This fall, the Oregon women’s volleyball team had a 10-19 record, failed to win more than two games in the Pacific-10 Conference and came about seven wins short of the NCAA Tournament.
But hey, the Ducks’ football squad went to the Holiday Bowl, where they mopped the grass with a traditional football school, Texas.
The Oregon men’s basketball team finished with a 14-14 record, sixth in the Pac-10, and missed a chance to return to March Madness after a miracle season in 1999-2000. They even missed out on the NIT, where they made the Final Four in 1999.
Hey, the Ducks went to the Holiday Bowl.
The Oregon women’s basketball team made the NCAA Tournament, barely, but lost in the first round. Toward the end of the season, turmoil engulfed the team when players expressed contempt for Coach Jody Runge. That turmoil still continues, as not all of the details of a report by an independent law firm have been released; the athletic department continues to withhold information about 31 NCAA violations uncovered by the law firm.
The Ducks went to a bowl game.
The Oregon women’s soccer team finished 4-15-1. The softball team went 28-40 overall, 1-20 in the Pac-10. The wrestling team failed to send any individuals to final NCAA Championships competition. The men’s and women’s golf and tennis teams all missed the NCAA Championships. The women’s track team finished 60th at the NCAA meet, which the Ducks hosted at Hayward Field.
Bowl game?
Some day, without a doubt, the Oregon athletic department will see the “trickle-down” effect from the football program. When Autzen Stadium is expanded, more revenue will flood the department, and more sports will receive more scholarships. More quality players will join UO teams, and the Ducks will be feared on all their playing fields, not just on the hostile new Autzen NeXturf.
Don’t get too excited, though, because you won’t be here to see it.
Go Ducks? While it’s easy to get drunk and cheer on the Oregon football team, that alcohol can’t drown the fact that every other team sport is suffering.
But hey, who cares how good other sports are, when your football team is ripping apart opponents? Who cares that the softball team always finds a way to lose, or that the women’s hoops squad is being torn open by controversy?
You should.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see the Duck volleyball team spike all over Stanford at Mac Court on a blustery fall day? Wouldn’t it be cool to see a soccer game that featured two top teams duking it out instead of one team piling the goals on the Ducks?
For now, all you can do is go cheer on the football team. Maybe, someday, your kids will be able to see a top-ranked Oregon wrestling team or a No. 2 men’s tennis squad.
Until then, there’s always the Holiday Bowl.