We want to play the best. Just tell them to schedule us. We can’t get people to come to Autzen. So, that’s a real tough deal to deal with. We would play the best to open every season, but we aren’t going to be home every season, either.
- University of Oregon Football Coach Chip Kelly
Oregon coach Chip Kelly issues open invitation to Autzen Stadium for national powers: Being something of a late arrival as a NCAA football powerhouse, the University of Oregon Ducks are having a problem getting other schools in the FCS to take them seriously. It seems that no one wants to come to Eugene to start their season against the Ducks. Never mind that Eugene is beautiful in September; as far as most FCS powerhouses are concerned, Eugene might as well be in Estonia. No, it’s not Tuscaloosa, it’s not Norman, and it’s certainly not Austin…but if you’ve ever been to a football game at Autzen Stadium, you know it’s one of the loudest (and most fun) places on the face of the planet come game day.
When I first moved to Portland back in 1983, Oregon (and Oregon State) football was a running joke. The 1983 “Toilet Bowl” was a 0-0 tie and the worst game I’ve ever seen). Then somehow things turned around, beginning in 1994 when Kenny Eaton’s interception return for a touchdown against Washington put Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Now, Oregon football is no one’s joke…well, except may for the clown suits that pass as uniforms these days. It would just be nice if an Alabama or a Texas could be bothered to make the trek to Eugene. BTW, y’all…despite what you may think Eugene is NOT in Estonia.
Gang Green: The Timbers Army is rowdy, raucous and rebellious. It also wields enormous power.: Being a former college goalkeeper, I’ve been very excited to have a Major League Soccer team here in Portland. I sat through their very first game against Chivas USA in a cold, driving rain at the University of Portland back in March, and I’ve been able to go to a couple of games at Jeld-Wen Field in downtown Portland since. Most recently, I went to a game against Seattle and sat with Erin and some friends in the middle of the Timbers Army- and I’m here to tell you that a good number of those folks are nuckin’ futz. Of course, it’s good-natured and well-intentioned, but that’s some highly-scripted and choreographed craziness. I was praying that no one would light a match, because the ambient alcohol fumes from the hangovers in the immediate vicinity might have made for a tragic outcome.
Kidding aside, the Timbers Army really is an impressive organization. Though one of the Army’s mottos (“If you want to be a member of the Timbers Army, you already are.”) is impressively inclusive and indicative of a loosely-organized group, the Timbers Army is a sizable, well-financed, and surprisingly powerful entity. As a supporters’ group, it rivals Europeans groups in vociferousness, organization, and devotion to tradition (though, thankfully minus the violence and racism…e.g.- Chelsea). In a very short time, the Timbers Army has evolved into a force that extends beyond supporting the Timbers on game day. They possess the financial resources to support local youth soccer programs, and they have sufficient clout to have forced Timbers owner Merritt Paulson to modify the team logo when it was introduced last year. The Army’s response? “You f——d up!! You f——d up!!” Yeah, it’s not always family-friendly….
I’ve stood on the terraces during a Manchester United-Chelsea match, and the nice thing about being in the middle of the Timbers Army is the lack of razor wire and the absence of a cedible threat of violence. The soccer may not be quite as good, but I’ll take a Timbers game any day. At least I can rest assured I’ll make it out of the stadium in one piece.
Crowded Portland-area classrooms force teachers to cope so students can learn: Is out children learning? Dunno…it’s kinda hard to tell anymore….
With school starting here in Portland, I find myself once again reflecting on the ever-increasing burden we place on teachers. I don’t know about you, but I can find no reason why this should be true:
Last week, class-size projections included high school AP classes exceeding 40 students in several districts, 36 kids in core classes at some middle schools and 30 or more students in elementary classrooms across the area.
As a former teacher, I can’t even begin to imagine what teaching a class of upwards of 40 excitable teenagers must be like…yet school districts here think nothing of subjecting teachers to that. How far will this process go before we begin to understand how we’re short-changing our children and placing unreasonable expectations upon those who teach them?
The graphic to the right represents a 7% drop in the numbers of teachers in those districts shown…and it’s not as if this is the first year that school districts have had to deal with this phenomenon. The question we should be asking ourselves is how long we can allow this trend to continue? How long can we sit idly by as districts cut staff, programs, and teachers? How large do class sizes have to become before we wake up and realize that our collective refusal to pay the freight will ultimately lead to inferior educational opportunities and outcomes for our children. Of course, if your only expectation is that public schools serve as a baby-sitting service for 13 years, the current state of affairs might not seem like a big deal. If you want your child to have the best chance they can for a successful and lucrative future, you should probably be up in arms right about now.
Remember when “Leave No Child Behind” at least sounded like the federal government was going to actually care about the quality of the education provided to America’s children? Yeah…me, neither. I suppose you can file this one under “Penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
