Behind the Scenes at Autzen

I always like to get my cell phone camera out after Oregon football games. I've collected some cool shots of signs from the fans and close up pics of players as they walk up the tunnel.
After the Arizona State team I turned around and took this picture, which I thought was kinda cool.

I kept the camera out later in the interview room where the media assembles to hear from Coach Kelly. This shot shows Mike Jorgenson interviewing Coach Kelly while Mike Bellotti looks on from the audience.

From where I stood, a glance to my right gave me this view of the row of video cameras where sweating and nervous photographers set up their gear. But they never ask good questions...

I actually chimed in with a few questions in a row for Coach Kelly when the Jorgy interview was over and the media could ask questions. They all wanted to know about LaGarrett Blount, but Kelly wasn't going to get into that topic, leaving the rest of the reporters with nothing else to explore I guess.

This will be an exciting week for me. In addition to a second round football playoff game for the Roseburg Indians, I get to sit in for Jerry Allen Saturday night when the Oregon basketball team visits the University of Portland. Its a 6:00 tip on the Oregon Sports Network.

Transition Time

Luckily for Oregon sports fans, basketball season is about to start again soon.
With the developments of the weekend for Oregon football, fans are looking for something else to think about.
Oregon and Oregon State have gotten their exhibition games in, leaving the start of the season in earnest on Friday.
Because of a conflict in scheduling between football and basketball (UO at Arizona) I get to do the radio for Oregon at the University of Portland on the 21st.
So on Sunday, I sat in with Jerry Allen at Mac Court as the Ducks took on Lewis and Clark State in an exhibition game.
I took a bunch of pictures from my seat to give you an idea of what it looks like that close to the court.
Believe it or not, its not always the best seat in the house. But one thing about press row - it is close.








Go Ducks!

Ducks Send Trojans South

I was not surprised the Ducks beat USC at all.
I am not even surprised Oregon hung all those yards on 'SC.
I wasn't surprised the fans were totally nuts and stormed the field it didn't surprise me that Kyle wound up in the middle of that human blender.
I WAS surprised at some of the decisions USC players made on the field.
There was a big opening to the right on the opening kick return and later, another clear lane that would have sparked the Trojans.
But the fans rained down on USC and so did the weather at times.
USC didn't tackle well and when Matt Barkley had open receivers, he missed them.
The whole scene so totally overwhelmed everyone and I'm pretty sure the Ducks could have beaten anyone Saturday night.
Another surprise: the calm confidence the team showed after the game.
Jeremiah Masoli cracked a few smiles and a reporter asked him about an emotional moment in the tunnel between Masoli and an old friend, but other than that, not a single player I saw was giddy (at least on the outside) about the win.
Flask back to 2000 when Joey Harrington beat Marques Tuiasosopo and the Huskies at Autzen. A straight-faced Joey told me, "I'ts not more special because it was Washington." Then his face broke into a big smile and he changed his tune, "Yes, its much bigger because it was the Huskies."
That was Joey. This is now.
These guys are cold and calculating on the field and they love to cut teams up. I mean they LOVE LIFE when things are going like they are.
For these coaches and players, days like Saturday are the REASON THEY EXIST.
And we all got to enjoy it with them.

A few Tailgate Evaluation Experimentation notes:
At about 11, I started thinking we needed to be on the road, but Kyle and I had settled on 1:30. That way, he could see his daughter's soccer game.
To the surprise of few, the media parking lot was full.
We had to park in the Chevy Chase neighborhood down the road and fortunately found an open section of curb right away.
We hiked the extra half mile in the rain and wandered through the tailgating area like a couple of lost kids.
We were, too because we could not find the Roseburg fans who invited us to their parties.
The parking lot reminded me of Woodstock, without the dancing hippies.
Mud puddles and burn barrels and people dressed like this guy:

We bailed on our plan and insisted on getting a better start in the future.
I also learned a few things about tailgate organizers.
First, if they have an awesome setup, they are fighting people off, not inviting more folks in.
Second, they aren't in it to win some prize from a couple of radio hacks.
They are in it to have something to do after arriving hours ahead of kickoff AND having a distraction in case the game turns sour.
Third, they don't care what other people think about the way thry go about their bid-ness.
In otherwords, we need to rethink the whole thing despite the amount of fun we were hoping to generate.
I guess tailgaters around here are satisfied that they already have about as much fun as they could have without our help.
And that should not be a surprise to me.