Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Gameday in Palo Alto

Trafton B.

November 8, 2009 - 12:57 PM

Yes, it's true, my friends and I road tripped down to Palo Alto this weekend for the Ducks football game against Stanford. For those of you that were following the game, you will understand why I don't feel like talking about it too much. The weekend didn't turn out exactly as we had planned, but there still were a few positive elements of the weekend.

First, we were all staying at my parents' house with my sister and best buddy from high school, so I had something other than the uninspiring Ducks' defense to think about. Or at least we had a group of friends to share the defeat. Home cooked meals pretty much make everything better. Especially when they're followed up with a serving of mom's carrot cake. Second, our chance for a Rose Bowl birth is still intact, but now we pretty much have to win our next three games to have a chance. And finally, even in defeat Jeremiah Masoli still scored 40 points in my fantasy league.

Anyways, my crew and I are driving over the Bay Bridge listening to Louis Armstrong's, "What a Wonderful World," as we begin our eight hour pilgrimage back to Eugene. (Nine hours with miscellaneous pit stops due to water consumption.) I'll keep this short, and leave the photos at the bottom to speak for themselves, but I'd like to make stress that your college experience is defined largely by the friends you find along the way.

Time and again, I'm truly grateful that I found a group of friends that's willing to take a trip down to watch football in the Bay Area or head up Seattle for Bumbershoot. Not to mention, it's nice having friends that take pleasure in the little things too like rest stops at Burgerville and In N' Out. We have plans of Lake Tahoe for Spring Break, camping at Crater Lake, and our most ambitious is driving to Knoxville next September for our road opener against the Tennessee Volunteers. Those plans might change t flying as the time draws closer.

When it really boils down to it, a college is a college is a college. Sure if you know what you want to study, you should find a university with whatever program you are interested in. But college is about so much more than the academics. If you want to graduate from some "name brand" college just to look scholarly on your resume, then be my guest. But I came to the University of Oregon because I wanted to enjoy my college experience to the fullest. It has yet to disappoint, even when you travel five hundred miles to watch an upset victory over your football team.