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Even if you're not a football fan or associated with the University of Oregon, you no doubt know that there's a big football game on Monday. At 5:30 pm the UO Ducks face the Auburn Tigers for the much anticipated BCS National Championship. But some people say this game is about much more than football... it's about the country's perception of UO and, arguably, the state as a whole. On this show we'll find out what's happening in Glendale and what a win could mean for Oregon. Will you be watching the game?
Are you travelling to Arizona? Why? What does a win mean to you? How do you think a championship status will affect the way the rest of the country views UO, and the state as a whole? What does it mean to be a champion?
UPDATE, 1/10/11 at 8:30am:
We're going to make a major turn in the last third of the show to talk about the shootings this weekend in Glendale, AZ.
GUESTS:
- Robert Husseman: sports reporter for The Daily Emerald and a senior at the University of Oregon
- Brian Woodham: assistant sports editor for The Auburn Plainsman
- Rachel Bachman: sports reporter at The Oregonian
- Jim Bean: senior vice president and provost at the University of Oregon
- Steve Duin: columnist at The Oregonian
- Elizabeth Furse: former US Congresswoman for Oregon's 1st District
Tagged as: football · sports · university of oregon
Photo credit: Daniel Bachhuber / Creative Commons
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Something tells me that regardless of whether the Ducks win the Bowl Game or not, "Uncle Phil" will find some reason for further escalating the athletic "arms race" and pour more money into Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Nike to the detriment of the REAL reason for having a University: Educating our citizens.
Like it or not, The University of Nike has sold its soul to Phil Knight in exchange for all the buildings he has built and "gifted" to the University: the major renovation of Autzen Stadium, the Knight Library, The Knight Law School, The Jaqua Athletics Shrine, The Matthew Knight Arena, the luxurious locker facilities at the Moshofsky Centre, etc., etc., etc. With the sole exceptions of the Law School and the Main Library, everything that Knight puts his name to or his dollars behind is squarely aligned with the Intercollegiate Athletics Department.
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HEY, PHIL! HOW ABOUT TOSSING A BUCK OR TWO TOWARD THE ACADEMIC SIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY? THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT JOCKS OR OTHERWISE ATHLETICALLY INCLINED SURE WOULD APPRECIATE IT!!!
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I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face -
But I've come through
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world -
I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls -
You brought me fame and fortuen and everything that goes with it
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I thank you all -
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise -
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna lose -
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end -
We are the champions -
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world - QUEEN 88--------To be accompanied with 100 member chorus, The London Philharmonic Orchestra and three live cannons.
After a victory, a true champion celebrates for a brief moment, then sets about the hard work of building a dynasty. Next year the road begins anew. Hubris is the enemy of champions.
Go DUCKS Go!
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Hey, Jacob...I gotta challenge you on the date of that Queen song... It was from their 1977 Album, "News of the World." I remembered that my brother had a copy when he was in grade school, in 1978, and that song was on it.
Pretty good on quoting the lyrics, though. Rock ON!
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Oh, TOL changed the topic of this comment thread. Now it's just about football.
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Sorry about that Tom! We actually will be talking about what it means to be a champion as well. I'll add that back in!
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Thanks for that "adding back in", Sara.
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Exerting effort and seeing it pay off is more meaningful than being a fan.
I've tried to become competent at several endeavors and have gained appreciation for experts who make certain skills look easier than they are. Roy Underhill's hand-done carpentry is amazing and encourages me to get into the shop.
Since I don't want to be a football player I watch a few games and marvel at the skills others have acquired. I hope Oregon defeats Auburn and finishes their perfect season. A victory would be meaningful to many, but for me, an Oregon win would be an amusement, a green-and-yellow stick pin in the virtual globe of my life. Much like the Trailblazer's national championship has a red-and-black stick pin. Do you recall what the world was like in the middle to late 1970s?
I focus more on the challenges facing Earth today. Overpopulation, destruction of the environment, and the hoarding and misuse of wealth and resources by the minority to the majority's detriment.
