Can you smell that?
That sweet, spicy scent of pumpkin-spice lattes recently returning to coffee shops’ menus?
That moist, stale smell of thousands of sweaty (or alternately, damp) bodies in Autzen Stadium on Saturdays?
That biting stench of old vomit that stumbling freshmen leave in their wake upon their return to the dorms?
It’s here — the most glorious time of the year: fall term.
Yeah, yeah, summer vacation just ended and the majority of students are probably reluctant to return to the grind of full-time school. But really, there’s no better quarter of the year than autumn@@While I like the word autumn, it seems out of synch with the rest of the “fall” usage in the column. I did, however, place it in the Excerpt@@.
Football, of course, is a big part of it. The walk to Autzen Stadium is a rite of passage for every Duck fan, and in the past few years we’ve been positively spoiled with a top-tier team and edge-of-your-seat action. Nothing can beat the rush of cheering our team with 60,000 other fans. But there’s another fall team at Oregon this year that may be just as exciting: volleyball.
Most people don’t realize that Oregon volleyball pulled off a pretty incredible upset this August against then-No. 1 Penn State, the four-time defending national champions who were riding a 94-match home winning streak. 94 matches! These Ducks now sit atop the Pac-12 — a notoriously tough volleyball conference — with a 4-0 record. So head over to Matthew Knight Arena one of these Thursdays or Saturdays and cheer on a team that’s been making a name for itself.
It’s true: Some of those Autzen Stadium walks may be pretty rainy, but that rain is another reason fall term is so great. What’s better than curling up on the couch with a bad reality show and a cup of tea (or a glass of wine or a beer), with the soft pitter-patter of rain on your window? Better yet, fall term brings the (ever-so-slight) chance of snow! How hilarious is it to watch all the California kids blowing up Facebook with “OMG SNOW!!!” statuses and freezing their asses off making snow angels? OK, full disclosure: I’m a native Oregonian and I do that, too. And I hate to admit this, but I get a secret kick out of seeing hipsters on fixies falling on their face on the ice that covers East 13th Avenue.
Plus, during fall term, you’re finally reunited with all the far-flung friends that you haven’t seen all summer, and that means parties galore. Face it, fall term parties tend to be some of the best all year: The post-football-game victory parties happening just about every weekend; Halloweekend and all the sluttiness and debauchery that goes with it; cool, new theme parties that haven’t been done to death already. @@“Plus” already used in this paragraph, so I deleted it@@Sometimes the weather cooperates enough that you can arrive to the party with the same hairstyle you left your house with, instead of some stringy wet mess.
And just think of all the food associated with this time of the year: hot dogs and pretzels at football games, candy corn and caramels for Halloween, the majesty that is the Thanksgiving table and the myriad dishes related to all the December holidays. There’s so much to celebrate — and eat — during this time of the year.
So freshmen, embrace your first-ever fall term at Oregon; seniors, relish every moment of your last. Winter term — and all the crap that comes with it — is right around the corner.