The Woe of the Buffalo

October 27, 2012

106 miles to the stadium

Colorado Buffaloes at Oregon Ducks

12:00 kickoff

51 degrees, wind from the south, 90% chance of rain, but we know It Never Rains At Autzen Stadium!

Sitting on the bumper to avoid the, um, wet stuff.

The table is the only thing to make it out of the truck before Kimi decides to plead our case with our friend, Mary, who is tailgating a couple of rows away from us under not one, but two awnings! We also have an awning, but it's at home in the garage. Somehow when we were packing for the game, we thought it would be smarter to bring the dogs instead of the awning. Come to find out, dogs are pretty useless against the weather. Cute, but useless. 

Mary and her party are not only cute, but gracious too! They invite us under cover and we quickly join them. We know we're at the right tailgate when we see this on one of the RV doors:

We're even more sure of our location when we learn of the Buffalo Balls stewing in the slow cooker! 

 Tailgating under the ! Our spirits may be wet, but they're not dampened!

It's a great tailgate, and apparently, the word is out because soon even more people show up. Recognize these jackets?

They are the jackets (and bodies!) of Olympians Ashton Eaton and his fiance, Brianne Theisen. If you don't know, Eaton is a decathlete and Theisen a heptathlete. They, too, know a good tailgate when they see it and head straight for the food!

The gold medalist gives a thumb's up to the tailgate, the food, and no doubt, the company! 

Soon, he asks for a group picture! 

Kimi manages to get one of just her and Ashton (yeah, we're on a first name basis now!).

Someone, somehow, eventually remembers there is a football game to be played. After all, the Colorado Buffaloes are in town. Who wants to miss that? Kimi and I grab our tickets and head in...

Fresno State? Arkansas State? September games? We each take a ticket, a wrong ticket, to the game. Luckily, the lady at the gate is very kind. She believes that we really are season ticket holders who each grabbed a wrong ticket, albeit different wrong tickets at the car, and lets us in. 

BRING ON THE GAME.

Well, that's short-lived. The Buffaloes are down 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, they're extinct. 56-0 Ducks at the half.

A sweet 6 points:

Another highlight from the day is watching the world's greatest athlete celebrate his Olympic gold medal on the home field. 

The Oregon Ducks definitely Win The Day.

A total blow out.

70-14 Oregon.

The meat of the season starts next week. See you from the Coliseum!

Thanks for following the Duck Tale.

Vamos Patos

October 18, 2012 - Thursday Night College Football

3,810 miles to the stadium

Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Oregon Ducks

6:00 kickoff

89 degrees - so hot you could Stick A Fork In It! 

In slightly less than 24 hours, we leave Hawaii, crash in a La Quinta near SeaTac, board a second plane, and arrive in Phoenix early Thursday morning with Duck flags and feet at full mast. Our eyelids may look half mast, but don't let that fool ya. We're ready to roll... before we even leave the rental car parking lot, in fact!

We aren't the first Ducks to arrive in Phoenix. The more brazen of the flock are already here, and it isn't long before the largest city in the Sonoran Desert knows it.

Photo via CBS Newspath

Leah Saulnier painting

Local police have not officially announced who they think is responsible for the overnight paint job, but Duck fans are suspected. 

According to KVAL.com, "ASU students and fans typically make a coordinated effort to protect the "A" against such pranks the week prior to the annual game with local rivals Arizona, but for this game, they dropped the ball." Funny, but they wouldn't be the only ones. We didn't know it yet, but ASU receivers would go on to drop or miss the ball in 43% of opportunities later that night. 

We wonder what to do next now that the "A" has already been painted. Kimi remembers a "Duck Bar" somewhere in the greater Phoenix area, and we set out to find it. The Well Bar almost seems a desert mirage with its green and yellow balloons and larger-than-life-sized player posters hanging outside. 

But, it isn't a mirage; it's an oasis, a small green, fertile area amid the desert brown, complete with watering hole.

