Duck fans — you may now come back to earth
I listened for quite a spell Saturday morning on 95.5 The game to Ducks’ Game Day Drive, where Chad Doing, a pal of mine, was trying to give people insight into the Oregon-Stanford game.
Well, not just insight. He was telling them the Cardinal were going to win and win by giving the ball about 30 times to Toby Gearhart, who would run for about 200 yards. He had the game absolutely nailed.
For a couple of hours I listened to Duck Fan berate him, call him crazy, question his intelligence and everything else. Heard the others co-hosting his show say much the same thing.
The point of all this isn’t to say that he made a great prediction or make fun of those who were wrong. It’s just that what bothers me so often about Oregon fans — the newbies among them especially — is that they don’t seem to respect other teams and they don’t really understand how difficult it is in college football for their team to be as good as they think it ought to be. I have to tell you, Duck Fan, I’m not alone in this feeling — I’ve spoken to a great many people in this business who believe Oregon fans are the most unrealistic as any they’ve ever been around. They make Blazer fans seem like stone-cold realists.
Man, these people couldn’t have been around in the difficult days before their school was going to a bowl game virtually every season. It isn’t THAT easy, people. It’s tough. Hell, USC — when it was the most dominating program in the country — would usually lose a conference game or even two. It’s a league that’s difficult to dominate.
(I’d even point to it once more as evidence that a team like Boise State doesn’t belong ranked highly in the polls. Sure, the Broncos beat Oregon — but did they have to go play the likes of Stanford in the following week? No way. They’d never survive a schedule that offers up the consistent competition of the Pac-10.)
Anyway, Duck Fan, just relax a little bit. You can love your team. You can even expect it to win every game. But respect the other teams and other people who try to analyze these games and bring you a little closer to reality. You got beat — learn from it. You aren’t the be all and end all of college football.
You’re good and glory in that all you want. But try to be just a little more realistic in what you’re expecting out of your team. It’s a good group and you’re no less of a fan if you can look at a future game and at least understand that there’s another team good enough, once in a while, to beat your guys.
College football, Oregon Ducks | Dwight Jaynes | November 8, 2009
I’ve spoken to a great many people in this business who believe Oregon fans are the most unrealistic as any they’ve ever been around.
Best qoute on this blog I have ever read !!!! Duck fans are the worst, nice to see their dreams of a BCS game crushed again !!!!
I’m a life-long Duck fan and I learned years ago not to get my hopes up. Year after year they tease the fans by having a good run, only to lose to somebody they had no business losing to. I hoped with a new coach it’d change, but not this year. After that BSU fiasco, if you told me the Ducks would only have 2 losses at this point in the season, I would’ve said you’re crazy. They’ve done much better than I expected this season. I hope I’m not one of those ‘unrealistic’ people Bumpity mentioned.
I live in Bronco country where some fans think the BSU should be ranked even higher for beating the Ducks two years in a row. Now that’s crazy.
I was a freshman at Oregon in 2001 which was The Fiesta Bowl/Elite 8 year with Luke, Luke and Freddy.
A lot of the friends I made at Oregon were not from the state and, therefore, unversed in the University’s losing ways.
As a result of 01/02, a season is only considered great if we reach BCS in football and Final Four in hoops (track and xcountry are great and all, but still…). This is the curse of my generation of Duck fans.
At times I wish we could be more practical, but that would probably take all of the fun out of it.
With that said: GO DUCKS! Let’s win these next three!
P.S. Fire Ernie!
Maybe Duck fans are what you say. I have to say tho I did not catch the radio show you discussed. I did over the last week listen to more than one national radio, self described, college football expert. Who were feeding and fanning the fires of the Duck not only almost a lock for a BCS bowl game. But a realistic. I swear I heard talk on Mad Dog Radio of the Ducks having a realistic shot of getting into the BCS championship game. So that all lasted all of one week. Earth has called. Ducks have landed. But how about those Beavers
I’d just like to apologize now for being a University of Oregon alum and being a Duck season ticket holder and fan, especially because we all listen to sports talk radio and have unrealistic expectations.
As a 5th generation Duck and a life long lover of Duck football I am always lambasted when I go on Oregonlive.com and post what seem to be obvious comments about Duck opponents or Duck historical trends of fall flat on faces after big games. I get called a troll or fake Duck fan.
It is such a weird hyper macho religious cult on the fan boards and if you don’t toe the line of delusional fandom you are bombarded with hate comments and then lots of them will stalk you online after every comment. It is sooo odd.
Let me tell you, I HATE those forums on O-Live. The moderators on all forums there are biased. The people spend to much time commenting on what they think about a post ITSELF, rather than just responding to the ACTUAL QUESTION and getting it done with. Then, when some established poster complains to the moderator, they erase posts. There’s a difference between “inappropriate” and “uninteresting.” I’ve seen too many established posters cry that someone’s post is “uninteresting,” and they get it deleted. That’s exactly how you lose control of a chat room: show bias.
