I say Oregon becomes uncontested #1 -- via versatility and speed.
I say Oregon becomes uncontested #1 -- via versatility and speed.
I live in Eugene, which in my 27 years here has morphed from a hippie town to a fair facsimile of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Everywhere you go, fans are flying Duck flags from their cars, wearing Duck clothing, and claiming to be "Ducks", even when it seems unlikely that they ever graduated from high school. I played college sports and I'm a big sports fan, but I miss the days when one was just as likely to see "Further" (the Keseys' psychedelic bus) as a car sporting Duck-support banners.
On a more positive note, star Duck receiver Darren Carrington is suspended for the game because he tested positive for -- get this! -- marijuana. Good grief! Oregon just voted to legalize marijuana! Last time I looked, marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug. If college kids in Eugene, Oregon can't toke up, I don't know what the world is coming to. I doubt that my acquaintance Obie Babbs (Ken Babbs son, and former Duck Football Captain) would ever have played a game if they had tested him for marijuana.
The Ducks even have professional cheerleaders! In order to comply with the law that says a University must give as many athletic scholarships to women as to men, they've made cheerleading a scholarship sport! I'd root for the Ducks, too, if they offered me a scholarship.
Cynic that I am, I still plan to root, root, root for the home team and St. Marcus Mariotta tomorrow night.
Last edited by Ecurb; 01-12-2015 at 10:32 AM.
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Mahatma Gandhi
In November, Oregon voted to legalize recreational marijuana, but the law doesn't go into effect until July.
Carrington was suspended because the NCAA drug-tested all the Oregon players after their win over Florida State. So it's not really a "team rule" -- the "team" (i.e. the players) had no say in it. The NCAA is an organization representing the University Athletic Departments, and supporting their efforts to make more money be exploiting (amateur) athletes. Their rules are universally anti-athlete and pro-University-money-making. Suppose other extra-curricular college activities started being governed by organizations like the NCAA? Perhaps (for example) all participants in the University's Jazz band would have to get drug tested in order to participate. Oh well! There goes the music program!
Why does the NCAA think it has the authority to test college students for marijuana and ban them from participating in extra-curricular activities if they test positive? I'm not sure. If some biology professor tried to make passing his courses contingent on testing negative for recreational drugs, students would be outraged. However, sports have a long and sordid history of authoritarian coaches dictating "training rules" to students, so the NCAA gets away with it. Amateur athletics should benefit (one would think) the athletes. Drug testing has become reasonable because the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs may make sports more dangerous -- but there's no reason to test for marijuana.
Last edited by Ecurb; 01-12-2015 at 10:30 AM.
St. Marcus loves puppy dogs, children, and helping old ladies across the street. It was Big News in Eugene when St. Marcus received a speeding ticket a couple of months ago. This was the worst thing Marcus had ever done in his life -- going 65 in a 55 mph zone. The legends about the speeding ticket here in Eugene have it that: 1) Marcus was rushing from one charity event to another, and 2) (my favorite) the police officer recognized Marcus and offered to let him off with a warning, but St. Marcus said, "No thank you, officer. I must pay the penalty just like everyone else." Whether either of these rumors has any basis in fact is unclear -- but they sound like urban legends to me.
There is no evidence that any U. of Oregon players have abused animals, although it is possible that Darren Carrington has blown marijuana smoke in his cat's face.