We ignore the decay of our planet and the largely unintentional incompetence of people whilst we distract ourselves with the temporary excitement of gladiators and lions circling each other menacingly in the Coliseum.
Oregon will always be considered a backwater by those who think wherever they are is the best thing since sliced Voodoo doughnuts. Bless their condescension and arrogance. Hopefully they'll stay away from Oregon and infest their own bedding.
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The greatest challenges our earth faces tonight is making sure LaMarcus James has adequate running room and refreshing sports drinks.
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Hi,
I'm the Oregon Cam Newton, born in Eugene 7/4/54 and an alumnus of the U of O music school. I also own the domain www. camnewton.com . I could never have seen this convergence of events coming. What an odd, great thing it is. I hope that Cam Newton plays really well but that of course the Tigers get turned into butter by the Ducks.
In the mid-70s I played with an all original band in Eugene called Sojac. I remember introducing a new swing tune I'd written at a performance at the EMU Ballroom called "Spectator Wargames" about American football and the armchair sportsman.
CHORUS:
"Spectator, spectator, man alive,...evolution's hard enough without this jive...Spectator, spectator, man alive, (how did they survive until this moment arrived-2X) "? Instrumental break
Ah...youthful indiscretion...What an odd and wonderful thing it is....
Oregon Cam Newton, composer-guitarist in the PDX phonebook
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Cam - What a funny coincidence! What's it been like being Cam Newton this year for you?
And what do you really mean to say about armchair atheletes? :-)
cheers, Emily
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go duckies.
However... keep some mental energy in reserve to maintain your composure if Cam Newton brings his "A" game and things just don't work out. Either of these teams can engineer a blow-out. Tonight sure looks like a potential classic.
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It is unusual that TOL has a show subject so inconsequential that I switch away from (or off) OPB! Thanks’ for the majority of your work!-)
Today’s show is perfectly timed since in light of the important and tragic news it will be interesting to hear the rhetoric from the opposite side of the political spectrum and I wont miss anything on OPB! -
Desolation,
As you can from an update I just posted, we'll be talking about the Glendale shootings in the last third of the show. We're scrambling right now to get guests for the segment.
Dave
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of course, that "important and tragic news" is being covered without reflection or contemplation of the larger issues of gun control and the real impact of right wing media.
Why not have a day of fun football talk here? You know TOL will have some very good shows related to the AZ shooting topics, probably worth waiting for.
go duckies
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When scooping up some blood and brain matter from the ground to smear on the hands of others, be careful not to get any on your own.
The simple fact is that the shooter was a madman, and nothing more. The attempts by people to politicize this is almost as disgusting as the act itself.
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Many people in Oregon won't be able to watch the game despite the fact that UO is publicly owned and our local stations would love to broadcast it. Why should ESPN have the right to not only put in on their station but to prevent it being broadcast over the air. Oregonians own the school and its football team but ESPN has more rights to the game than we do. This isn't right.
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On the subject of Saturday's shooting I find a reassuring tone in the response I see on-line. There is a lot of compassion and concern. This is also another great example of multiple people stepping out of their lives to respond in an heroic manner.
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Hi Emily!
The Cam Newton name part of this is in having been a rather singular name in and amongst my Boomer generation as a musician and then....It is like the image of walking down a quiet nightime country road, minding your own business, when all of a sudden an unheard approaching car comes screaming around a corner with its brights on and almost runs you down as it races by, leaving you a little stunned and thinking"There for the grace of God".
It is very strange to hear my name enunciated all over the media constantly, and in a sports context.The sports world and its stars, in a way, couldn't be further from the artist's life and mind set that goes along with it. Creative singularity versus extreme team competition and group think.
I am extremely happy for my University and my state. My years at Uof O were formative and wonderful. I will happily be an armchair sportsman tonight! Go Ducks! And...go Cam Newton!
