Good morning, Ducks! Thursday we will play Florida State in the 2015 Rose Bowl. Let us take a ride in the way back machine and try to assimilate the karma from the last time we played in the Granddaddy! Through the magic of the DVR, I was able to blog my calm and rational thoughts.
January 2, 2012 —
1:34 a.m.: Decided on Rose Bowl attire. Going to go with white hoodie, with silver “O” and silver wings. I know we’re wearing dark, but the hoodie is undefeated this season. It did very well in taking down the Beavs. Maybe it will do the job today.
8:55 a.m.: Shopping list — two boxes Milk Duds. Check. Two boxes Sugar Babies. Check. Large box M&M’s. Check. Case and a half Pepsi. Check. Type 2 diabetes be hanged. This is the Granddaddy! I’ll walk to Safeway. That will help.
10:50 a.m.: Hide results of shopping list from wife. Unsuccessful. I wonder why she said “Honey, just try to be alive when I get home” when she left for work?
11:16 a.m.: What is a tax-slayer.com and how did it get to be a New Year’s Day Bowl? Never mind. Must focus.
1:30 p.m.: Pregame show. Saw Chip and Bret Bielema sitting together in the stands. Had irrational desire to see Chip forearm him. Forty-five minutes before kickoff and I’m already in second quarter form.
1:43 p.m.: ESPN College Gameday just mentioned predictions. If Corso doesn’t wear the Duck head, I may vomit.
1:49 p.m.: I may vomit anyway.
1:51 p.m.: Chip said, “Half the stadium will be Wisconsin, half will be Oregon.” I wish it was 70 percent to 30 percent. Or 72 percent to 28 percent?
1:54 p.m.: The drum majorette just took the field. I’m thinking how cool it would be if Chip came out and clothes-lined her. Is it possible that I should seek counseling?
2:00 p.m.: Lee Corso is a god!!!
2:01 p.m.: First Pepsi.
2:04 p.m.: LaMike highlights … if he leaves he will be profoundly missed. What a great Duck he has been!
2:08 p.m.: Kudos to the Oregon Marching Band. Good anthem. Toe to toe with a Big 10 band. Time to play ball! Let’s hit somebody!!!
2:12 p.m.: Lost the toss, but I’d rather kick anyway.
2:12:14 p.m.: Hello, Erin. Happy New Year. Am I busy later? I’m flattered but my wife wants me to cut down on dating sideline reporters.
2:16 p.m.: Montee Ball for eight. That sucks, but better than Ki-Jana Carter for 80, over the inert form of Chad Cota.
2:20 p.m.: Touchdown Badgers. Down seven points. A bad word or two from me.
2:37 p.m.: Thomas to Tuinei. YES!!!!!
2:38 p.m.: LaMike!!! Finished first Pepsi.
2:41 p.m.: Wisconsin cheerleaders are cute.
Corn-fed cuties.
Duck cheerleaders are hot. Game may be tied, but advantage Ducks.
Well, hello!
2:54 p.m.: Wisconsin moving the ball at will, but Wilson has taken two big hits already. Will that show up later?
2:59 p.m.: Touchdown Badgers. Wilson is better than I hoped he would be.
2015 note: I live in Tacoma as a 49er fan. I know ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RUSSELL WILSON, THANK YOU!
3:00 p.m.: Finished second Pepsi. Nervous.
3:07 p.m.: Third and 24 for the Badgers. If we don’t make them punt on this series, we’re in a bit of trouble. I just finished another Pepsi. I don’t remember opening it.
3:08 p.m.: Pass interference? Oh, Lord!
3:13 p.m.: They have a punter on their roster. Good to know. I’m four Pepsi’s in.
3:18 p.m.: DAT!!! SWEET JESUS!!! I need a Pepsi to celebrate.
3:27 p.m.: Down by seven points again. They remind me of road stripers. Come on, D!!!
3:31 p.m.: Big return by DAT. Time to answer.
3:32 p.m.: Nice answer! Thomas to Barner! If we ever get a lead, I’ll eat something. I’m totally exhausted!
3:33 p.m.: Somewhere Nick Holt is saying, “See! It’s not easy!”
3:41 p.m.: Big stop on fourth down. Kiko Alonso, DPOG so far! Just took my pulse. It’s 114. Come on, Ducks!!!
3:45 p.m.: Josh looks woozy as he comes off. Big hand from both fan bases. Wisconsin fans are the best BCS opponent fan base that we have run into.
2015 note: This is particularly apt, given the nonsense we have endured from Florida State fans this month.
3:47 p.m.: Sack fumble. That hurts.
3:57 p.m.: Second and goal. It feels essential that we go in at the half tied. Their defense has only been on the field for about seven minutes and their linebackers are sucking wind.
3:59 p.m.: Touchdown Tuinei! Lord, I hope it stands.
