Back to Oregon

David R.

March 25, 2010 - 11:31 AM

Even after sleeping on both legs of the trip home, I am still exhausted from my trip to Las Vegas. The energy of the city alone is enough to take it out of anyone. The opening rounds of the March Madness tournament were going on during my first two days there, so all of the t.v.s around the majority of the hotels were airing the games. I was over at the Bellagio to watch Northern Iowa knock out Kansas, the team who many picked to be in the national championship game. This game was a bracket buster for many.

I began to get the sense that many people traveled down to Las Vegas because of the fact that their favorite teams happened to be in the tournament. People everywhere were decked out from head to toe in the athletic gear of their favorite teams. The sports lounges were packed full of fans trying to get a glimpse of all of the games. I brought along some of my Oregon clothes, and started to sport my gear shortly after I arrived. Due to the recent off-field issues involving many of our football players, a few people went out of their way to make a comment about the thuggish behavior of Oregon football players. However, despite all of this, while I was walking past the betting booth I couldn't help but notice that Oregon's football team has the third best odds in the country to win the 2011 national championship, despite everything that has occurred recently. The only two teams ahead of us were Alabama and either Texas or Florida if I am not mistaken. This speaks to the character of our football team I think. This suggests that maybe Oregon has one of the better teams in the nation, as opposed to teams who are successful because of individual players. Even with our supposed to be heisman candidate quarterback out for the season, I still feel that the Ducks have enough weapons in their arsenal to win another Pacific 10 title and be successful during bowl season.

As I came to realize even more after the beginning of this week, a cheap trip to Las Vegas might be he father of all oxymorons. Everywhere I turned, I owed money to someone else for something else. A simple beverage, in a small glass that was full of ice costed me 11 dollars. It is ridiculous, but I guess Las Vegas as a whole realizes that people will still come and pay to have a good time, so prices can extend higher and higher.

I am sitting in my roommate's house in Portland, wearing the same clothes I have been wearing for almost two days. Southwest airlines lost my suitcase somehow, so I don't have any of my clothes. I have been calling the airport religiously, so hopefully my bag will turn up somewhere. I was able to get a 3.4 this last term, so I am hopeful that I can keep up my academic success for the next ten weeks. I an excited for the spring term to begin-nothing beats Eugene during spring time.