And it's great. GO DUCKS, or as they say around here...

We hang at the duck dive, taking in the scene, the culture, and a couple of beers, although I think to really understand the Desert culture it would take more than a couple of beers, before heading to Sun Devil Stadium where we find....

The Desert Quackers are throwing a party and everyone's invited!




Thanks, UOAA-Phoenix Chapter! 

Soon, Ducks from all over fill the place, and despite the heat, everyone's feeling pretty cool. Especially us! 

It's here, at Duck Head Quarters, the Oregon Tailgate, where I first learn of FEAR THE FORK. 

Fear the fork? That's ASU's new slogan? I just think that so laughable because if there is one thing America DOES NOT fear, it's the fork! 

Scared yet?  

I didn't think so. The tailgate is a great time filled with lots of nice people, and we can't believe when it's time to leave for the game. Neither of us feel like walking. After all, it is 89 degrees and at least five blocks, so we get someone to drive us! 

A pretty evening in the desert.

And soon the game is underway.

TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN!

43-7 Ducks at the half.

Stick a fork in it - this game is cooked.

But our seatmates keep it interesting...

 Bryan Bennett's mom and family. 

Two happy and tired Ducks soon to leave the stadium. On our way out, we overhear an ASU fan say to her friend on the phone, "Yeah, but the Ducks didn't even try after the 2nd quarter. They had their second and third stringers out there, and the janitor too." Best analysis I've heard yet.

FINAL SCORE 43-21 DUCKS.

Thanks for following the Duck Tale. 

SEE YA NEXT WEEK!

Roll Over And Play Dead - Good Dawg.

October 6, 2012

106 miles to the stadium

Washington Huskies at Oregon Ducks

7:30 kickoff

65 degrees with a light wind from the north - It never rains at Autzen Stadium!

Roll over and play dead - the only tricks the Dawgs knew Saturday night!

The local media debated all week whether the Oregon/Washington rivalry was done. Mostly, because the Dawgs have been so irrelevant lately with Oregon taking 8 straight games from them by no less than 17 points. Coach Kelly even got into the action, dismissing the extra hype surrounding the game by claiming that "most of the acrimony between the two teams occurred more than a decade ago." He went on to say that the kids on his team were 8 years old and watching Spongebob ten years ago, not football. Maybe so, but us Duck fans weren't. And neither were the Huskies. Instead, we were watching this: 

And things like Kenny Wheaton's pick to beat the Huskies in the final moments of the game to send the Ducks to the Rose Bowl don't die easily... for either team. 

To be fair, the Huskies have danced on our hearts (not to mention our field) a few times too.

So let's get one thing straight:

WE HATE THE HUSKIES AND THE HUSKIES HATE US.

There's no debate. Now, let's get onto the tailgating.

We pile into the parking lot on yet another beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon happy to be "back home." There's an energy in the air. Nervousness? Excitement? The reason is difficult to discern under the blue sky and yellow and green shield.  

Living the O

After, yes you guessed it, sausages, chips, and beer, it's time to gather our tickets and sweatshirts, and head into the stadium. Except, this is the Huskies. We need one more thing....

DAWG BONES!!!

Stacey and I fill our pockets. We know we'll run into some "deserving" dawg.

About to head in - Kimi is really excited!

The team called for everyone to wear yellow. I think we did a good job! 

"Go," yell the fans on the north side. "Ducks," respond those of us on the south side, over and over, louder and louder threatening the eardrums of all who were in attendance. The energy from the parking must have had a ticket and got through the gate because it is now in Autzen Stadium. And the Ducks know it. By the end of the first quarter, we're up 21 points and have held the #23 ranked Huskies to a big fat zero. 

Kimi reacts after Avery Patterson scores on a 43-yard interception return.

