Originally published on CampusAttic.com on November 28th, 2013
It’s
time for the Oregon program and its fans to look in the mirror and reflect on
where it all went wrong…It’s not a reaction to last weekend’s loss, or the
overreactions that have plagued the general dialogue in the time since the
42-16 defeat in Tucson, or that Oregon has dropped two out of the last three
amidst a metaphorical ocean of despair of the expected trophies (both team and
individual) that seemed so close, it’s the whole overall attitude.
This
year, Oregon lost its way. Not just the coaches and players, the fans too,
everybody forgot what Win The Day meant. If karma exists, this is what it looks
like.
WHERE IT ALL WENT
WRONG
Oregon’s
success over the past seven years has been an unprecedented run in school
history, it has been one of the greatest streaks not just in Oregon’s storied
past, but in all of NCAA history. Four straight years Oregon has played in a
BCS bowl game, during which time only Alabama has won more games than Oregon.
The myth of Oregon, propped up by the media and Nike hype not only led to
victories, but a general national fear of Oregon, a program that seemed invincible,
that quite literally runs teams off the field through their tempo, destined to
be national champions sooner rather than later.
 |
| Nothing symbolized the anti-WTD look-ahead attitude in 2013 better than the “We Want Bama” shirts being sold by mid-season. |
The
team was so consistently good that it no longer became good enough to simply
win the game, anything less than a blowout was cause for complaint…something
was somehow wrong when the team was ONLY winning by 30. If a game wasn’t a
blowout, it was deemed a negative against the almighty Ducks.
When
professional expectations are placed on amateur athletics, disappointment
inevitably follows. All of this was supposed to be prevented, through a
philosophy that everyone bought in from the get-go, the idea of “Win The Day.”
The concept was simple, focus on the here and now, what can be done today to
improve, don’t look ahead beyond the tasks at hand. While WTD adorns shirts on
fans and plaques around Autzen, this seemingly basic idea was completely lost in
2013. It was supposed to be Win The Day to Win The Game, but everybody forgot
the philosophy, looked ahead, lost focus.
This
was a year where Win The Day was replaced with BCS or Bust, where expectations
were national championship or nothing. Players expressed disinterest in playing
in a bowl after just one loss, fans printed and sold “We Want Bama” shirts by
mid-season, coaches remained stubborn in scheme and calls when things went
wrong, students left games by halftime, and amidst statistically the greatest
individual season for any quarterback in school history and one of the best in
NCAA history all we heard were complaints nitpicking the lack of 100%
perfection throughout…all of this goes against everything that Win The Day was
supposed to stand for, but we forgot.
Perfection
is hard, nary impossible. Every team should be hopeful to win each game
obviously, but the reality is that it takes not only superior talent but
incredible luck to achieve this rare feat. If the standard of a successful year
is nothing short of a BCS National Championship, then every single year 124 FBS
teams would consider the season a failure. This is a ridiculous notion, the
wrong attitude to carry, failing to encapsulate the Win The Day philosophy.
Simply
put, Oregon got too full of itself. Everyone. Following the loss to Stanford,
some fans checked out…until USC brought Oregon back into the BCS fold. The jump
off jump on jump off the bandwagon process over the past three weeks must be
making some people dizzy at this point. The mystique was gone from the program.
Oregon can’t run, they can’t block, they can’t run defend, they can’t convert
in the red zone (and what’s with all the fade pattern calls on 4th &
goal???), no Heisman trophy, no BCS title. There is no singular moment, no
specific incident, no one individual. Everybody failed this year in their
role–be it player, coach, or fan.
Crazy
to think that there could be so many bad vibes in a year where there is still a
very realistic potential for another 10-win season, yet there has been way too
much criticism and negativity, bad attitudes, people looking beyond that day,
beyond the next game. With Oregon eliminated from BCS contention, the question
that has been asked this week is, “what’s left to play for?”
SO…WHAT’S LEFT TO
PLAY FOR?
