Granted, this aint no "Star Spangled Banner" we're singing here, but we should certainly be treating it as such. And by "we" ,I mean we Oregonians.
The success of U of O football this season has made them competitiors on the national level. Everywhere you go, and everything you watch, they're there. Aside from all the national exposure , and from the mere fact that U of O is now the team to beat in all college football throughout the country, this is something Oregonians have waited for, for a very long time. Yes, U of O is quickly becoming a household name throughout the country. And yes, I'm sure people everywhere feel they know all about the Ducks now. And maybe to some degree they do, but not the way we do.
Now before I get too ahead of myself, let me clear the air on what I mean by "Oregonians". The term means ALL people who grew up and/or are living in Oregon. That being said, this obviously includes OSU fans as well. Although there is a deep, cold-blooded (so bloody, we call it "The Civil War") rivalry between the two universities, this is truly a victory for everyone. Oregon football (UofO & OSU) has always been heard, but not really seen. Obviously, schools have had on and off success in football since the schools' inceptions. Even so, neither school has really gone to the top and stayed there. Because of this, Oregon football, as a whole, has contantly been looked over. Even as OSU and UofO made bowl games, nobody really gave them a fighting chance in comparison to other teams in the nation.
U of O even made it to the Rose Bowl last year, having finished a very promising regular season, only to get dismantled by Ohio State. Now while the score didn't look all that terrible, you could see the obvious differences in overall competitiveness. Nonetheless, it was a step up from the typical M.O. of the Ducks. It's fair to speculate, at this point, that this recent success be attributed to the promotion of Head coach Chip Kelly.
Originally the offensive coordinator for the team, He became head coach when Mike Bellotti stepped down on March 30th, 2009. As much as the nation has quickly come to know the football team, they've quickly come to know this team's coach as well. Vocal. Passionate. Disciplined. This man knows what he wants, and he knows how he wants it. As a team that, in the past, would have almost fallen through the cracks by the end of the season, is now in charge of their own destiny. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages in having Kelly as the coach of this young team, is that he believes in playing "your game". Living and dying by the motto "Win the Day"; it's a reminder to all players and coaches to never forget what YOU learned, never forget how YOU play, and never forget YOUR style.
The idea of keeping a grip on your own style, is especially crucial in the Ducks' case. For example, I'm sure evryone has seen those call signs on the sideline with all kinds of random pictures plastered on it. Very confusing, and extremely frustrating for other teams to see and de-code, it's a simple stint of U of O's style. Most noteably, you've probably heard every single opposing team talk about "slowing this team down". These Ducks play fast, and they move very, very quickly. This is partly to throw teams off-guard, and partly to just make them really tired really fast.
Details aside, the University of Oregon is officially ranked #1 in the BCS.
.....
Let me repeat that: the University of Oregon is officially ranked #1 in the BCS.
It's been a long time since any of us Oregonian's have been able to hear those words for either of our football teams. I don't want anyone to jump on any badnwagon at all, because I think we've all been watching enough of that from the rest of the nation to be honest. All I'm saying is whether you're OSU Beaver fan, PSU Vikings fan, U of O Ducks fan, or a fan of "could care less either way", this time, this moment, is a victory for not just one school, but for one entire state.
Most of you know that I am a Ducks fan, so there's on obvious bias. Knowing that, you might be saying "It's easy for you to say Harguth, you already like the Ducks!". Point taken, however irrelevent. As a Duck fan, I can honestly say that I can appreciate what every other football team has done in this state. Admittedly, I was watching when OSU was hitting it big in the past couple years. You'd have to be kind of stupid to not be watching Jacquizz Rodgers. Mike Riley is an extremely underrated coach, and have the utmost respect for that man's coaching philosophies.
The point is, I have biases, you have biases, we all have biases. Especially when it comes to our sports teams, this is understandably very tough to get past. But the reality is that at the end of the day, it's football, and it's Oregon's football. This is a special treat for all of us to winess, and it's in our best interest to relish in it while it's here. As proud as weare of our Oregon football teams, we can all admit that this doesn't happen very often. When was the last time you heard ESPN actually highlighting an Oregon footbal team? So today I submit a temporary truse to all Oregon football team fans. This is now bigger than any Civil War game or any other bug matchup we may have had.
You say "Go Vikings!"
Dude across the way says "Go Beavers!"
Some random over there says "Go Bruins!"
Another guy says "Go Ducks!"
...I say "Go Oregon!"
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