It’s been a couple of days now, and hopefully your BCS title game hangover has subsided.
Sure, it wasn’t the way any of us wanted to see the season end, but if the Ducks faltered, I think we can agree they did so with class.
I’m not going to take you back through the key plays of the game or my analysis of Kenny Rowe’s man-coverage defense. I don’t doubt you watched that night just as intently as I did from the press box.
But the defeat certainly left something to be desired; that much is clear.
Though when you do step back and remember what this season was all about (winning the day), the Ducks certainly achieved their goal. There was never a point where you would hear Chip Kelly, his staff or any player make more out of the week’s contest than what it really was — a football game.
The approach was always about getting better that particular day and stepping off the field better than when you arrived. There’s something to be said for Kelly’s distinctive coaching style, in that he prepares athletes for life beyond football. Only a select few will go on to make a profession of the sport. Kelly understands that; his players do, too.
As the second-year head coach stood at the entrance of the tunnel awaiting the arrival of the very last Oregon player after the game, I reflected back on a scene minutes before kickoff.
Oregon was working through offensive sets, staying loose and taking each handoff or reception to the end zone from 25 yards out. That’s where Kelly stood, waiting to say something to each of them.
For the second year in a row, “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas played through the stadium speakers.
I gotta feeling / that tonight’s gonna be a good night/ that tonight’s gonna be a good night/ that tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.
Freshman Josh Huff was the first to reach Kelly, and the two shared a great moment. The coach pulled his young star close and whispered something into his helmet as the two embraced each other.
I can only imagine what was said.
LaMichael James came next. Same moment shared, if not more upbeat than Huff. Kenjon Barner followed, and then senior Jeff Maehl made his way to the goal line. Each of their chats capped with a hug and a pat on the back.
As I stood on the sideline watching this unfold not 30 feet in front of me, I notice Kelly singing along with the chorus.
“Tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.”
He was calm, ready to win the night.
I vividly remember the same song playing at the Rose Bowl last season, and each time I hear it (no, I’m not a die-hard Black Eyed Peas fan) I get taken back to that day in Pasadena. That song and Oregon football will forever be intertwined in my mind, and Kelly further put his stamp on that memory.
Those little things not seen on camera are what made this season so special for me. The bond Oregon shared from top to bottom was very real, and not something to be taken advantage of. I saw this day in and day out for the past four months.
It never wavered, and I never second-guessed it. They were truly a team in every sense of the word. A family.
Being on the outside looking in, I can’t ever know just how far the connections went, but I never doubted their authenticity for a second. Kelly said it from day one last spring that this particular team had something special. He wasn’t talking about speed or athleticism, but rather the support for one another that isn’t always seen in college athletics.
I’d say we saw a little bit of it all in 2010, and for that I am beyond thankful. I suppose a young student-journalist like myself takes a strange sense of pride in the team’s successes on and off the field, as the time I’ve dedicated to providing quality coverage has certainly been a pleasure.
There were days of frustration and even a little panic, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Monday night’s loss made me appreciate everything the Oregon football team had done for so many weeks prior. So many days they won, and lives they touched along the way.
Mine included.
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