about it, and I believe there are measures the Ducks can take to turn the tide on Rich-Rod and his pesky Wildcats.
1. Bring Obvious Rules Infractions to the Attention of the Officials: I watched some game film from this year’s game and noticed something that escaped the attention of the officiating crew. Arizona was in a 3-3-5-17-62-124 defense that night.
Doubtless, a penalty should have been called.
2. Revisit the Whole “Bear Down” Thing: I did some exhaustive research into “Bear Down.” Arizona takes its slogan from some coach or assistant coach or maybe no coach at all who said: “Bear Down. When the going gets tough you’ll go inside, outside, inside outside, win one for the Gipper, Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” Whoever said it had a bad cold that turned into a nasty sinus infection. He took some penicillin and got better in about a week. Very inspiring.
Let’s counsel the Wildcat fans to adopt a new, more peaceable slogan.
3. The Game is to Be Played in the Bay Area: Someone should make sure the Wildcats are a little unsure of the location.
Welcome to Candlestick Park. Bear down.
4. Enlist Help: My mom always said I should ask for help if I faced a difficult task. Of course, she also suggested I should eat peas. But this time she may have been right. Let’s offer an incentive to some folks who don’t have anything important to do.
Oregon State isn’t doing anything this weekend.
Gentlemen, the fate of the free world is on your shoulders. Alabama and its insufferable head coach, Florida State and its felonious quarterback, and one of the few colleges owning a more puzzling mascot than “Ducks” await us. But I think it has something to do with lusty toads. NEUTER THE ‘CATS!
Top photo by gametimewatchshop.com
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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.”