Here’s
where the negativity of this column ends, because it is time to remind
ourselves of the joy of college football as amateur athletics, the beauty of
college rivalries, the fun of games. Teams win, teams lose, that’s the roller
coaster that makes it fun. It’s obviously a game with great investment of time,
effort, pain, emotion, and a whole lot of money…but it is just a game, one
played by amateurs. Kids.
 |
| 1940 UO students parade the Oregon State goalposts in triumph around Mac Court. (courtesy: University of Oregon Knight LIbrary Special Collections) |
There
is something special about college rivalries. Talk to anyone who has reached
the professional echelons, and the consensus is the pros just don’t compare to
the college gameday experience. There is nothing like a fall Saturday between
two rivals — the history, the tradition, the bitterness between opposing fans,
the ambiance, the bad blood from last year’s game. Nothing compares.
The
best part of a rivalry — it doesn’t matter what the records are of either team,
whether undefeated or winless, teams come out with something extra when rivalry
week approaches. There is cause for intensity and celebration, it’s rivalry
week, that should be all that is needed to answer the question of “what’s left
to play for?”
And
the Civil War isn’t just any rivalry, it’s the 7th oldest in the country, the
longest-running rivalry west of the Mississippi. It’s rich with big games, odd
incidents, bad weather, and great moments; everything that encompasses what a
true college rivalry is about. The two colleges are geographically close, but
culturally on opposite spectrums, the rivalry splits friends and families, and
everyone must pick their side. It brings out the best, and sometimes the worst,
in people, all in the name of an identity, a culture–are you a Duck or a
Beaver?
The
beauty of a real rivalry is that the record doesn’t matter. So what if Oregon
is out of the BCS conversation and Heisman talk, that’s over, quit moping. It’s
Civil War week, there should be nothing better than putting the Beavers in
their place. Refocus on winning the day, because after five straight years of
losses there is nothing more that Oregon State would like than to knock off the
Ducks.
 |
| In 1957 UO students kidnapped the Oregon State homecoming queen by posing as reporters. (courtesy: University of Oregon Knight LIbrary Special Collections) |
There
should be no greater motivation needed to get pumped for Friday’s game than two
words: Civil War. The series began in 1894, and in the time since only five
years has there been no game (1900, 1901, 1911, 1943, 1944). Those two words,
Civil War, should draw both smiles and anger simultaneously. It should be
fueling the competitive juices within. It should be embedded in the DNA of
every Oregon resident, student, and alumnus. Its history should be studied, and
revenge exacted for the wrongs done by the others all in the name of
competition. Events such as the Fog Bowl, the Toilet Bowl, the Basement Bowl,
Dino Philyaw’s TD, 65-38, and Masoli’s 4th down trucking all quick to be
recited at tailgates. It is everything that makes college football great.
So
there’s no national title this year in the cards for Oregon…so what? Why must
it be all or nothing? This year should be a reminder to stay grounded to
realistic expectations, not let visions of grandeur blind people from focusing
on Winning The Day, and to enjoy the great ups and downs that the game brings.
Win some, lose some, but always cheer for the Ducks, especially on Civil War
week.
Even the mascots take the Civil War rivalry seriously…
A CIVIL WAR HISTORY
LESSON
With
almost 120 years of history behind the series, there are stories to tell too
numerous to count. Sometimes the action before or after the game was more
compelling than the action on the field, driving the bitterness of the rivalry
further.
Let’s take a look at some of the great incidents in the history of the Civil
War every fan should know that define the rivalry:
1896
– It wasn’t the first game, but the start of the bad blood. A questionable call
by a referee led to punches thrown, an Oregon Agricultural College (now OSU)
player swinging wildly at the ref who ruled a fumble being recovered by Oregon
at the goal line.
1910
– Oregon defeats Oregon Agricultural College. Angry Corvallis resident start a
riot in retaliation, chasing Oregon fans all the way back to the train station.
Because of the incident no game is played in 1911, deemed too dangerous for the
teams and spectators. The 1912 game would be played on a neutral site in
Albany, with added police protection.
1913
– The game is again played on a neutral site in Albany, ending in a 10-10 tie.
The folks in Corvallis treat it like a win, canceling classes the next day and
holding a parade. It wouldn’t be the last time Oregon State celebrated after a
tie game.
1927
– Following an Oregon State victory at Hayward Field, several Oregon State
students try to celebrate by tearing down Oregon’s goalposts. They are
unsuccessful in doing so, after fights break out on the field, but a decade
later similar circumstances would turn out differently.
