Like a lot of guys, I've always LOVED New Years Day. No, it's not that I'm excited about having to buy new calendars, nor that I'm all atwitter about having a day to work off the New Years Eve hangover. I've been dealing with the flu for the past few days, so last night I was in bed at 10pm. Party on, indeed....
No, like most guys worthy of the appellation, I love New Years Day for the wall-to-wall football. There have been years when my football-watching has begun at 8am PT and continued on long into the night virtually uninterrupted. As I've gotten on in years, I've become less interested in watching game after game after game. There are fewer games I truly care about and am therefore willing to devote three hours of my life to. Today, though, there's very definitely a game you couldn't tear me away from unless my apartment was burning down around me...and even then I'd wait for a break in the action. The Rose Bow has been on my radar (like a large number of Oregonians) since Oregon beat Oregon State on December 3rd. Yes, I'm a Ducks fan (though I have no connection to U of O...outside of liking Eugene), but there's an additional reason in play for me. Having grown up in Minnesota, I learned at an early age to hate Ohio State. Why? Well, 'cuz they ALWAYS beat up on my Gophers. Somehow, the Buckeyes always found a way to beat Minnesota...seemingly by 40, 50, or 60 points.
When I moved to Oregon for the first time in 1983, Oregon (and Oregon State) football was a joke. That year's Civil War (yes, that really is what it's called) was easily one of the worst (if not THE worst) football games ever foisted upon a paying fan base. The "Toilet Bowl", as it eventually became known, ended in a 0-0 tie in a driving rain storm on an ugly late November afternoon. Football seasons for both Oregon and Oregon State remained fodder for comedians for years after. It wasn't until Kenny Wheaton's interception to preserve a 1995 victory over Washington that Oregon finally made it to a Rose Bowl. This afternoon, Oregon returns to Pasadena for the first time in 15 years...and no longer is Oregon (or Oregon State) football anything to laugh at.
Yeah, it's only a football game, but in a state with 12% unemployment, the Rose Bowl represents a welcome diversion from an often bleak reality. It's nice to see the pride that so many are taking in the success attained by the Ducks. No longer is having Donald Duck as a mascot seen as a source of embarrassment. Now it's cool to be a Duck (and it ain't bad being a Beaver, either), and you'll see a lot of green and yellow being worn very proudly today.
The game day conversation no longer revolves around how much the Ducks will lose by or how they'll manage to lose this week's game. No, the conversation generally centers on which uniform variation Oregon will wear. Things have certainly come a long way from where they were when I first came to Oregon. If nothing else, people on the East Coast may finally recognize that the Beaver State has more to offer than timber, rain, and Bigfoot sightings. (Yeah, we also have a gay mayor who sleeps with underage boys. How Liberal is that??)
I hope that y'all will enjoy your New Years Day, whether your recovering from last night or gearing up for some football. I can hardly wait for game time. Go Ducks!!