It also reminds me of when I worked at the bank. If you were calling about your loan, I worked as a regular account rep, and I’d have to transfer you to a loan rep or loan servicing. Now, I understand how frustrated people were in waiting just to get to me, but then they spend literally five or six minutes whining about being transferred, and if they could have just sucked it up, let me transfer them, and gotten them in line for the loan reps, they could’ve saved themselves trouble. What I’m saying is, that’s why I hate the O-Live posters and especially their moderators, because they need to just answer your questions, agree or disagree, rather than telling you how stupid they think your question is. Forget O-Live.
Dwight, I can appreciate you calling some duck fans out for their unrealistic expectations, but you gotta remember that you probably have a skewed sense of what “Duck Fan” thinks since it is only those with stupid unrealistic expectations that do things like call a radio show to make fun of people making realistic predictions. I and many other duck fans looked at stanford as the one pac-10 foe that Oregon would not be able to defend. I don’t appreciate getting labeled unrealistic just because I’m a duck fan.
The BCS title game was a long shot prior to Stanford.
The Rose bowl is still a go if we win out.
Yes the air was let out of the sails a bit, but were still on track, not derailed.
I try to be realistic about this stuff, even as a huge duck fan I am a realist….but Dwight, I’ve got to tell you, It is really condescending the way you talk down to ALL duck fans and lump us all together. Yes, there are some bad apples, but show me 1 team without them!
I have never left a message here or on any board before, but just cannot stand your arrogance any more. And yes, I will stop coming to your blog as you have suggested to others..good riddens
It’s official. Please let me just get this off of my chest: I HATE Stanford! Just like I hate Arizona, Washington State, UCLA, and Arizona State. I’m angry about how these teams have ruined things for the Ducks, and remember that I’m a Husky alum and season ticket holder (but I like the Ducks and Beavers, too). I hate Cal, too. Normally, I don’t root for Cal, but I’m going to be rooting for them HARD when Arizona plays them.
I started being a Duck fan in the early 90s, before they went to the Rose Bowl. I hope that I am as realistic as thy come. I went to the Stanford game and came away impressed by both teams. Neither team made many mistakes-especially Stanford who looked just about perfect.
Oregon has been beaten, twice this season, on the road, but VERY good teams. The Ducks looked bad in the BSU loss, but looked good in the Stanford loss. EVery group of 20-year old have to have a down day in 12 so give them some slack.
The last time times the Ducks have won the Pac-10, they lost to Stanford in 2001 at home. In 1994, they lost to Hawaii, Utah, and WSU but still went to the Rose Bowl. They should bounce back okay this year. BUT Arizona and OSU look like teams that can, and might beat them, so lets not count our roses before they are delivered.
Dwight,
There are so many flaws in your reasoning, I don’t know where to start.
1. Chad usually plays the role of the antagonist. He has routinely picked the Ducks’ opponent this year to win the game. This isn’t a new thing for him and by getting a game right, it doesn’t suddenly make his view gospel.
2. Duck fans believing they would beat Stanford isn’t irrational. It was actually in line with NATIONAL experts, you know, those guys that set betting lines. Ducks were favored by a touchdown.
3. The Ducks lost and were flat out beat on Saturday, but NO ONE saw the outcome that way. Ducks fans felt like Stanford wouldn’t stop the Ducks offense…and it didn’t. The Ducks had almost 600 yards of offense and 42 points. People who were projecting Stanford to win the game weren’t thinking it was going to be 51-42. They were thinking Stanford would milk clock, get a couple of big turnovers and probably win a game 31-28. In short, no one really saw the game this way. Win or lose, even Chad was wrong in how he thought the game would play out.
4. How does irrational Duck fan compare to irrational local media that left the Ducks for dead after the Boise State game, said Kelly wasn’t ready to be a head coach, etc? I’m not saying this specifically about you, but the media in general around these parts. Just as many media and crazy rival fans were EVERYWHERE talking about how atrocious the Ducks would be this year after their loss to Boise State. How are they any less irrational than Duck fan that thinks they can win their last 4 games of the season?
5. Please stop labeling an entire fan base of fans by a sampling of them on radio call-in shows and anonymous posters to a message board or anonymous people replying to your blog. I follow both paid rivals sites for the Ducks and Beavers and there are just as many irrational fans for both programs. Its why online polls and radio show call-ins aren’t scientific. Your blog post here is about callers to a DUCK PRE-GAME RADIO SHOW. The people listening to that show and feel the need to call-in are likely the most diehard of Duck fans that have probably been pre-funking the game and are getting amped up for kickoff.
6. Maybe you get the crazy Duck fan more to your site than Beaver fan, but you know why? You only talk about the Ducks and usually in a negative manner…wheter its 30 different blog posts about Blount, or reposting negative articles about the teenage days of Masoli, or analyzing their losses.
7. This is what college football is about. There are no playoffs to settle everything at the end of the season. College football is about watching games and then arguing about polls and rankings. If the NBA didn’t have a playoff system, you would have had just as many crazy Blazer fans calling in to radio shows saying the Blazers were the best team and how they owned the Lakers, etc. The most irrational fan bases for any sport is college football. The combination of age of fan base and the fact you can’t just sit back and determine who’s best on the field is what drives callers to radio shows and posters to your site.
