The Ducks have crossed this road before.
While fans call foul and bring up that dreaded season — the 7-6 skeletons of 2002 — there may be some hope behind those grey Oregon clouds.
The skid this season, possibly a celebration of the Michigan win that went three weeks too long, began early this year.
That should give the Ducks plenty of time to recover and ready themselves for at least the Civil War and the fans that will bandwagon back into Duckville.
One would think that with all the rain Oregon gets, the fair-weather fans would be washed down the road to California.
Two years ago — granted it was at the height of the Joey “Heisman” Harrington era — students lined up for eight-plus hours in the EMU to get their student ticket for the Civil War game. Some even camped outside Autzen Stadium the night before. Lines on ticket Mondays lasted from 45 minutes to two hours, even into the beginning of the 2002 season.
The 2003 Ducks?
Student tickets for Saturday’s Homecoming game against Stanford were available as late as the afternoon of Friday — almost five full days after they became available.
The bandwagon has left Eugene. It was on its way to Corvallis but had to change plans after Washington came to town. It is now traveling to Pullman, Wash., for the Cougars.
Oregon players and fans are coming out of a bye week. It’s the perfect time for the Ducks to hatch from their shell. Maybe fans will remember they have a real live team to cheer for in Eugene.
Then again, the Northern Illinois-Bowling Green game starts at the same time as the Duck game Saturday.
If the Ducks bring back Mandrake or the yellow jerseys that have mysteriously vanished from the field after being worn in the season-opening win against Mississippi State, maybe the fans will come back, too.
Of course, rumor has it that the new yellow jerseys bled in the washer, thus rendering them an unwearable and an unbearable “Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?” shade of yellow.
It’s sad to look out of the press box and across to a mostly-empty student section. There go the green-painted people leaving section seven. They’re following the entire senior class out of the stadium.
But hey, at least it never rains in Autzen Stadium, right?
Or is it that it never reigns in Autzen Stadium?
The Ducks may need an appearance from Mandrake to rid the curse that he left behind during the last Homecoming. Mandrake emerged from his egg at half time and thus began the 2002 six-game slide.
Is there anyone available who can locate Mandrake and have him reinsert himself into the egg? If it doesn’t do anything to help the football team, it might get a few extra fans into the stadium.
The field next to Autzen, where the football team practices, has seen a new motivation from the players since the bye week. They remember why they’re out on the field day in and day out — they love to play football.
Could it be that the slide was brought on by forgetting that one simple rule of playing a sport?
First and foremost, you must love the sport you play. Winning is a secondary happiness.
Now if only the fans could figure that one out, too.