There it was: all those years of rooting and hoping, all the dreams and disappointments and surprises, and suddenly one ten-second moment transforms your whole world as a Ducks football fan. The first quarter of the Rose Bowl was just about in the books with just three seconds left. Oregon had already proven it could score, trailing Wisconsin 14-7 and …
This past Valentine’s Day there were plenty of opportunities to write cheesy love notes to our rivals in the Pac-12, but only corporate bloggers took that easy and creatively bankrupt idea and ran with it. Like a predator, or a paparazzi outside of wherever it is that Whitney Houston shuffled off this mortal coil, I waited. Alas, my patience was …
Last Sunday the Ducks and Beavers played against one another for an NCAA-record 336th time. Contrary to the typical talk about the Civil War, the electrifying exchanges about Sunday’s clash before and during were not so much about the game itself. Rather, the conversation was about all of the details that make this rivalry so intense. As it should be. …
National Signing Day Football Recruiting: In a college landscape where programs across the country attempt to one-up their BCS neighbors through “constructive comparative analysis,” a.k.a. mudslinging, the Duck’s recipe for success on the recruiting trail is centered on forward thinking and innovation. Having listened to the conventional living-room talking points ad nauseum, recruits are being drawn to the program famous …
So much hoopla surrounded the Ducks football program in the last week or so, specifically whether head coach Chip Kelly would officially leave for the NFL or not. Kelly said one thing that got me thinking, “I have some unfinished business.” When he made that statement I think all Duck fans’ reactions were almost unanimously…ecstatic. While I too was happy …
It was October 1, 1994. Oregon had just pulled off an improbable 22-7 upset of Mighty USC for their first win at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 23 years. While the team basked in the glow under the Los Angeles sunset, Senior Quarterback Danny O’Neil could only watch from back in Eugene as his team celebrated one of the …
Amidst all of the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the Oregon football program as far as who was staying, who was going, and are we really absolutely sure that they may be staying or going; the Oregon basketball team was making headlines of its own. Albeit overshadowed by the early departures to an extent, there was some remarkably good news …
Part 1 of 2: It was the evening of January 1, 2002. Oregon had just made history, completing a dream-come-true 11-1 record by winning the 2002 Fiesta Bowl in impressive fashion, knocking off heavily favored Colorado 38-16. Prior to the game, all media attention went the direction of Colorado. Many believed that Colorado belonged in the national title game more …
Ask anybody in the country today their impression of University of Oregon athletics, and three words will immediately be uttered: uniforms, Nike, facilities. Oregon’s facilities now are the envy of the country, even many pro teams don’t have the plush amenities that Oregon athletes appreciate today. It didn’t happen overnight though, and over the years of the University of Oregon’s …
Tempe, Arizona: Tuesday, January 1, 2002; A day Oregon fans would long remember. Their beloved Ducks were completing a very special year with an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, the Pac-10 Championship site. Oregon’s four Senior Captains Wes Mallard, Steve Smith, Justin Peelle, and Joey Harrington took midfield to greet and shake hands with Colorado’s captains. Colorado won the coin …
On New Years Day in 1890 the first Rose Parade was held in downtown Pasadena, CA; devised as a way to entice people from the east coast to purchase real estate in Southern California, an effort to convince those with deep pockets to escape the cold winter weather for sunny Southern California. “In New York, people are buried in snow, …
Win or lose the Rose Bowl on January 2, this year’s Oregon squad has already earned a special distinction: one of the 20 greatest seasons in the history of a team that has been playing football since 1894. After all, this year’s regular season produced only the Ducks’ fifth outright conference title (along with 1994, 2001, 2009 and 2010) and …