Long post, sorry. In regards to tradition:
"Is two decades long enough to demonstrate a pattern of excellence? With two weeks of this season behind [them], Oregons record since the 1993 season is the best in the league (Pac-10).
Oregon: 178-72
USC: 165-72-2*
UCLA: 137-110
ASU: 133-109
UW: 132-109-1
UA: 124-117
OSU: 124-118
Stanford: 121-115-2
Cal: 120-123
WSU: 104-134
FYI: During this span Oregon had eight seasons of 10 wins or more, SC had seven, UCLA had three, UW and OS had two each and Wazzu had four such seasons."
That win total means we've averaged 9 wins a year for 20 years. TWENTY YEARS!! That's among the best win totals in the country. That period also includes 2 Heisman runner-ups, 6 BCS game appearances 3 wins), only 1 losing season (1! The ultimate sign of consistency), wins over big time tradition schools (Texas, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan State, etc.), All-Americans, academic All-Americans, revolutionaizing the offensive landscape of football, blah blah blah blah.
I was born in 1985. I'm not from Eugene. I grew up in Los Angeles. I didn't start REALLY following college football until I began playing football (1999-ish). That means the only thing I've known in my life in regards to Oregon is a winning tradition. That's MY tradition in MY lifetime and that's all that matters to me. Sure, I tip my cap to the past - to players like Dan Fouts and Norm van Brockling and coaches like Rich Brooks, our highs, our lows, and Oregon players in the NFL Hall Of Fame. But what really matters to me, at my age, in my time following college football: the statistics and accomplishments that I covered above - that I personally witnessed.
Think about Colorado. They're top 15 or 20 all time in wins. They have a national title. They have a Heisman. They were a dominant force in a major conference for decades. Do you think any of the younger generations give a damn about that history, when they've seen ineptitude the majority of their lives while following the CU Buffaloes? Probably not. I know my friend who graduated from there doesn't. Dude just wants to see a winning program set up and not have to hear about how good they used to be. Syracuse is also a historical power. I'm guessing their younger fans also don't care.
All I'm saying is that tradition is relative to what you've personally experienced more than just shadowy figures in the past that you never saw yourself. It's no different than politics. If there are dip****s presently running our country, I'm not going to harken back to the good-ole-days I personally never experienced just to feel better. "Sure, we've had clowns in office the past 20 years; but we also produced legends like Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt and won WWII and finished the Panama Canal!" So? I'm 28. Fix my economy now. While I enjoy reading about our history because I like being a perspicacious human being, it doesn't matter one bit to the state of the nation today. Get **** done now or get out of office. And if you bring up America's former prestige one more time before making us presently prestigious, I'm going to pull my hair out.
Tennessee is a gold standard of college football. Iconic colors, iconic mascot, iconic stadium, checkerboard end zones, legendary players, all time great coaches, etc. etc. The tradition is amazing. Your team is one of the teams I would point out to a foreign visitor or my future son and say, "Now that's one of the big time programs." And I'm not accusing Tennessee fans of over-reminiscing about the past and putting down a team like Oregon in the present. The vast vast majority have shown our team nothing but respect. Just trying to cogently explain my opinion on tradition.
Our argument as Duck fans is, with the above stats as evidence: how much winning is necessary before people realize that an established and sustained tradition of winning and excellence has been set up at UO, and is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future? As far as this 28 year old sees it, Oregon has a tradition, a winning tradition. And I've witnessed a lot of victories and a lot of insanely entertaining players along the way. Some of the tradition school fans (not the lot of you) like to remind us: "You guys were terrible for 40 years!" So? I didn't see one of those games. I learn about them to keep me humble and appreciative of our present. But I laugh when people bring that up. I've witnessed a couple of decades of winning. And winning talks. That's my personal tradition. And no cranky, well-in-my-day!, 50-year-old Texas fan will take that away from me or make me think otherwise.
And again, thanks so much for letting me learn about your team and express my opinion here. This site was a really great find for me. It's not just good for Tennessee talk; it's good for college football talk. Tennessee was always my SEC team, and I'm honored that my Ducks get to host your boys and your fans. I will continue rooting for Orange and Cream after this Saturday! And I will continue following this site to learn more about your team. Cheers boys! And go Ducks
"Is two decades long enough to demonstrate a pattern of excellence? With two weeks of this season behind [them], Oregons record since the 1993 season is the best in the league (Pac-10).
