BCS National Championship: Not Rooting For Oregon Or Auburn (And Why You Shouldn't Either)

Because the SEC needs to be put in its place.

As much as we’d like to sit in our ivory tower, we’re as guilty as Oregon – our benefactors aren’t quite as deep pocketed as Knights. And don’t think for a minute that we wish Uncle Phil wouldn’t fork some money our way as well. We’ve done a lot of Oregon-lite stuff – the Jordan Silver uniforms, the Nike Gold jerseys – none of which I have a problem with, but Cal is also a big-time pac-12 program and really, unless we’re watching Division III athletes compete, we’re part of the big money machine too.

Anyways, I’m cheering for Oregon – Pac12/mom is a duck/love the Nike uniforms/we almost beat them.

I’ll agree that there is more than just a little that’s unsavory about Phil Knight. There’s something creepy and almost fundamentally disturbing about the guy personally, and even more about how he’s just gone ahead and assumed ownership of the Oregon Athletic Dept without any opposition from the state or university. How he’s just slid into the de facto AD role is quite revolting, actually. And yes, it does say a lot about the U of O.

As California Pete mentioned, almost every university has it’s big bucks donors. Thankfully, ours (Spieker, Haas, Sather) tended to donate toward the betterment of the entire university, and not because they saw some giant marketing tool. Of course, Knight is using most of the NCAA as his billboard, but Oregon is his prime whore.

Still, as much as Knight makes me feel the need to shower and scrub with brilo pads, and as their fans’ petulant behavior has soured me on them, I am still pulling for the Ducks tonight. Mainly because it would be such sweet music to have the Pac-10 shut them up. That said, I certainly wouldn’t be put off if the Ducks get their asses beaten, either.

In all honestly, I’m not even all that excited about the game. Hard to be when you dislike both teams.

# And finally (file this under the “this isn’t creepy at all” category), “In the second- and third-floor women’s bathrooms, facing the stalls is a larger-than-life mirror etching of Knight.”

Being a billionaire is officially the greatest thing ever!

…so I would love for Auburn to be the team that shits the bed and lets down the side. And I’d much rather lose it to the Pac-12 than to those hayseeds from the Texas-10, or worse. (Seriously, this is the first SEC-Pac 10 matchup in a bowl in 20 years, which should just prove how broken the bowl system is.)

Auburn has zippy defense, and played in the worst SEC in a decade or more (when the East champ would have finished 5th in the West, you’re unbalanced and weak). And besides, Bobby Lowder almost cost them their school accreditation, you think a title’s going to stand up to NCAA scrutiny? Auburn is the crookedest of a crooked lot.

And yet, I can’t rile myself up for Oregon. I hate the revolving door of uniforms. I hate the ridiculous Nike money. I hate the hayseed hippies of UC-Eugene for their comical belief that one guy taking one flop was somehow enough to hold them to 17 points. The Pac-10 was the weakest it’s been in the BCS era – never mind all the unfilled bowl berths, THE FARM WENT TO THE ORANGE BOWL – and given a month to scheme, somebody like a Nick Saban or Les Miles would have ready a defense capable of feeding Oregon their own limbs. (The five week layoff, in my mind, is the biggest reason why the lower-ranked team tends to win the title game.)

Oregon is shady, but Auburn’s going to have a whole film to themselves when ESPN does “50 for 50”.

What the hell. Go Ducks. F them Tigers.

so we can brag about holding them down AND have some give for the injuries brouhaha.

Please be reasonable and rational in the comments.

What fun is THAT?

OK, I don’t disagree about King Phil and the arrogance of UO fans (I live in Portland, for goodness sakes…), but the SEC is worse. Only difference is there are less of them here to bug me (tho three in my office, including an Auburn alum). You KNOW they think the Pac is crap cuz SEC has so many BCS Championships, even tho they’re Conference Playoff system benefits their ability to get to that promised land. I’m tired of the E. Coast Bias (no one looks at the OOC schedules like they should). I hate when my cereal gets soggy in milk. I want some Pac-10 respect, dammit, and Oregon winning will help, and only make Cal’s slim defeat look better.

And really, Avi, if Oregon loses, all the things you railed against are still true. $ got them TO the championship game, win or lose, and there’s nothing we can do ’bout that.

