■Oregon’s Joey Harrington has led the Ducks to some
memorable wins, but it’s the two defeats this season that help
fuel his fire for the bowl game
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
The two scenes were practically
identical.
Scene one: It’s Sept. 9 in Madi
son, Wise., and the Oregon Ducks
have just received a heart-crushing
27-23 defeat to the then-No. 5 Wis
consin Badgers.
Sitting on top of an exercise ma
chine with his head looking down
is Oregon quarterback Joey Harring
ton. He tries to speak, but can’t as
tears and emotion fill his face. He’s
asked how he feels, and the only
word he can muster is “hard. ”
He excuses himself and then
comes back out 10 minutes later, this
time a little more clear-headed, but
still speaking in barely a whisper.
“I’ve never played this hard and
lost before, so I don’t know how to
react,” Harrington said back then.
“You can look at 100 plays and
think ‘What if?’ in a game like this.”
It was Harrington’s first ever loss
as a starter, and he did not enjoy the
taste of defeat. In fact, a few days af
ter that he said how he’d rather not
feel that way ever again. Well, the
Ducks kept winning throughout the
season in remarkable fashion un
til... the Civil War, of course.
Which brings us to scene two:
It’s Nov. 18, and Oregon has just
had its Rose Bowl hopes dashed by
its in-state rivals by losing 23-13 to
the fellow co-Pacific-10 Conference
champion Beavers.
Harrington sits on a chair in the
dim basement of the nearby Gill
Coliseum. His bare feet look
wounded, and so does his pride. He
just sits there, as reporters huddle
around him, and he quietly stares
down while clutching a white pad
with both hands. He tries to hide his
obvious hurt, but it’s tough.
He is asked questions. Again, his
voice is practically nonexistent.
He then is questioned whether he
ever let the thought of defeat enter
his mind.
“I had no doubts,” Harrington
said. “We had the ball at the 10-yard
line, we score, we cut it to three
points with six, seven, five minutes
left. It didn’t matter because we’d
battled back all year. ”
Clearly, this was not the way he en
visioned the season going. A season
that included so many amazing wins
suddenly got tarnished by a defeat
that Harrington knew would “haunt
[him] for the rest of [his] life. ”
And now, instead of preparing
for a trip to Pasadena for the presti
gious Rose Bowl, Harrington and
the Ducks are getting ready for a
date in San Diego against the No. 12
Texas Longhorns on Dec. 29 in the
Holiday Bowl.
But this is why he is respected so
much by his teammates. This is
why he is commonly referred to as
“The General.” He is the leader of
the Ducks, and whether the team
wins or loses, Harrington will be
the one who people will look to
ward.
“This is a position that I’ve been
in my entire life,” said Harrington,
who is 15-2 as a starter. “I’m used to
it. I’m comfortable with it. I like be
ing the guy that the team rallies
around.”
And even after a game in which
he throws five interceptions, his
teammates stand behind him.
“Nobody’s perfect,” senior wide
Emerald
Joey Harrington is 15-2 as Oregon’s QB.
receiver Marshaun Tucker said.
“He went out there and played
hard, and that’s all you can ask.”
“Joey’s put together a great sea
son,” junior cornerback Rashad
Bauman said. “Joey’s gone in there
day-in and day-out and handled
business. Some games just don’t go
your way.”
More than two weeks have
passed since that fateful day in Cor
vallis, and Oregon seems to be
slowly letting go of Oregon State
and looking toward capturing the
first 10th win in Oregon football
history.
Which brings us to scene three
for Harrington: It’s Sunday at 2:50
p.m. Harrington sits down in front
of the press to discuss his team’s se
Turn to Harrington, page 10B
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