3:59:26 p.m.: It stands!!!
Halftime: Eating Milk Duds and pondering. Are we okay? I think so, but if we’re going to win this thing we need to even out the turnovers. Corso is right. Wilson is better than we thought. Of course, he also just said that the Georgia kicker had once kicked 44 field goals in a game.
4:28 p.m.: DAT man again. Herbstreit just mentioned DeAnthony Thomas for a 2012 Heisman. My feet did a happy dance! I wonder what my sugar count is? First series on D is key!
2015 note: DeAnthony Thomas will always be a good memory. He will also be on a list of “Might Have Been.”
4:29 p.m.: I wonder if Lane Kiffin wishes that he had Thomas.
4:32 p.m.: Kick coverage breakdown. Didn’t need that.
4:43 p.m.: Big stop on third down! A fire truck just stopped in front of my house. I’ll pour a moat on the carpet in front of the TV before I leave the rest of this game.
4:50 p.m.: Skittish offensive series for us. I wonder if Bielema’s dithering and time out about DAT in the end zone screwed up our rhythm.
5:02 p.m.: We can’t get off the field on third down. Down three again. A SWAT team truck just stopped across the street from me. Having an Animal House flashback. Huphuphuphuphup!
5:09 p.m.: Interesting to me that they take the holding call when we lost two yards on the play. I hope we can make them pay with the extra down.
5:09:35 p.m.: Good decision by them. Bad pick thrown by D.T.
5:15 p.m.: Big hand for Carson York. He’s been a stalwart Duck. Heal up and be ready for fall practice, big guy.
5:16 p.m.: Was waiting for the reference to Asper’s Heimlich. There it was.
5:18 p.m.: Kiko just evened out the turnovers. Big play! Got to convert. I just finished my fifth or sixth Pepsi. Maybe seventh. I’ve lost count. This game is going to kill me. It’s possible I mean that literally.
End of the third quarter. They are ripping at Lamike’s elbow pad, trying to strip the ball. Shout was fun to watch!
5:20 p.m.: Where has this LaVasier Tuinei been all my life? I just did the “Go Ducks go! Fight Ducks fight! Win Ducks win!” … to my upstairs neighbors. They didn’t join me, but they did laugh.
5:25 p.m.: The advantage we were supposed to have in special teams hasn’t been there.
5:28 p.m.: There are not a lot of us there by comparison, but we were loud on this defensive series. The sun setting over the San Gabriels seems to have refreshed our crowd. D up now!
5:32 p.m.: Holding and false start. Our series is on life support.
5:34 p.m.: D.T. to LVT! First down at the 22-point mark. I just spiked what I thought was an empty Pepsi. It wasn’t empty. Geez!
5:43 p.m.: I’m calling my shot before the field goal attempt. If it was me, I’m going for it. Fake?
5:43:51 p.m.: Chip is much smarter than me. We’re up seven points. WE’RE UP HALFWAY THROUGH THE FOURTH QUARTER IN THE ROSE BOWL!!!
5:49 p.m.: FUMBLE!!! THE BALL HOVERED NEAR THE SIDELINE, BUT IF CHIP IS THAT SURE IT’S OURS, I’LL TAKE MY CHANCES ON THE REPLAY! Watching the replay, my favorite scene of the year is watching Chip jump up and down. OUR BALL! OUR BALL!!! IF I WAS A TEENAGE GIRL, I WOULD NEVER STOP SAYING OMG!
5:52 p.m.: Third and one and a half. Play of the year as the clock hits 3:00. What would I call? Outside zone read coming left.
5:56 p.m.: Last timeout by Wisconsin. One more first down, and we have completed one of the best seasons in Oregon Duck football history.
5:56 p.m.: Not going to be that easy. Have to punt.
5:58 p.m.: No sweat, but would have liked to have brought him down in-bounds.
5:59 p.m.: Bring him down IN-BOUNDS!
5:59:46 p.m.: START THE CLOCK, REF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6:00:11 p.m.: ROSE BOWL CHAMPIONS!!!
Postscript: We are a blessed fan base. This is THE Golden Age of Oregon football history. I’ve read this week about people shedding tears at the end, but, as much as a wuss as I can be (can’t watch Brian’s Song anymore) I didn’t shed a tear. I threw my arms in the air and whooped to the sky! Over the course of the rest of the evening I pondered how far we have come. I thanked God that we have been led by great coaches and great players over the journey of the last decades. I watched the Fiesta Bowl, lost a bet on OKIE St. by the use of a replay and couldn’t get up the strength to care all that much. Later, I went to bed and laid there with my eyes wide open … a half rack of Pepsi and all that candy didn’t help, but mostly I laid awake and thought about the Rose Bowl … of which we are champions!
2015 note:
Gentlemen! Let’s do this.
Top photo by flickr.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.”