Duck worship starts Saturday
Put on your Saturday best, Duck
Faithful. It’s time for church.
Autzen Stadium is the name of
this temple, and the first service is
this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The sub
ject of this Saturday’s service: How
to exorcise those Mississippi State
demons.
Public address announcer Don Es
sig will give the readings. Head coach
Mike Bellotti will deliver the sermon.
He is a sublime
preacher, guid
ing the Faithful
with his choic
es, leading by
example.
No suit and
tie is required if
you’re a mem
ber of the con
PGtGr gregation, only
Hockaday green pants and
TWO minutes for * h^ht ^ellow
crosschecking T’s^irt’ ()r a
green-sequined
hat. Or a flashing button. Or simply
a green-and-yellow barrel.
The gaudier the better in this
house of holiness.
Speaking of the house, this church
has been recently upgraded to cathe
dral, complete with green stained
glass on the south side. The cathe
dral is now fit to host a Super Bowl,
or at least a Civil War, with pride.
And yet the architects of this struc
ture managed to keep its spirit, so
that crowds will still swell with furi
ous happiness when their team takes
the field.
Like any good religion, Duck foot
ball has legend and myth swirling
like clouds around it. Someday cur
rent students will tailgate with their
children at Autzen, spewing stories
of titanic signal-callers named Akili
Most students spend
all day, every day
associating with the
University of Oregon.
On Saturdays, they give
something back.
and Joey, incredible defensive mon
sters named Patu, Mallard, Bauman
and Mitchell, whirling dervishes
named Onterrio and Droughns and
Morris. They will talk of the “in
creasing win, declining loss” years.
“First, there was the 7-5 season of
1997,” these sequined-hat historians
will say. “Then there was the 8-4
year of 1998. Then 9-3, 10-2, 11-1,
and in 2002...”
Well, that phrase will have to be
finished in the coming months,
won’t it? Like a good religion, there
is uncertainty and doubt about the
future of this Oregon church.
But no matter what happens, the
Faithful will be along for the ride.
The fans, who linebacker Kevin
Mitchell calls “the best fans in the
world,” will show up no matter what;
they proved that by showing up in
droves for last season’s Civil War, in
the pouring rain.
Well, it was mostly students who
waited in pouring rain for tickets
last winter. And it was the students
who stood on uncovered benches,
some without protection against
the elements, and screamed when
Keenan Howry returned that punt
return, and screamed when Oregon
won the game to all but lock up a
BCS bowl berth.
And it’s the students who will do it
again this year, who will look on en
viously as many paying fans across
the field rush for cover in the brand
new club room.
See, for students, this football re
ally is a religion. Most students
spend all day, every day, associating
with the University of Oregon. On
Saturdays, they give something
back, in the form of some lung power
and by standing for three hours.
Hug a student. They are the blood
coursing through this university’s veins.
Amen.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
Preview
continued from page 1
outside of our control,” the coach said.
“I’ve said for many years, ‘keep things
under your control,’ and you do that by
winning football games, taking those
decisions out of other people’s hands
and keeping them in our own.
“I feel really good about the chem
istry of this group of young men.
Many of them have been through the
wars, they are veterans, they know
how to win close games.”
The Ducks and Bellotti can only
hope that a favorable schedule—one
that includes eight home games —
will help them toward their goal of an
undefeated season. Mississippi State
was 3-8 last season. Fresno State, the
Ducks’ Week 2 opponent, was 11-3
but lost star quarterback David Carr
to the NFL. Idaho won only one game
last year. Portland State was 7-3 last
season but had losses to Southwest
Texas State and Idaho State. Oregon
then opens Pac-10 play at Arizona,
where the Ducks beat the Wildcats
63-28 last year.
Despite the optimism about the
team’s strengths, the Ducks still have
questions that need to be answered
in the first set of preseason games.
The most obvious is at quarterback,
where Jason Fife will be launched un
der the microscope on Saturday.
Waiting in the wings is rocket-armed
Adam Amato Emerald
jared Siegel (25) and the Ducks will try to defend last year's Pac-10 title.
Kellen Clemens, who is battling Fife
for the starting job.
In the secondary, Bellotti has the
unenviable task of replacing NFL draft
picks Rashad Bauman and Steve
Smith, both comerbaeks. Steven
Moore is a virtual lock on one side, but
the other will feature a tandem of
young players vying for the spot.
“It’s in the coaches’ hands right
now,” Moore said. “I’m just trying to
hold my spot down, do my job,”
The questions should be answered
soon in the season. But one key ques
tion will hang over the 2002 Duck
squad all year.
Gan they stay hungry?
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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