1934
– In a game being played at Multnomah Stadium in Portland, a fight breaks out
in the 2nd quarter between the two teams.
1937
– Before the game the Oregon student body and university pool resources to have
new turf installed at Hayward Field, which is subsequently vandalized with
“OSC” burned into the grass. Oregon State’s victory leads to another attempt to
tear down the Hayward Field goalposts just like a decade earlier, this time
with success after extensive fighting on the field. Two days later, hundreds of
Oregon State fans decide to further rub in the victory, driving down from
Corvallis to parade around campus. When many stop for lunch in downtown Eugene,
the diner is soon surrounded by angry UO students, leading to a full-scale riot in Eugene.
Captured Beavers are thrown in the Millrace and forced to paint the O on
Skinner’s Butte before being sent home via police escort.
1940
– A celebratory postgame dance is held in Mac Court after Oregon’s victory in
Corvallis, where members of Beta Theta Pi arrive carrying one of Oregon State’s
goalposts, parading the spoils of war around the arena. The next day several
students returned to Corvallis to capture the remaining goalpost, but are
arrested in the act.
1946
– Oregon State students capture the University of Oregon’s beloved live duck
mascot, “Puddles.” Puddles is held hostage in the Oregon State section for most
of the game before eventually being returned unharmed.
1954
– A group of about 50 Oregon students made the trip up to Corvallis during
OSU’s homecoming, and in the middle of the night prematurely ignited the Beaver
bonfire. Some of the UO students were captured, had their heads shaved, and
painted orange and black. One famously was forcefully paraded through OSU’s
campus wearing a sign that read “I’m a Dumb Duck.”
1956
– During a national TV broadcast from Corvallis, Oregon State’s All-American
Earnel Durden is ejected from the game for throwing punches. With Durden out,
Oregon makes a late comeback, tying the game 14-14.
1957
– Oregon students pose as reporters during OSU’s homecoming, approach the homecoming
royal court for a photograph and interview, and promptly kidnap the homecoming
queen and the other members of the court. A ransom note was received by OSU
student body president Dick Seideman shortly thereafter demanding that he ride
to the corner of 13th & University at the UO campus on a kid’s scooter and
make a public appeal for the return of the homecoming queen. The Homecoming
Queen was returned unharmed after an overnight stay at a parent’s house,
without OSU’s student body president having to ride a child’s scooter to
Eugene.
1965
– Immediately following the 19-14 Oregon State victory, a fight breaks out
among players that expands to including fans from the grandstands. The fight
ends when the University of Oregon marching band plays “The Star Spangled
Banner.”
1969
– In one of the strangest endings to a football game, a potential game-winning
field goal by Oregon State is blocked, but bounces off of a referee, causing it
to then touch an Oregon player, and is recovered by Oregon State for a first
down. The follow-up field goal attempt is good, resulting in a 10-7 Beaver
victory.
1972
– In a reverse of roles of the 1937 riot, in the final moments of the 1972
Civil War game in Corvallis, Oregon students storm the field and attempt to
tear down the south goal post. When the Duck crowd then try to go after the
north end goal post they are met at midfield by a large contingent of OSU
students, sparking a postgame brawl on the field.
1978
– A blatant blow to the head of Oregon State’s quarterback in the first quarter
draws a flag and leaves the Beaver play-caller woozy, who then proceeds to
throw three interceptions before getting benched. Ducks win 24-3.
1983
– The last 0-0 tie in NCAA history is a miserable day for both teams, the cold
weather contributing to the futility of on-field play. When all done, both
teams have accounted for 11 fumbles, 5 interceptions, and 4 missed field goals.
At the end of the game, Oregon State players carry their coach off the field on
their shoulders in celebration.
2000
– The rivalry in the stands leads to bitterness among the mascots, as a fist
fight breaks out between Benny Beaver and the Oregon Duck during the game. Both
mascots are ejected.
2010
– Duck fans storm the field in Corvallis after Oregon’s victory, sending the UO
to the BCS national championship for the first time in school history. During
the celebration, a fan sets an OSU shirt on fire, damaging the field.
 |
| Recap of the 1937 Civil War riot. (courtesy: University of Oregon Knight Library Special Collections) |
No comments:
Post a Comment