My Ode to College Football

Korrin B.

September 4, 2010 - 5:35 PM

I have a confession to make and I would like to make it here. I believe that this confession will help begin the healing process of the initial guilt I felt upon noting this realization. My confession: I don't love college football like my friends love college football anymore.

Now that my confession is out in the open, I would like to take this time to explain myself, clear up a few things, and hopefully send a poetically inspiring message out to the future generations of Ducks.

I will never forget the early years. Sometimes I thought that maybe I had gone crazy, like maybe this "duck fever" was a real thing. I met some of my greatest college friends waiting in snow and rain, sometimes even overnight, for the coveted football tickets. These days students have it easy with the simple click of a button online. In a way I feel sorry for them. Those lines for student football tickets created a lot of memories from college that I'll take away with me forever. Anyway, the point is, my freshman year, I was insane. Each game I attended completely ducked out from head to toe, yellow and green covering everything from my tall tube socks to the "O" tattoos on my face.

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that I grew up through football. Each season, I found myself a more well-seasoned college student. Each year my level of fandom changed a little, as I began to change my perspective on the various importances of receiving a higher education. Freshman and sophomore years are two years that focus on building social skills, meeting new people, and creating a sense of community in a new environment. For those two years, football acted as a perfect catalyst in forming these new relationships. I felt so connected to my campus when I first started and that has stayed with me throughout.

However, junior, senior, and in my case, super senior years begin to move more toward career aspirations and academic focuses. They are the years that establish the ability to state an argument as to why the football team may be bad for higher education. This past year, I was unable to look at college football the same. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't show up hours early to every game and scream and jump the entire four hours of play. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I had grown out of it and had realized that my focus was on academics and helping to secure its integrity.

As I said, there are different levels of fandom and my confession is not that I am no longer a Duck fan. My confession was that I am no longer a fan in the way that my friends still are. Because the raw truth of the matter is - One a Duck, always a Duck. I will forever be a fan. I will always wear my colors on game days, keep up to date on scores, and get that little tickle in my heart when I see Duck fans pouring across the Autzen foot bridge together. I will always remember the words to the fight song and how many times I have sung it, clapping, with hundreds of other Ducks. I may no longer be insane, but perhaps I am refined. I have the perfect essence of Duck fever to connect me to my University forever, but not to consume my life. I want the world to know that although I will fight for academics now over athletics any day of the week, I will also stand strong as a fan and know the importance college football can play in the social growth and learning of college students.

With that thought, I would like to pass my torch. The light within me burns bright and forever, but the flaming torch must move onward. This is my wish to incoming freshmen.

I hope one day you get to feel what it feels like to stand at 4:00am outside of Autzen waiting for College Game Day to start on ESPN. I hope you make an amazingly clever hand-painted sign for the occasion.

One day, I hope you get to understand the beauty of running to get the front row seats in the student section.

I hope you someday find yourself writing and turning in a history paper due that day at noon while using in and out internet near Autzen Stadium and sitting on the concrete. I hope you too get an A on that paper.

One day, I hope that you yell so loud throughout an entire game that for the next couple of days, your voice is raspy.

I hope you get stuck in Autzen footbridge traffic and start the entire crowd singing the Oregon fight song.

I hope you know what it feels like to stay in 11-degree weather for an entire night game that you know we are going to lose no matter if you stay or if you go.

I hope they bring back the old ticketing system so you can see what it is like to wait with your dorm mates in the snow for hours in hopes of getting a student ticket to the Civil War game.

I hope one day, you too grow up through the game and find your place and proper level in post-college fandom. I hope that one day you find yourself a lifelong fan. I hope you find yourself as a proud Duck alum who gives their donation to the University's academics because they know that is where the money truly belongs.

My old fandom has changed, yes, but everyone can stop giving me that shunned look because the truth will always be that I will always be a fan.