While the Ducks try to find their identity on the field during this bye week, Duck fans in the stands are struggling with their identity, too (when they are not struggling with each other).
This week, Steve Apel is our guest writer, blogger, contributor (his credentials are listed at the bottom of his piece) and chimes in on the plight of the Duck fan.
By Steve Apel
DSN Guest Contributor
The Duck fan. What comes to mind? Some might say passionate and supportive, while others might say drunk and uninformed. Regardless of the sentiment, they still suffer the same fate. Like an expected emptiness, you know it’s coming. The Ducks aren’t the Cubs nor the Clippers, but they are somewhere in between. They are at that level where greatness seems possible, yet like the rain in late fall, it all comes crashing down.
One thing that any Duck fan can attest to if they’ve followed the Men’s athletic programs for a number of years is never being completely surprised when they blow it. Even when things start to go bad, whether its at Mac Court or Autzen Stadium, you can feel the fans never being completely shocked by what they’re seeing (Colvin’s fumble at the goal line versus California and the 55-16 loss to WSU following beating #4 Michigan in 2003 come to mind). Then the “we’ve seen this before and it doesn’t get any easier” faces kick in. This frustration leads to the excessive alcohol consumption and cursing which perpetuate down from the crowd. Although the bar is so much higher than it was ten years ago, the years and years of finding ways to lose are so ingrained in the minds of the fans’ that it is never out of the realm of possibility to happen. The popular sentiment for the Duck fan is to blame exterior sources like the BCS or injuries on the failure to come through. It’s reality in the PAC-10 that unless you are a pre-season top 5 or USC, you aren’t going to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to BCS selection. Losing in 2001 at home to Stanford was inexcusable, and although our only regular season loss in 2005 came to USC, everyone (including the pollsters) knew we weren’t that good and validated that by the Pac 10’s annual “We should have been in the BCS, therefore we’ll lay a goose egg to an inferior team in the Holiday Bowl” loss to Oklahoma.
For the Duck fan, it is hard to feel if they couldn’t do it last year that it will never happen. USC was in a down year and the best team (LSU) had lost twice. Everything was aligned for the Ducks to finally breakthrough, yet when Dixon went down clutching his knee, so did the season. A cruel ending to what felt like years of justification finally coming. The one constant with this team over the years is they don’t exactly fight through adversity. Three of the last four years we’ve ended the regular season on a 3 game losing streak. It’s as if the players and coaches share in the collective “here we go again” groan. Each year there is a different reason for the collapse (injury, tough loss) but the uninspired play from then on is a given. It’s surprising how easily Mike Bellotti is able to get away with this. The fact that he is a more likeable character than other coaches (Kent, Ernie) gives him leeway, yet with the high expectations you’d think he’d have been held more accountable.
It’s an interesting parallel with our arch rivals up Highway 99, Oregon State. Since the start of the 2002 season, the Ducks are 46-29 and the Beavers are 47-29 (There is no way the average Oregon fan is aware of this stat, otherwise there might be some bodies floating in the McKenzie). It’s hard not to like a team that never has the same quality of players, yet you get the sense their desire to win is so much higher. Although they’ve begun to pour the money into the football program, they’re still light years away from UO territory. What has to agitate the Duck fan, especially in the last few years, is with the Ducks demise down the stretch and the Beavers seasonal rise. In their last 3 home games against USC, the Beavers have lost by 8 and won twice (all when big underdogs). The Ducks only win since the USC era begun was the 2007 game which we were favored (Booty was also out). The Duck players have been pampered too much (not their own doing) for a team that hasn’t accomplished its goal. Considering the money the UO spends, these number isn’t doing the Ducks any favors. At first glance one would think the Ducks have a much superior program, and in many ways they do. But the actual results don’t lie. The Beavers are blue collar, and the Ducks are the rich kids.
Amidst this all, it’s hard to feel bad for a program that prides itself on shameless promotions, and seems to be more worried about what they’re wearing than the actual game plan (as bad as the football uniforms have been, nothing beats the Men’s Basketball jerseys at UCLA last year when they looked like they were about to perform the opening number for a Broadway Musical). It’s difficult to blame the players and the coaches when the Marketing Department and Phil Knight’s endless supply of money is the real root of the problem. It’d be hard to imagine people around the country rooting for a school with these traits, so when we get “left out” it’s hard to say it wasn’t partly self-inflicted. Yet those same detractions also bring additions. Nicer facilities and superior talent go hand in hand, and the UO has definitely produced that. They are an above average program who can make a serious run at a top 5-10 ranking every couple years. They’ve even mixed in some run-ins with the law like all successful programs. All things considered, that’s probably as good as it was realistically ever get. We don’t have the sunny skies or the big city like other top-tier programs. Will that be okay for the UO and its fans? No, at least until this is realized. But being a possible contender is much better than what 80% of the other D1 schools have to contend with, so it really is something that every Duck fan should be grateful for (This is the same school that played in SI’s worst college football game, ever).
As the old adage says, championships aren’t bought, they’re earned. Regardless of the schedule, the injuries, heck even the jerseys, the Ducks will have to earn it on the field. They’ll get their chance (they do every year) which makes it that much more frustrating for the Duck fan.
Then what is it that prohibits the Ducks from achieving what they seem to be on the cusp of? Do the football Gods shun the Ducks for their on/off the field marketing? Justified karma? Or are they just unlucky? All options are possible, and plausible. The Duck fan will most likely get that answer in the next 5 years, when we find out if this program has reached its potential already, or if it still has that extra push to take it to a championship level. Regardless, Duck fans will still put on their green Oregon sweatshirt and fill out Autzen Stadium, hoping for that dream to come true. If there is one thing we know about the Ducks it’s that, good or bad, anything can happen. Nothing is impossible. If only Dixon hadn’t gotten hurt…
DSN: Steve, what are your credentials as a Duck fan?
Steve: Having lived in Eugene my whole life, I have been bumming seats off friends for the last 15 years, with 4 of those being in the student section while I attended the UO (I can still smell the smoke). My once-prized posessions were a signed Akili Smith football and a game worn glove from Patrick Johnson. I still think Mike Bellotti bailed on AJ Feeley too quick and my all time favorite Autzen Stadium memory was watching Reggie Bush zig zag all across the field. I like to think I have a very objective, unbiased view towards the Ducks, thus allowing me to never get too upset.
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