Look for a symbol of Oregon’s success on the University campus.
Go ahead, I dare you. I bet you won’t find it. And you won’t find it because it can’t be found.
It can’t be found on the field of Autzen Stadium or on the hardwood floors of McArthur Court. It’s not the new thunder and green uniforms the Ducks are wearing (OK, so green and yellow). And you won’t even find it in the Casanova Center.
Oregon’s symbol of success doesn’t even have a physical foundation yet.
The Ducks’ greatest symbol of the steps the program has taken is the unbuilt arena, which will replace one of the oldest gymnasiums in the nation.
Honestly, five years ago, who would have thought McArthur Court would ever be replaced?
Duck basketball hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament plateau in consecutive seasons since most of our parents were in elementary school. Duck football had seen some successful seasons, but were still close enough to the lean years to know that success was still just a smoke screen.
But now Oregon is in the mainstream, a power player in the grand scheme of Division I athletics. And since college sports have an ever-growing appeal to advertisers, television executives and just about anybody that breathes in this nation, the Ducks are up there.
So that’s why the proposed $90 million to $130 million arena is a symbol of success, a true reflection of Oregon’s desire to remain above the have-nots of collegiate sports.
Athletic Director Bill Moos has taken the Ducks to the next step since his appointment in 1995, sparing no expense to make Oregon a household name. Who can forget the Joey Harrington billboard, or the subsequent one in Los Angeles, seemingly taunting USC and UCLA?
This is just the next step. A way to prove to everyone else that the Ducks are serious.
The new arena is a symbol of everything that has been going right with Oregon athletics in the past five seasons.
When California remodeled its fabled facility, fans piled in like there was no tomorrow, recruits began using the Golden Bears as a stepping stone and the program didn’t have to use former Cal star Jason Kidd as a prime selling tool.
Maryland just moved into a new place, and while they didn’t win the national championship again, the Terrapins will now be in the forefront for years to come.
Now imagine Oregon in that scenario. The Ducks sell out a majority of their games and ride the fan enthusiasm all the way to the NCAA Tournament.
And unlike a few years ago, that might not be a fluke.
Duck basketball will reap the benefits of years of success, first started by football, and now being passed on to their own. What the Oregon fans have seen is an unprecedented string of years where the Ducks have been competitive in football and basketball.
Even other programs have begun to show signs of life, making a believer of even the most pessimistic of fans.
The hard part now comes with complacency. When all is said and done, Oregon will have two first-class facilities: Autzen and the new Mac.
How the players and coaches treat the situation will be of utmost importance. Will the memories of McArthur Court and the pre-remodeled Autzen Stadium be deep in their minds?
And even now, with the new arena on the horizon, can the two programs keep the excitement coming. Can Oregon football shed off last year’s middling 7-6 season like a bad cold, or will it fall prey to Nebraska syndrome?
Can Duck basketball forgive and forget Luke Ridnour, take its run-and-gun offense all the way to the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament, then the NCAA version?
Chances are both teams will prove that last year was more a fluke than anything else, but with Oregon’s greatest symbol of success close to fruition, keeping the sense of pride to which the University has grown accustomed will be vital.
It is important to keep rolling like the past five years so that the new arena will have a fan base comparable to the number of its seats. If there are 15,000 seats at the new Mac, then there should be 15,000 people at the game.
If there’s less than that, it will cheapen the value of the team’s success. There’s nothing worse than building a state-of-the-art facility that fails to be sold out.
Autzen’s expansion went well despite the season of discontent. The blueprints are in place for attracting fans in droves.
But regardless of what the Oregon programs do in the Casanova Center, winning is the thing that will keep the success and the fans coming out like never before.
If that doesn’t keep happening, the symbol of success goes down the hill.
It would be hard to see what $130 million would look like then.