As I watched the Orange Bowl on Monday night, ESPN aired its latest promotion for the BCS National Championship.
“One week from tonight,” Mike Tirico said. “No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Oregon.”
It was at this point that it really sunk in. No, not that Oregon is playing for a national championship. Believe it or not, I was fully aware of that.
What really struck me during this promotion was that in one week, it will all be over. Win or lose, the Oregon football season ends on Monday night.
It is hard to fathom, really. In a literal sense, of course, the season has been much longer than usual. Rather than playing on New Year’s Day or earlier, Oregon is playing in the very last game of the college football season.
Yet, all of that aside, this season was such a joyride that it felt like it might never end. Now, with less than a week remaining, it really is time to ponder the finish line.
It’s a depressing thought.
When the lights go out at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Monday night, basketball will be all we have to get us through a barren winter. “Barren,” of course, being the key word.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball squads are in a period of transition. Under the newly installed leadership of Dana Altman, the men have shown some promise, but clearly will struggle to avoid a last place finish in the Pac-10 Conference. The women, meanwhile, are still trying to find their rhythm without the steady hands of Taylor Lilley and Micaela Cocks.
Really, the only thing to look forward to at this point is the opening of Matthew Knight Arena on Jan. 13 against USC. There will be some genuine intrigue surrounding that game, and with good reason. Everyone wants to see what Phil Knight’s latest creation has to offer. (Plus, for us media folk, the idea of seating that isn’t designed for elves is a definite plus.)
But after that, boy, we’re headed into rough waters. It’s difficult to imagine the men winning more than a handful of Pac-10 games, and a new arena can’t do anything to make this team more watchable.
To be fair, I think Altman has this team headed in the right direction, and the Ducks are certainly playing hard. It’s just going to take at least another year before this team is competitive again. I hope I’m wrong, but having watched this team fairly closely, that seems unlikely.
We’ve all become a bit spoiled by the football team’s success. Before all of this, I could have handled the winter sports season without any trouble. I’ve never become accustomed to winning on such a consistent basis.
Now? We’ve all tasted the really good stuff. It’s kind of like having a finely cooked gourmet burger, and then trying to go back to McDonalds. It’s painful, both for the heart and the stomach.
Quite simply, I’m going to miss the feeling I got on game days. It was some crazy combination of nervousness, excitement, elation and pride. I’ll miss the chill that ran down my spine whenever LaMichael James broke a long run, or Cliff Harris turned nothing into something on a punt return.
It’s not every day that you get to follow such a dominant team. Oregon fans know this as well as anyone.
My advice? Soak it all in, every day until next Tuesday. This is about as high as any school can get in the world of collegiate sports. We are, quite frankly, headed off a cliff as soon as the football season ends.
Is it spring yet?
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When Ducks leave the desert, prepare for a long winter
Daily Emerald
January 3, 2011
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