There are certain days during certain times of the year when life can get no better in the mind of the sports fan.
For those who enjoy collegiate sports, one of those days happened recently. May 1, otherwise known as the first day of the month and a beautiful — no, gorgeous — Saturday in Eugene, was just one of those days.
Oregon athletics put on its best show when the Ducks football team participated in the annual spring game, softball took on Washington and track and field hosted the Oregon Twilight.
Attending all or parts of each three events makes one wonder.
Let’s see what’s ticking through the mind of a fan who attended all three events.

Football
There is no easy way to put this. The Oregon offense just stunk. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it.
If any members of the Oklahoma defense were to watch a tape of the game, there would be laughs audible all the way from Norman to Miami.
Of course, any Sooner who does will need a quick wake up. It’s the spring game, and anyone who believes the spring game is any kind of indication of what could happen once the real season starts needs a fast reality check.
Example: Arizona. The Wildcats were said to have a somewhat successful spring, the first under head coach Mike Stoops. They’re rejuvenated, most will say, playing with a renewed passion and ready to improve upon a 2-10 2003 record.
Of course they are.
Because they participated in
scrimmages at the time of year when not much is revealed about the team. Leading rushers are worth next to nothing and aside from a few small position battles with every team, very little is concrete come May.
But there are those who believe the spring is worth far more than it is, and to those souls, I say good luck.
Because you’ve got four months before anything real happens again. Enjoy plotting out the expected two-deep from here on out.

Softball
So Oregon played hated foe Washington on Saturday, in a game that started quickly after the end of the football game so that spectators could speed on over.
I say, good call. With the Ducks winning their ninth game of the season against the Huskies on Saturday, Eugene has a market for the softball team. They’re winning, and they’re doing it with flair.
But take heed. Caution any tales of the Softball World Series.
There’s still time in this season. Besides, great teams in the regular season don’t always equate to success in the postseason.
A couple of years ago, California was nowhere near the top of the Pacific-10 Conference standings. So what did the Golden Bears go out and do?
Drive their way to the national title. They upset teams, played with emotion and made believers out of softball fans.
So while the Ducks are on a roll, at least compared to years past, don’t get ahead of yourself. In college softball, the postseason is a long and winding road.
But hey, when it’s 80 degrees outside, there are not many better places to be in Eugene.

Track and field
Fans of the sport will have to wait more than a month before the next meet comes to Hayward Field.
That’s because the Oregon Twilight ended the Ducks’ season at their home facility Saturday, and the Prefontaine Classic is in mid-June this year, three weeks later than it has been in recent years.
For those who missed the twilight, too bad. Entered in the meet were two of the better pole vaulters the University has seen in recent years.
Duck freshman Tommy Skipper is something to see. He has some serious talent and could be Olympic-bound, if everything goes right.
Then there’s former Oregon star Becky Holliday, who won an NCAA outdoor championship last year.
Now she’s competing for New Balance, also hoping to head to the Athens Olympics in August. She’s the female version of Skipper and there’s no reason to think she won’t peak later in the year when things really start to heat up.
Holliday won the women’s pole vault at the twilight, a good start for the former Duck who represented a nice addition to the meet.