The one Husky fan in our section watches with his head down as his team tries to compete, but it's clear they're in over their heads and don't stand a chance. The Ducks are up 35-7 at the half causing the Husky fan to quickly disappear from his seat. No doubt he's headed to the club to drown his sorrows. Before going to the club myself, I leave a cup filled with dog bones in his cup holder. Only, he'd never return, leaving the dawgs in the dawghouse to fend for themselves.

The Huskies go on to score a touchdown in the 3rd and 4th quarter, but we keep pace and this game is in the books. The Huskies leave Autzen Stadium whimpering.....

HO HUM, just another blow out. 

Autzen, Home of the O

Final score: 52-21 Ducks

NEXT WEEK IS A BYE WEEK, SO BYE.

OUR FLIGHT LEAVES AT 6:30 TOMORROW MORNING.
WE'RE GOING TO HAWAII TO RECUPERATE.


SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS FROM PHOENIX!

Thanks for following the Duck Tale! 

5th & 7

September 29, 2012

179 miles to the stadium

Oregon Ducks at Washington State Cougars

7:30 kickoff

Chilly temps with a cold wind blowing off the Puget Sound

The fifth game of the season with seven more to go (AT LEAST!!), and I'm feeling it. The Doritos, beers, and sausages from the previous four weeks have stretched not only my pants, but my mental toughness too. It ain't being green, not every week I'm learning, but as us sports fans know, there's no crying in baseball and no excuse in football. As Vince Lombardi once said, "It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up." So, up I go, to the cooler, to the chip bag, to Seattle, even if my heart isn't in it this week because that's what you do when you've made a commitment to

EVERY GAME, EVERY STADIUM.

We check into our hotel and check out our view - not bad!

After breakfast the following day, I decide to go for a walk around Seattle before heading to the game. Although I run into plenty of Duck fans, the Washington State Cougars have "Occupied Seattle." They are everywhere, including the bridges, street corners, restaurants, and even the marinas. Nice boat, Coug, but I think we all know what animal does better in water! 

Finally, around 2:30 we leave for Century Link Field, home of the upset as of late. First, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Packers in the most controversial game of the season (Kimi and I were there!) on Monday Night Football. Then, the Huskies, who are using the field this year while their stadium is being renovated, upset #8 Stanford three days later, and now two days after that, the Cougars, who decided to play the Ducks in Seattle instead of their hometown, have to be hoping Century Link Field proves to be a good luck charm one more time as they take on the #2 team in the country. Let's Go Ducks! 

We're Ducky and we know it ~ setting up in hostile territory, we're the first Ducks to arrive.

But, our backup is on its way!

Soon enough, we're a full-fledged flock with even the Seattle transit system joining in (note the train's color).

 Yeah, Seattle, we wouldn't root for the Dawgs either! Speaking of the Dawgs, we woke up Saturday morning to find bones on our truck. We were there for the Cougar game, but Husky sabotage is never far away. Such bad dogs!

Jess, our resident Coug, befriends the Washington State fans tailgating next to us. Turns out they're the family of Andrew Furney, kicker for the Wazzu team. They would go on to watch their son kick for 8 points that night - two field goals and 2 extra points. That's gotta be cool!

"It isn't Pullman, but it is so fun under the overpass between the Cougs!" Jess G-Raaf, the Coug, on tailgating in Seattle. 

Before we know it, it's time to head into the Stadium to watch the Ducks in their first road game of the season. 

Fans pile in ~ some reports claim it's 6:1 in favor of the Cougar fans. I'm nervous for our redshirt freshman quarterback who has never experienced a road game. Can he handle the pressure, the noise, the antagonism?

As it turns out, yes. After a 23-19 halftime score and some nail-biting, exciting football for the first two quarters, the Ducks come out huge to start the 3rd. In less than a minute and a half game time, Oregon transforms their four point lead into an 18 point one. The Ducks put down the Cougs for good with two quick touchdowns and a pick six on a chilly night in upset stadium. The final score is an upset, just not for the Ducks. 

51-26 Ducks.

Thanks for following the Duck Tale!

SEE YA NEXT WEEK!