My enduring memory from the 2009 football season will be Kenjon Barner and the raw emotion he showed after Oregon lost the Rose Bowl.
When the confetti started spewing red and gray heavenward and the fireworks started exploding, Barner draped a towel over his head and slowly made his way off the field. He disappeared into the Oregon locker room, and emerged 10 minutes later with defensive end Kenny Rowe and head coach Chip Kelly. The trio was whisked away to the press-conference room and as I followed behind the golf cart they were riding in, Barner’s eyes were red and puffy from crying.
In the big media tent where the press conference was held, Barner sat next to Kelly, the bright lights illuminating the emotions clearly written on his face. I was sitting in the front row and I made eye contact a couple of times with the redshirt freshman.
His eyes showed just how much he had given that day on the sunny field of Pasadena and just how upset he was that the Ducks couldn’t beat the Buckeyes. He had just spent the last 10 months preparing for this moment and instead of roses clenched between his teeth and green and yellow confetti, he was left with a hollow feeling like there was something left to be done.
Over the course of the year, I have interviewed Barner numerous times, and every time I did, I came away thinking just how pleasant, nice and cool he was. He always smiles and answers questions with well-put-together thoughts. So to see him like that opened up a new side of his personality to the public and it reaffirmed why this team, and college sports in general, is so fun to watch.
When an athlete lets go with either pure joy or sadness in reaction to an outcome of a game, it pulls at your heartstrings because you know how hard they worked to get to that point. Days upon days of sweaty workouts during the summer months, followed by early mornings of weightlifting and practice during the season.
This passion is especially pronounced for college athletics because the athletes — although given scholarships to come to the university — aren’t paid to play the sport. Winning and losing to them is beyond the paycheck, it’s about the competition, and this year’s Ducks embody all of that.
Led by a fiery head coach, the Ducks played fast, scored bunches of points, and won the day for the most part. They made not only a whole city, but a large chunk of the state believe and hope a Rose Bowl victory would be brought to Oregon for the first time in decades.
Alas, it didn’t happen, but after the final moments of the game when fans sat silently looking on, they cheered for the Ducks as they trudged off the field. Making it to the Rose Bowl is a big accomplishment, and it just furthers the goals for this team next year. An absurd amount (19) of starters from the Jan. 1 lineup are returning, and Oregon’s sights are already set on another trip to Pasadena or even to a more lofty bowl game.
With making it to a BCS bowl game, there are certain expectations. The Ducks will be favored in every game they play next year (although Kelly won’t tell you that) and they will not be afforded chances to slip up. Fans are expecting this level of success every year now.
But with players as passionate as Barner all over the roster, the Ducks will be fine. He wasn’t the only one to shed some tears after the loss — every player dealt with it in his own way. Barner’s moment on the podium was just the most memorable, because he was the most open I’ve ever seen him. He spoke of the future and how this year was a good learning experience for next year, and he fully expected the Ducks to be back next year.
Losing tends to do that to a person. It makes them want what they didn’t achieve that much more. I wouldn’t put it past Oregon to achieve their early goals for the 2010 season, and I look forward to watching them try.
So thanks, Kenjon, for showing me again what true passion in sports looks like.
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