With every passing year, the hubris of the rich—not just the big conferences looking down on the mid-majors, but the big schools IN the big conferences (Florida/Alabama in the SEC, Texas in the Big 12, Ohio State in the Big Ten, USC in the Pac-10, with Oregon and Auburn soon to join them), as they scoff upon the feet of the mid-major and the teams that struggle beneath them.

What?

The point is that this arms race in college football is unsustainable, and a victory for either Oregon or Auburn would just encourage more and more spending by other schools. We need to realize the system has to change or the sports we love (college football and hoops) will eventually collapse on themselves because colleges will no longer have the money to pay for their head coaches.

And seriously, when people say Pac-10 respect, they’re not going to respect CAL. They’re going to respect Oregon and USC and to hell with the rest of them. It’s going to take more than one team knocking off an SEC power to really allow the conference to rise up and claim superiority.

I predict an Auburn win:

1. lots of time to prepare for the quirky Oregon offense (who said gimmick?). (If this game was right after the season it would have been much better for Oregon.)
2. I am not sure Oregon is able to deal with repeated Newton-into-line-for-a-slow-motion-six-yard-gain plays.
3. Auburn has the best player on offense and the best player on defense (didn’t say cleanest, said best)

I am planning to root for Oregon, west coast solidarity and all. We’ll see how it looks on the field, who knows maybe visions of Bo Jackson will swing me to Auburn (if I turn the tv on.)

I hope the announcers put their references to the Cal game in the right context (i.e., complimentary to Cal!)

jh

Why, oh why, did they ever abolish the tie?

Don Fisher cared about sports as much as his damn art!

Screw Oregon and their a-hole fans

Firstly, this is an excellent piece. I really enjoyed reading it. I’m not sure if you’re interested in doing this on a professional level someday, but if you are this is one of your best pieces and should go in your portfolio. If you did that I would clean up the 1 or 2 typos, but by no means should that be taken as a criticism.

Secondly, I am disagreeing with the theme that Cal athletics = noble/doing it right/academics>sports/etc. They’re trying to play the same ballgame that others are playing, they just aren’t as good at it. Sure they have some sharp kids who more or less stay out of trouble, but they also enjoy the special admission privileges / 2 point whatever GPA that wouldn’t get you into any UC worth going to. They’ve been operating on low, tight budget in an area of the country that’s expensive and extremely liberal. If they had an Uncle Phil, I bet they’d use the Uncle Phil in whatever way Uncle Phil wanted. They’ve done a poor job marketing to Bay Area sports fans.

Phil Knight throws money on the field, distracting Cam Newton and his father, thus a Ducks victory

anyone notice an Elite Conference could be in the makings:

Oregon
USC
Texas
Oklahoma
Ohio St
Florida
LSU
Alabama

With the option of tacking on some of Notre Dame, Auburn, Tennessee, Michigan, Penn St + other western schools that rise up.

Think that would have a problem obtaining prime time TV audiences? Think long-distance travel would be much an issue?

No more Iowa States, Washington States, Mississippi States, and Northwesterns watering down the conference.

I share your views fully, and appreciate you having the courage to take a stand on what is an unpopular position in college football. There is really only one reason I am able to be a fan of Cal Football, besides having gone to Cal, and that is that Jeff Tedford and company seem to really push academics even for students not as bright as Alex Mack. Scholar-Athleticism is the name of the game to me. I am not naive, at all, but hold to an ideal that is rarely met.

Oregon as a state is depressed economically and has the worst education system in the West. Knight supports O with sports dollars while professors there are the lowest paid in the West. The school struggles to provide basic education, while O gets glamorous facilities. I know O is not alone, as you say, but it is so extreme there I cannot support it.

Besides, coaches like Mike Riley and Tedford are genuinely nice guys by all accounts. Chip Kelly is a prick by all accounts.

I’m glad Auburn won even though they are a farce of a school too. Just so I don’t have to hear extra gloating by Duck fans.

As much as I say Go Bears!, I would rather see Stanfurd win any day than either O or Auburn, for the scholar athlete reasons above. Even a glimmer of scholastic emphasis goes a long way.

Go Bears!