Oregon: 178-72
USC: 165-72-2*
UCLA: 137-110
ASU: 133-109
UW: 132-109-1
UA: 124-117
OSU: 124-118
Stanford: 121-115-2
Cal: 120-123
WSU: 104-134
FYI: During this span Oregon had eight seasons of 10 wins or more, SC had seven, UCLA had three, UW and OS had two each and Wazzu had four such seasons."
That win total means we've averaged 9 wins a year for 20 years. TWENTY YEARS!! That's among the best win totals in the country. That period also includes 2 Heisman runner-ups, 6 BCS game appearances 3 wins), only 1 losing season (1! The ultimate sign of consistency), wins over big time tradition schools (Texas, Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan State, etc.), All-Americans, academic All-Americans, revolutionaizing the offensive landscape of football, blah blah blah blah.
I was born in 1985. I'm not from Eugene. I grew up in Los Angeles. I didn't start REALLY following college football until I began playing football (1999-ish). That means the only thing I've known in my life in regards to Oregon is a winning tradition. That's MY tradition in MY lifetime and that's all that matters to me. Sure, I tip my cap to the past - to players like Dan Fouts and Norm van Brockling and coaches like Rich Brooks, our highs, our lows, and Oregon players in the NFL Hall Of Fame. But what really matters to me, at my age, in my time following college football: the statistics and accomplishments that I covered above - that I personally witnessed.
Think about Colorado. They're top 15 or 20 all time in wins. They have a national title. They have a Heisman. They were a dominant force in a major conference for decades. Do you think any of the younger generations give a damn about that history, when they've seen ineptitude the majority of their lives while following the CU Buffaloes? Probably not. I know my friend who graduated from there doesn't. Dude just wants to see a winning program set up and not have to hear about how good they used to be. Syracuse is also a historical power. I'm guessing their younger fans also don't care.
All I'm saying is that tradition is relative to what you've personally experienced more than just shadowy figures in the past that you never saw yourself. It's no different than politics. If there are dip****s presently running our country, I'm not going to harken back to the good-ole-days I personally never experienced just to feel better. "Sure, we've had clowns in office the past 20 years; but we also produced legends like Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt and won WWII and finished the Panama Canal!" So? I'm 28. Fix my economy now. While I enjoy reading about our history because I like being a perspicacious human being, it doesn't matter one bit to the state of the nation today. Get **** done now or get out of office. And if you bring up America's former prestige one more time before making us presently prestigious, I'm going to pull my hair out.
Tennessee is a gold standard of college football. Iconic colors, iconic mascot, iconic stadium, checkerboard end zones, legendary players, all time great coaches, etc. etc. The tradition is amazing. Your team is one of the teams I would point out to a foreign visitor or my future son and say, "Now that's one of the big time programs." And I'm not accusing Tennessee fans of over-reminiscing about the past and putting down a team like Oregon in the present. The vast vast majority have shown our team nothing but respect. Just trying to cogently explain my opinion on tradition.
Our argument as Duck fans is, with the above stats as evidence: how much winning is necessary before people realize that an established and sustained tradition of winning and excellence has been set up at UO, and is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future? As far as this 28 year old sees it, Oregon has a tradition, a winning tradition. And I've witnessed a lot of victories and a lot of insanely entertaining players along the way. Some of the tradition school fans (not the lot of you) like to remind us: "You guys were terrible for 40 years!" So? I didn't see one of those games. I learn about them to keep me humble and appreciative of our present. But I laugh when people bring that up. I've witnessed a couple of decades of winning. And winning talks. That's my personal tradition. And no cranky, well-in-my-day!, 50-year-old Texas fan will take that away from me or make me think otherwise.
And again, thanks so much for letting me learn about your team and express my opinion here. This site was a really great find for me. It's not just good for Tennessee talk; it's good for college football talk. Tennessee was always my SEC team, and I'm honored that my Ducks get to host your boys and your fans. I will continue rooting for Orange and Cream after this Saturday! And I will continue following this site to learn more about your team. Cheers boys! And go Ducks