So I don’t get what you are comparing Duck fans, too. The Blazers are a whole different beast, and Beaver fans are usually still reeling from losing 2-3 games to open their season every year. The last time that Beaver fans were even able to be this irrational was the year after their Fiesta Bowl victory and there were plenty of them around.
my thoughts exactly.
exactly? wow,Duck fans are sooo wierd
Dwight in my circle of Duck fans no one was expecting to be PAC-10 Champs and trip to the Rose Bowl this year until that stupid SI cover came out. When I saw the SI cover I thought to my self “OH NO!” As a Duck fan or any fan for that matter isn’t getting excited about the possibility of something great what it is all about?
Regarding the game: Stanford had two weeks to prepare for this game and it showed. They played a perfect game and had players step up and play great: Gerhart is a stud and is a load to try and bring down. Was that Andrew Luck or John Elway playing QB for Stanford on Saturday? I tip my hat to Andrew Luck, he played big and made some unbelievable throws. At the end of the day the Ducks still have a great shot at going to the Rose Bowl.
Some good points here Dwight. I am a Beaver fan so I have an obvious bias here but I must defend the Ducks a little here. They have a great fan base that supports the team (was that a home game at Stanford?). To me the Ducks just have the most vocal and unrealistic minority group of fans in the nation. The down to earth good fans are the majority but the fans that think they get robbed of a title every year are just so loud. Similarly I think there are some unrealistic Blazer fans out there (maybe they are the same UofO fans you speak of). I got so tired of hearing Blazer fans call the Blazers a “Dynasty” just because we drafted Greg Oden…. how about we win a title or two before we start the “Dynasty” talk… lol.
“Chad Doing, a pal of mine, was trying to give people insight into the Oregon-Stanford game.
He was telling them the Cardinal were going to win”
Even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes.
It’s a total fallacy.
First of all, anyone who actually calls a sportstalk radio show, cannot be considered your typical fan. Don’t judge a fan base by a few callers…Not all Beaver fans can be judged by the idiotic “fire Mike Riley” crowd that pop up after their inevitable slow starts.
I am a lifelong Duck who spends a lot of time talking to other Ducks and reading all things Duck. I have never heard a Duck fan that wasn’t cautious. Being a Duck fan is having your heart broken. It’s getting screwed out of your National Championship shot in 2001, it’s losing the big game, or the one you should easily win, it’s seeing your second legitimate NC shot go down in a crumpled heap.
That ultimate Buffoon, “Chad in Portland” (pathetic Jim Rome wannabe), was trying to paint the same delusional picture this morning. The only times I’ve heard any Duck fan talk National Championship were the two times we had legitimate shots at it: 2000/2001 and 2007. And so what? Why not? It was possible. Otherwise, it’s media pundits that bring up Oregon as a contender (SI Cover??). We Duck fans know there is too much football to be played to talk about that.
You know, I wasn’t even that upset at the Stanford loss. They played lights out. The Ducks put on an offensive show of their own, but Stanford was the better team. Period.
“I’ve spoken to a great many people in this business who believe Oregon fans are the most unrealistic as any they’ve ever been around.” Name a few (besides Canzano). Otherwise your just propping up a straw man to make your own argument.
I think its a case of thinking locally here. This idea that there are more irrational Duck fans out there than say Husky fans (after one big win this season), Irish fans (always feeling like they have the best team), most SEC fans (because their conference is “so difficult”, Michigan fans (laughing at Oregon fans about their tiny stadium before that game in 2003, is ridiculous.
Regardless, this idea that Oregon fans think irrationally big is also absurd. Oregon was #2 in the country to start the decade. They were 10-2 in 2005 despite losing Clemens. They were rolling towards a national title game and a Heisman trophy in 2007 before Dixon went down, they finished in the Top 10 in 2008 and they were 7-1 this year with 4 winnable games remaining. If not for two major injuries to top notch college QBs (Clemens and Dixon in their senior years), its very easy to see that Oregon might have had two more 1-loss seasons because Clemens probably wins the Holiday Bowl for them in 2005 and Dixon runs the table in 2007.
In 4 of the last 5 years Oregon has been flirting with the Top 10 and getting major national recognition. If Oregon fans can’t get excited and at least dream big over the last several years, what’s the point of watching college football?
Also, how about the media putting OSU on the same level as UO this decade? How is that not irrational? OSU has only lost less than 4 games once which was the year Erickson rented players for a one year run almost a decade ago. OSU hasn’t even been to a Holiday Bowl during this time. I’m not trying to knock the Beavers here because they have done a great job with what they have and have routinely fielded very good football teams. Its just always funny to me how quickly the media wants to bury UO and say OSU is as good or better when its simply not true.
I think you see a lot of this come out on radio call-in shows and message boards, too. While most of it is just irrational anonymous fans, its not shocking that the 30-40 negative Duck posts you have had on your site this season, Dwight, causes many to be defensive. If we only gathered our Duck information from your site, we would think Oregon would be 2-7 right now instead of 7-2. Its comical.
100% on point, DJ!
amen brother….
The majority spend the week after a loss making excuses and spend the week after a win talking about how they should be national champs.
I would just point out that Boise State fans do not feel sorry for Oregon