Ten wins and two losses with a game to play. A rookie coach, a cocaine arrest, a couple unexpected losses and a bowl berth. Finishing the season in the top 10 in multiple polls. The ups and downs of a football team that is filled with 18-22 year old guys.
For the vast majority of football teams and programs, this resume would have been seen as an absolute success. But for the Oregon program and fan base, breaking the four year BCS bowl streak was just too much to swallow.
The majority of fans are largely irrational by nature, they expect that the louder they scream and root, the better their team plays. There is always a reason why their team lost; bad refs, terrible conditions, conspiracy theories. Any failure at all sends fans into deep depression.
Stepping back from the scene of the crime a little, Duck fans would be in for a rude awakening… let me explain.
The 2013 Oregon Ducks finished 10th in the BCS with a 10-2 record. With finishing so high in the BCS, they were eligible and expected to be selected to play in a BCS bowl, most likely the Orange or Sugar Bowl. That would have extended their streak to 5-straight BCS berths.
However as of Sunday night, the Oregon Ducks accepted the invitation to play Texas in the Alamo bowl in San Antonio (the same bowl the Oregon State Beavers played in just a year ago). How did this happen? Why were the Ducks not selected to play in one of the BCS bowls? It’s all about money!
Number 12 Clemson was selected to play Ohio State in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Number 11 Oklahoma was selected to play Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The reason these two teams were selected over the Ducks is plain and simple, fan support. If the Orange or Sugar Bowl would have thought the fans would have traveled to see the Ducks play, they would have been selected.
If the Ducks would have been selected to play Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, those TV ratings would have rivaled the National Championship game. That game would have been ESPN’s dream matchup. However the Sugar Bowl decided to invite Oklahoma, despite them being ranked lower than the Ducks. This is because the Oklahoma fan base is closer, geographically, and much more enthusiastic at this point of the season.
The fan base for Oregon has been so spoiled over the last four years making it to 4 straight BCS bowls, including two Rose Bowls and one National Championship. There was almost a sense of entitlement around some fans that it was basically National Championship or bust.
I am a Duck fan. I love the Ducks and have gone to at least one game a year for the last 20 years. My dog wears a U of O bandana. I could basically list the entire roster and their stats. I have been just as spoiled, and at times irrational, as other fans.
I can totally understand having expectations and being excited by a talented team but let’s be realistic, only one team wins that National Championship and absolutely anything can go wrong along the way. So to have those sort of do-or-die expectations is unrealistic and only a recipe for disappointment.
Even some members of the current team displayed smug disappointment of going to a “prep game for the national championship.” That was a quote from Josh Huff when the Ducks controlled their own destiny that would lead them to the Rose Bowl. Those hopes were later dashed with the upset in Arizona.
Maybe Ducks fans will have a bit of an eye opening experience on December 30th while they’re watching their team play a mediocre Texas team on their home soil. It might be time to reevaluate expectations and appreciate how incredible things have been the past few years.
This is the golden era of Oregon football. And yes, I absolutely include this year in the era. A 10 (or 11) win season is nothing to scoff at. This team is very talented moving into next year and should be fun to watch, but as a fan base should it really be playoffs or bust?
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