The beauty of college football is that every game is important. For teams like Alabama and Oregon that have national title aspirations, a single sloppy game that results in a loss could all but ensure that these goals will not be met. While this need for perfection can be frustrating at times, it ensures that every game is special.
That being said, some games just have more of a special feel than others. Nobody in the Alabama program would deny that it’s a big deal when instate rival Auburn comes into Tuscaloosa, Ala. For the Oregon Ducks and their fans, that time is upon us: the University of Washington Huskies will be making their pilgrimage to Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
It’s no secret that historically there has been no love lost between the two teams, dating back to 1948 when the Dawgs single-handedly ousted the Ducks from a Rose Bowl berth by convincing the University of Montana to not vote the Ducks into the game.
While Washington leads the all-time series 58-41 with five ties thrown in, Oregon has been quite dominant as of late winning, 13 of 17 and the past eight in a row.
With that, and in the spirit of rivalry, lets take a look at what the world was like the last time UW beat UO on November 1, 2003:
— George W. Bush was the country’s president and wasn’t even two years into his first term.
— “Baby Boy” by Beyonce was the No. 1 song on the Billboard Top 40.
— Saddam Hussein would not be captured by U.S. forces for more than another month.
— Apple launched the iTunes Store only seven months previous.
— Oregon still had not won a Rose Bowl since 1917.
— “The Matrix Revolutions” was the top-grossing film followed closely by “Elf.”
— Less than a month earlier, the infamous Steve Bartman incident occurred at Wrigley Field preventing the Chicago Cubs from advancing to the World Series.
— A freshman named Carmelo Anthony averaged 22 points per game and helped lead the Syracuse Orangemen to an NCAA basketball championship.
— Super Bowl XXXVII was won by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21. @@http://www.buccaneers.com/team/staff/malcolm-glazer/e3af395c-e3b9-4ca4-a8ce-bf17241b2361@@Brad Johnson threw for 215 yards and Dexter Jackson recorded two interceptions and was named the game’s MVP.@@http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/records/superbowls/player/ints@@
— Arnold Schwarzenegger had recently been elected governor of California after ousting former governor Gray Davis in a recall vote.
— American Idol was in the process of its second season. They’re now about to start season 12.
— Norah Jones won five Grammys including “Best New Artist.”@@true@@
— The Best Male and Female Athlete ESPY Awards were awarded to Lance Armstrong and Serena Williams respectively.@@http://www.hickoksports.com/history/espyawrd.shtml@@
— The Boston Red Sox had still not won a World Series since 1918.
As we can see, the world has changed quite a bit; the Sox have won two World Series since then and South Korean rapper PSY and his song “Gangnam Style” have recently captivated the world. Oh, and the Ducks snagged a Rose Bowl in January by beating Russell Wilson and the Wisconsin Badgers. @@http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/wilson_russell00.html@@Through all the change our world has seen, one thing has remained constant: the University of Washington Huskies have not beaten the Ducks.
As much as people enjoy change, I do prefer some consistency in my life — especially when it comes to Oregon vs. UW.