What kind of fan base do we want to be?
With great success, the temptation grows great to become arrogant, spoiled, entitled and belligerent.
The fans at some schools even boo and criticize their own players from the stands, forgetting three things: 1) the players they’re booing and carping at are 18 to 22 years old, 2) their parents may be two or three rows away, and 3) highly sought after four and five-star recruits are attending the game on recruiting visits.
A poll yesterday in Rob Moseley’s Oregon Duck Football blog indicated that 59.8% of fans strongly supported Marcus Mariota as the best choice to become Oregon’s new quarterback. Which means that either way, a big chunk of them are going to be surprised or disappointed by Chip Kelly’s choice, at least in the beginning.
None of those fans, and not even veteran beat writers like Moseley, got to observe a single practice. Yet the opinions expressed in Moseley’s comments section and elsewhere are pretty strong. “Bennett is too nervous. He reminds me of Roper.” “Mariota is too inexperienced.” “Play both through the out of conference schedule. You don’t want to lose the other guy. That way we can be surer about who’s separated himself.”
Chip Kelly is scheduled to appear on The Dan Patrick Radio Show this morning at 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time. He may announce his decision then.
Kelly has a nearly flawless record grooming and preparing Oregon quarterbacks. In three years as head coach he’s 34-6 with three conference titles, three BCS bowl appearances and three final Top 11 rankings. In 2007 and 2008 as offensive coordinator he had to win with five different quarterbacks due to injury. Perhaps his best coaching job since being here was the 2007 Sun Bowl, mentoring the raw redshirt freshman Roper in three quick weeks to a four touchdown performance over South Florida in the Sun Bowl.
Kelly often says, “Pressure is what you feel when you’re don’t know what you’re doing.” Kelly does, and when any of his quarterbacks take the field, they know also. They know the routes and coverages. They know the techniques and reads.
They know the right read on the Zone Read, particularly better than the anonymous drunk in the 36th row.
A new quarterback is going to have growing pains. He’s certain to make mistakes, have occasional interceptions and three and outs, quarters or halves where the team sputters or the opponent has the momentum or a cornerback makes a great play.
The worse thing fans can do is get on him, or grumble loudly for the other guy.
The Ducks and their fans have enjoyed three uninterrupted years of fabulous success.
If you want it to continue, be in your seat for the start of the third quarter, and scream “Oooooooooo,” not loudly for the other guy at the first sign of adversity.
Never surrender the best home field advantage in sports to entitlement, complacency, or a loss of manners.
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