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It is sad when the tragic shooting of all of those people in Tuscon makes the 2nd page of our local paper; however, plastered everywhere I go is football. As an Oregonian, I do not feel priviledged having the ducks represent my state. They stand for one thing, winning. I feel it is only a matter of time before the NCAA finds something University of Oregon is doing that is unethical. College football has been blown out of proportion by donors such as Phil Knight. Can he not think of anything better to do with his money? All of those poor players on the duck sidelines tonight hopefully realize they are puppets. Phil Knight is pulling all the strings. I am a college football fan, state of Oregon fan, and tonight... an Auburn Tiger fan. War Eagle!
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Hi, I am Kate Andrews and I live in Bend, OR...11 years now. My husband is a graduate of Auburn University. Three of my 5 siblings are Auburn grads, and in-law grads total 4. Currently, one nephew is attending AU and one niece has her eye on AU as she graduates High School this year.
My husband Robert Andrews and his fellow local Auburn Grad Jay Black are hosting a Auburn fan get together. It will be in a restaraunt's cozy fireside conference room we are rolling in a big screen TV to cheer on Auburn. We expect about 30 people and maybe more as an invitation to true Auburn fans was posted in an article in The Bend Bulletin this morning.
My 4th grade son is bravely wearing his Auburn sweatshirt to school today and says he will take his AU lunchbox tomorrow IF they win = )
I am a Bikram Yoga teacher and plan to wear my AU hat to teach class today!
War Eagle!!!!!
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I am an Oregon fan as a by-product of being a student of excellence. Over the years that has led me to follow such sports teams as the UCLA basketball team under John Wooden, the San Francisco 49ers under Bill Walsh, the LA Lakers with Magic Johnson, and now, the current Oregon football team. Of particular interest for me, with respect to the Oregon football team, is Chip Kelly’s “Win the Day” philosophy.
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And you are yet another example of the "johnny come lately" fans of the Oregon Ducks.
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On the tragedy in Arizona I think it needs a lot more attention than a football game. We have to change the way things are discussed. I say this because the morning after the shooting. I was shocked to receive an email from a relative (with strong anti government leanings) that she labeled as "Lol This is too funny" and then when I opened it it was a animated sketch of another politician getting pounded on the head by a very large gavel until she disappeared.
This has just got to change.
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When is a murderer not a ‘nut?’ When exactly do people go around massacring people without being a little bit crazy? And, when is anything ever do to politics? When is anything ever do to anything in this country? Oh, it is not the religion, oh it is not the politics, it is just one crazy person! I guess if we follow all this to its logical conclusion then nothing we do culturally or politically has any lasting impact, it is only the individual that is ever responsible. I guess when the Rwandan Genocide occurred the poor country must have been coincidentally full of individuals who just happened to be crazy.
One of the big problems we face in this country is that we don’t make meaningful distinctions between groups and ideas. We think tolerance is the same is intolerance. That a conservative idea is merely the opposite of a liberal idea. That a bigot can easily be balanced with a non-bigot. We have even begun to preach that atheism is the equivalent to being religious. And, sadly, we have begun to believe that smart ideas should be balanced with dumb ideas---and then we will all have the correct answer. And, any violence that occurs is outsourced to the crazy few, when really their ideas are very similar to much of what the country believes---these crazy few just happen to be nutty enough to act upon the bad ideas. It is similar to how so many of the religious are personally never violent, but they sit upon this belief that so much of the world is inferior, sinful and dirty and should be destroyed, not by them personally, but by god. These degrees of separation can easily be lessened. The gods must be crazy---and, well, Mr. Loughner decide to play one.
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I agree wholeheartedly. I was listening to the congresswoman from OR talking about political rhetoric from N. Gingrich and the like, as if they cause the actions of a madman. What a horrible way to take advantage of a tragic issue just to continue the divisiveness of our politicians. This was a tragedy caused by a mentally disturbed person. It has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with mental illness and that one gunman. When will our politicians ever learn that they shouldn't take advantage of someone's sorrow to forward their political message. It's disgusting.
