I have something growing on me, and I can’t get it off. I feel like I’m in the Matrix, and that silver stuff is crawling up my arm, just waiting to swallow me whole.
You see, I’m a baseball-basketball-football-hockey guy. I watch NHL 2Night and read the box scores every day. I like my sports organized, with a large dose of head-to-head competition.
So when I found out that I was covering the Oregon women’s track and field team this spring, my heart plunged down to my ankles. I was hoping for softball, spring football or even club ultimate frisbee, which would have been a more organized team, and therefore better in my opinion at the time.
But this “un-team” called Oregon track is growing on me.
If you could hear the immense pride that wells up in sprints coach Mark Stream’s voice when he talks about his athletes, it would grow on you, too. If you could see the mischievous little glint in head coach Tom Heinonen’s eye when one of his Ducks crushes her competition, it would grow on you.
There are many reasons to love the Oregon track and field team. There’s the Hayward Field atmosphere, which accommodates both the casual passer-by and the intense track guru. There’s the storied history, riddled with recognizable names such as Prefontaine, Bowerman and Dellinger.
There are the legendary meets. Last year’s Prefontaine Classic made Sports Illustrated and this May’s Classic will too. So will June’s USA Championships, and probably the May 30-June 2 NCAA Championships.
Then there are the athletes themselves. Most track stars are not groomed for the media. Many won’t sign any multi-million dollar deals in their careers. They run, jump and throw because they want to, period.
Just try and ask Oregon’s Niki Reed whether she’s looking forward to the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field after she became the first Duck to officially qualify for that meet. She’ll tell you she has “big plans.”
Chat with Mary Etter, who won the discus and shot put at the Washington Dual Saturday, and she’ll tell you her goal is to set a school record in one of those events this year.
Talk to long jumper Amanda Brown, and she’ll tell you she might jump 21 feet by the end of the season, which would be almost two feet past her current personal best.
Not that track athletes are egotistical, they just tell it like they see it. Sure, every basketball player would love to win March Madness. Every football player wants to get to the Rose Bowl, only they won’t tell you. They take things “one game at a time.”
Unfortunately, most of the student population doesn’t share my newfound enthusiasm for the track oval. I admit, until a few weeks ago I couldn’t tell a PR from a 100 from a high jump myself.
But, as I said, Hayward Field is just as inviting to the track knucklehead as the track genius. By simply watching Hanna Smedstad kick over the final 200 meters of the 1,500, or Jenny Brogdon clear 5-7 in the high jump, or the rhythmic clapping from the crowd as Amanda Brown takes off down the long-jump runway, you can partake in the Hayward tradition. Not to mention that the bleachers are a perfect place to work on that spring tan.
In a few months, even the average sports fan will know the names coming through Hayward. Marion Jones, Michael Johnson and others will compete in the Prefontaine Classic in late May. You don’t need to be a track nut to know those names.
Track is a drastically overlooked sport. Not by the community, which supports the tradition unconditionally, but by Oregon students. For those of you starving for sports in the spring, you might want to wander over to Hayward Field.
Give track a chance. It might just grow on you.