Despite holding a “parade of champions” last year for the Oregon football team and other local success stories, the athletic department decided against hosting a parade again this year. Instead, the department has opted for a halftime presentation to show appreciation for the Rose Bowl victors.
“One of the major obstacles came to be the availability of the team and coaches,” assistant athletic director Dave Williford@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Dave+Williford@@ said. “The logistics of trying to find a time that was convenient for everyone was tough this year.”
Last year’s parade drew an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people, many of whom were University students. The parade cost approximately $30,000 and was paid for by the city, the University and various private donors.
Some Eugene citizens have expressed concern over the lack of a parade this year. Eugene Community Relations Director Jan Bohman@@http://www.eugene-or.gov/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=319&PageID=613@@ said she has seen some letters to the editor from citizens who are disappointed about the lack of celebration. Bohman said that the decision is ultimately not up to the city.
“We would be happy to partner with the University on a rally or some sort of thing, but it was not the city’s decision at all to have a parade or not,” Bohman said.
Duck fans can instead celebrate the football team at halftime of the Jan. 21 men’s basketball game against UCLA at the Matt Knight Arena. The trophies of both the Rose Bowl and Pac-12 Championship Game will be on display for fans to take pictures of. Williford pointed out that having both trophies available for fans to take pictures with is new this year and is one advantage of having this type of celebration instead of a parade.
“It is a misconception to think that the season is over, and it’s the busiest time of the year with recruiting and things like that going on,” he said. “Since the Rose Bowl, Chip Kelly has been in Eugene maybe five days.”
University sophomore Emily Shortreed@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Emily+Shortreed@@ is slightly disappointed with the lack of celebration but said she would not go to a basketball game simply for the football presentation.
“Even though we’ve been to the Rose Bowl, now we finally won and nobody is really celebrating it as much as they’d hoped,” she said. “Before the game started, there was not as much enthusiasm about the game as last year, so I think that kind of influenced the after-game party.”@@party-pooper@@