It’s inevitable when you write about football for a passionate audience, and the team you cover plays in a big intersectional game: the flamers come out of the woodwork. What I can’t stand are the big-bellied guffaws and quick assumptions, stuff like “y’all don’t understand that football is won in the trenches. Your team doesn’t have the strength and size to compete …
I find myself asking this question way too often these days, “is it football season yet?” Like a scratched record or kid in the backseat on a family roadtrip, this line gets repeated far too often as the clock winds painfully slow towards kickoff. If you were to ask me what my fondest memories of growing up with Autzen stadium …
In Oregon we have our natural cycle of summer transformations, of the warmth with the lush green vegetation everywhere that will begin to change. We see the geese begin going south, and we now see Duck fans flocking to Eugene to live the beginning of our football season. For many of us—we cannot help ourselves, as it has become part …
Katelynn Johnson can still be spotted on the sidelines of football stadiums. Her infectious laugh remains. So does her unflagging energy. But no more pom-poms. No more whipping up the home crowd. No more green and yellow and black and gray (at least not in public). Now, it’s all about microphones and cameras and joshing with fans of every stripe. …
meme – an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture, analagous to the way genes spread biological information. Ad nauseam – a Latin term used to describe an argument which has been continuing “to [the point of] nausea”. “The Ducks have trouble with elite defensive lines and teams with extra time to prepare.” “Oregon …
Coach Kelly has always said, “One game does not define you as a team.” While that may be true for the fans, players, coaches, and everyone else in the program, this game on September 3rd in Dallas will most likely determine the post-season fate of the Ducks. This article will begin the epic, spectacular, 3 part preview as we count …
It was only one game in a season to remember for the Oregon Ducks, a time when the dream that seemed beyond reach for so many years might finally be attainable. For two teammates in particular, it was a night that permanently etched their names in the Oregon Ducks record books, while moving one step closer to the Pac-10 championship. …
Can you smell it in the air? There’s a sense of something not quite definable but very enticing wafting on the breeze that demands attention, like the scent of somebody barbecuing nearby. It’s that beautiful, unavoidable event we crave most, and wait for what feels like a lifetime to experience again. It’s nearly football season, the duck days of summer …
A new Oregon anthem — “O Time” — was released this week by hip-hop artist Xile of Portland. The accompanying music video is catchy, sprinkled with guest appearances by former UO gridiron greats like Jonathan Stewart and Dennis Dixon, and of images that capture the momentum that is Duck football today. Innovative. Trendy. Successful. Just in time for the opener …
Part 3: Going Their Separate Ways — Friends Struggle to Succeed On Separate Paths For The First Time For friends Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, their first couple of years at the University of Oregon had seen the pendulum swing wildly. After their redshirt season in 1993 watching their teammates struggle to win, the two roommates had spearheaded the improbable …
Part 2: Jaiya Figueras: The hero’s coming out party arrives early in 1995 The 1994 season was special for the players and fans alike. The sting of losing seasons had been washed away with an improbable run to the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth. It was a huge surprise to everyone, except roommates Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton, who …
Part 1: Jaiya Figueras and Kenny Wheaton: Freshmen Roommates Driven to Succeed Every Oregon Duck fan can probably recite verbatim the infamous Jerry Allen call of Kenny Wheaton’s interception versus Washington in 1994, or fondly remember Joey Harrington hitting Samie Parker in stride for an 80 yard touchdown in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, or Marcus Woods flattening BYU quarterback Ty …