Halloween at Autzen

David R.

November 1, 2009 - 11:48 AM

Halloween in Eugene was fabulous this year, but it was for reasons other than what is commonly expected on Halloween. Most people enjoy Halloween because they can dress up in a costume, and maybe even run around and get some candy. I enjoyed Halloween this year for neither of those reasons, but because of what happened at Autzen Stadium.

Halloween came on a saturday this year, and not only was there a highly significant football game, but the highly publicized show College Gameday decided to come to Eugene. I started my day early, getting up at 3 am to get ready to watch the show, live, from the Cassanova Center next to the stadium. I met up with two of my friends and we walked from campus to Autzen, while it was still pitch black outside, to make sure that we were relatively close to the stage to watch the show. When we got there, there were tents and sleeping bags everywhere, as many people decided to camp out over night to make sure they were front row. The show began at 7, and concluded at 9. During that two hour span, the show covered insights about all of the big games around the country that day, with loud outbursts from the crowd coming anytime Oregon was mentioned. The last segment of the show involves Lee Corso, one of the show anchors, selecting which team he thinks will win in the featured game. He makes his decision by placing on his head the logo of that team. After plenty of delay, he finally made his decision, and the crowd went wild as he placed the Duck head over his, signifying his confidence in our Ducks to the nation. Because I woke up at 3 am to attend this event, I decided it was time to take a nap to try to recuperate for the game, taking place at 5 pm that night.

I woke up from my nap at right around one o clock to the sounds of a few of my roommates grilling hotdogs and hamburgers on our patio. After filling up on food we decided to head over to the stadium to partake in the normal tailgating festivities. We went in to the stadium at 4:30, and the ensuing game was an action-packed thriller. There had been talk all week about how Autzen Stadium is one of the loudest in the country. USC had the ball to begin the game, and the crowd noise during their first drive might be the loudest I have ever head it in my three years at Oregon. The noise never stopped while the Trojans were on the field, and they were unable to match the offensive intensity of the Ducks. The fans were quick to rush the field after the game, and Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was one of those caught in a mob of Oregon students looking to congratulate him. It was later announced that Oregon has never scored that many points against USC. The Ducks look to sneak up in the poles, maybe to the top five, and they continue to shock the nation after their week one mishap in Boise. The Ducks have a few crucial games remaining, and it will be interesting to see where the pieces fall come time for Bowl games.