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Sorry my post was not clear. I was saying something a bit opposite from what you suggest. I propose that all murderers are generally crazy, so that is beside the point. I say, it is relevant to question whether the environment, political or otherwise, has some impact or influence on events like these massacres. Of course you can’t blame the actions of a murderer on politicians, but it is possible the political climate does play a role. If a country repeatedly allows ridiculous ideas to flourish, and they go unchallenged, and they build upon each other, so much that they become a normal part of our culture, then yes it is possible they provide the climate necessary to give birth to extremist behaviour or terrorism. It doesn’t mean the cultural/political climate is ‘responsible,’ but it might play a role.
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People keep saying this was a lone nutcase and so cannot be attributed to Palin.
But if we look at the history of this type of thing, politicians have always known that they can incite nutcases to do their dirty work. Iran has their Conservative Baseeg(SP?) who beat down the recent Iranian protestors, in the 1930s Adolf Hitler released violent and brutal criminals from prison knowing that they would respond to his speeches against Jews, on and on through history whether extremist Leftists or Rightists, etc.
Sure, the politician only says words, passes out pamphlets, or puts up maps, but they know darned well that some nutcase will respond to those and do what is intended by the politician.
Plausible Deniability is not a valid defense for Palin and her Conservative Republican extremist crowd. -
I am no fan of football and I won't watch but I hope UO wins because they are from Oregon. Simply as that.
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The Governor John Kitzhaber inauguration speech followed by one of my other heroes, Karen Armstrong on Compassion. Whew, what a great day!
Go John!
Go Karen Armstrong and Compassion!
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This morning I listened to your program on U of O football, and the appalling shooting tragedy in Arizona. In view of the latter this comment may be trivial. I live in Bend, Oregon, and I have a M.A. degree in Economics from U of O. I just discovered that Bend Broadband is not providing the U of O game to any customers except those who have the expensive sports packages with ESPN. That's so wrong! What U of O gains in goodwill from their football team may very well be lost because of the thousands of Oregonians who are suddenly discovering that they won't be able to see the game tonight. Sad, when in this sometimes tough world, being able to see the Ducks play would have cheered us up just a little.
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You make a good point.
UO football must make a lot of money off of ESPN showing UO games. But UO students and alumni also pay a bunch to support UO football. I suggest that UO write into their contract with ESPN a clause that somehow gives UO alumni the right to watch UO games over ESPN pay channels by way of some password for each alumni. Certainly the alumni have earned that right no matter where they live. And UO students ought to get a similar right.
Let the rest of non-UO or non-Auburn football fans pay to see the teams that you helped pay for through your years of UO schooling and alumni support.
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Someone posted earlier that the U of O Ducks are "from Oregon" so he would root for them.
Yesterday's R-G printed the list of U of O players and their hometowns. Of the 27 members of the Duck's first string offense, defense and special team squads, 16 hail from California, 3 from Texas, 2 from Washington, 2 from Idaho, one from Indiana, one from Colorado, one from Kansas...and one from Oregon.
That's right, only one out of 27 U of O starters was an actual Oregonian...that's about 3.7%. Non-resident "student athletes" comprised over 96% of the starting Duck players. And since the game was close all the way through, it seems unlikely any other Oregonians on the 2nd or 3rd strings (22 Oregonians of 106 players on total team roster) got any playing time, at all.
How many U of O non-resident student athletes stay in Oregon after their eligibility runs out?
Duck football? Who cares?
I'll stick to high school football where the team members are actual representatives of their school and community...
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Good points, John.
I was not being so picky about who plays for UO, just that they are the UO team.
I agree with you about local community sports.
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Comments are now closed.
I see two different things involved here:
One is actually doing the work and making the effort to actually be a champion.
And the other is not doing the work and not making the effort to be a champion, just being a fan of the actual champion.
I've done and been both, and doing the work and making the effort is far more rewarding than being a fan.