The Oregon football team has been slowly building a winning tradition through the past four years, and I’ve been a loser: Saturday’s game against Arizona will be my first time inside of Autzen Stadium, despite living in Eugene since June 1996.
The reason isn’t a lack of interest in football; I consider myself well-informed about the sport. OK, so my pathetic 12-16 record in the weekly Emerald Pac-10 picks column doesn’t exactly back up that claim.
No, the basis for my reluctance to watch the Ducks in person is more sinister: snobbery.
You see, I spent many years in Tallahassee, Fla., before heading west. Any sports fan with a hint of awareness knows what that means.
No, I didn’t get discounted clothing at the local department store a la former Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick. I did, however, regularly witness arguably the top football program in the country play some of the most momentous games of the past decade.
There was the legendary 1991 Southern soiree between FSU and the University of Miami, “Wide Right I.” FSU’s 17-16 loss — settled when place-kicker Gerry Thomas missed a 34-yard, last-second field goal — was also one of just 32 matchups since 1943 between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. FSU was the top-ranked team.
In 1994, the seventh-ranked Florida Gators came to Doak Campbell Stadium, took a 31-3 lead with 11 minutes to go in the game, then promptly gave up 28 unanswered points to FSU. The 31-31 tie is now carved in Florida’s collective memory as the “Choke in Doak.”
Two years later, and five years after “Wide Right I,” another No. 1 versus No. 2 game occurred at Doak. The top-dog Gators cruised into Tallahassee and left as a 24-21 roadkill victim to second-ranked FSU.
Rarely is a game played at Doak when at least one team — usually the home team — isn’t ranked in the top-five. If you dine on filet mignon for so many years, does it make sense to switch to cheeseburgers?
This year is different, however. The Ducks have risen to No. 7 in the land, quite a lofty spot and a tie for their highest-ever ranking in the polls. With the 21st-ranked Wildcats pussyfooting into town, now is as good a time as any to see if the atmosphere in Autzen can match the delirious nature of a big tilt in Doak.
(Yes, the scene at Doak can seem to be a rather offensive environment when fans perform the Tomahawk Chop. However, several Seminole Indian leaders in North Florida are proponents of allowing FSU to portray the Seminole tribe’s image as one of warriors, while others contend it perpetuates negative stereotypes.)
Controversy aside, the intensity of approximately 80,000 fans hollering and stomping their feet is a body-shaker. The tradition of FSU mascot Chief Osceola riding his horse Renegade to the field’s center and then hurling a burning spear into the ground just before kick-off has been called by many the most thrilling pre-game ceremony at any college football stadium.
Somehow, the idea of the Duck mascot getting a ride into Autzen on the back of a motorcycle doesn’t generate more than a smirk.
But I’m giving Saturday’s game a real chance to change my mind about Oregon football. I’m told the fans, all 43,000-plus, can create quite a bone-rattling ruckus. And this is a huge game with national implications.
The Ducks, with a win against Arizona, would increase the nation’s second-longest home winning streak to 19 games. A big victory could move the team even higher in the polls.
With a little luck this weekend, Oregon could surpass the sixth-ranked team in the country and the squad with the most consecutive home wins – 32 and counting.Yep, in both cases that would be Florida State.