dwc13 No. 1 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Now that I'm back home from a long road trip and have finished procrastinating (for now), I'd like to welcome UO and Duck fans to the B1G 18 Ten. Oregon's athletic programs have escaped the sinking ship that is the Pac 12 Conference. Yes, there are some traditions/rivalries/programs that will be adversely affected going forward. It's an unfortunate by-product of conference realignment. However, as a college football fan, I'm really excited about new stadiums to experience a game day atmosphere and Autzen is definitely on the short list. I'm an Ohio State alum (undergrad years ago) and also have graduate/professional degrees from other B1G Ten universities. I've spent many years living in the traditional B1G Ten footprint. As long as you don't root for The Team Up North (TTUN), Notre Dame, or bring up last year's game in Columbus too often (remember, 2015 CFP Championship Game & 1-9, right?!), we'll get along fine, lol. B1G Ten members do their best to act in unison. That doesn't mean there won't be different opinions; however, members work hard to reconcile differences until everyone is on the same page. Imagine that, right? FWIW, Ohio State and Michigan haven't demanded a bigger share of media rights revenues (w/r/t other current members), even though the 2 programs (and to a lesser extent, Penn State) have been far and away the ones driving the $$$$$ for the conference. If USC tries pulling that stunt once they're in the B1G Ten, they'll be shot down very quickly. It would be quite the road trip from Eugene to drive to many of the B1G Ten campuses for a football game, but I hope some of you will have the opportunity to make the trip someday. Driving will allow you to visit multiple campuses and see parts of the country that are quite different from the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, it's very easy to get decent tickets to Northwestern and Illinois games. Relatively easy for Indiana and Purdue home games. Definitely worth attending a game in Lincoln, Nebraska -- home to the friendliest college football fans. I attended many games in the 90s, back when the Huskers actually had football teams that were pretty good. Good luck in 2023. May the best team that will be joining the B1G Ten -- whichever one that turns out to be -- win the Pac 12 on the field (and not because of officiating mistakes). Even if that team is US... Uh, no. 2 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 2 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Welcome to OBDF. Hope to get your comments often. Remember 2021 ooc in the shoe? Ducks compete well against B1G. Have beaten the top of the conference in modern day. Going to be fun. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 3 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Thank you, dwc13. My Mom was among the first women to earn a Master's Degree from Ohio State. I'm named after a maternal uncle who was a tank commander under Patton in WW2. Made it through Africa and Italy but was KIA at The Battle of the Bulge. Posthumously, he was awarded a Siler Statr Had he returned, he would have been the captain of the Ohio State golf team. My other maternal uncle saw combat and returned to captain the Michigan golf team. These 2 missed decades of rivalry jousting. I was born in Toledo in the same hospital as Urban Meyer and Jim Harbough. Both had a more illustrious football career than did I. My high water mark was playing D3 ball. I was blessed to see Oregon play back in the day in The Shoe when it was still a shoe. Ducks played a very good game but that was one of the 9 out of 10 to date won by the Buckeyes. Columbus has a great game-day atmosphere. And when we visited, the fans could not have been more gracious. Best of luck to the Bucks in 2023. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 4 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Hello dwc13, as you are always welcome, as it is for all the other fans of schools who want to engage in civilized discussion that is tightly moderated. For people who simply give their opinions/facts/rationale without attacking others--this is a perfect forum to share and learn from each other. I look forward to many great conversations with B1G fans in future years, and while you are welcoming us, we welcome you to this forum. Do visit often! (and yep....I gave you a Buckeye helmet avatar) 2 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwc13 Author No. 5 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Thanks for the welcome and the Buckeye helmet avatar. I love watching college football even if my teams aren't playing. While living in the Bay Area in the 90s, I attended a few Cal and Stanford football games -- probably more than many of their students/alumni. Fan/viewer support (lack thereof) is a big reason why both programs are on the outside looking in at the moment. It's going to take a few years to develop new rivalries once UO joins the B1G Ten but they'll eventually happen. Penn State has only been in the B1G Ten since 1993 but it often schedules the white out game when Ohio State travels to State College. Pretty cool seeing100K fans dressed in white filling the stadium. It's great the Ducks will continue to play Washington, USC and UCLA on at least a semi-regular basis as a member of the B1G Ten. In all likelihood, UO-Washington game will become a 'grandfathered' rivalry game. Even with 18 teams and only 9 or 10 conference games, the B1G Ten won't completely do away with them; however, quite a few of them will fall by the wayside once 2024 schedule is reworked and released. Hard to say what will happen with the Civil War game against Oregon State. If the schools want to make it happen, they can probably work it out. Same with the Apple Cup for Washington & WSU. Just drop a directional/city school ('cupcake' per Duke Vitale) from the non-conference schedule. When the Big XII was formed in 1996, Nebraska and Oklahoma were placed in different divisions. OU didn't want to keep its annual rivalry game with Nebraska because going forward each season the Sooners would have to play Texas and Texas A&M, in addition to the Bedlam game against in-state rival Oklahoma State. Nebraska had Colorado (which was a Top 25 team back then) and Kansas State and that was about it. If the B1G Ten decides on a 10 conference game schedule, there might be less willingness to schedule P5 opponents out of conference. A 10 conference game schedule could be brutal. Time will tell...and money talks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted August 30, 2023 dwc13, so you were The Guy who went to the Cal and Stanford games. Just Kidding. Back in the 90s, both Bay Area teams drew better than decent crowds. Now, both are in effect, hoping to buy their way into the ACC. Very sad but you reap what you sow. Here's hoping Ryan Day picked the right pitcher to throw to an outstanding group of WRs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCKED No. 7 Share Posted August 30, 2023 “The Guy who went to the Cal and Stanford games.” As a Cal alum, that hurts. The truth always does. As a 10 year old kid, I sold programs at Cal games, when Joe Kapp was the QB and the Bears went to the Rose Bowl - and lost to Bob Jeter and Iowa - and in those days and subsequent years Cal drew decent crowds and was competitive. And, under former Duck assistant Jeff Tedford the Bears became a top five team led by QB Aaron Rodgers, an unknown kid from Butte Junior College, who had no D-1 offers out of high school. I have been back to Berkeley many times over the years, usually to see the Ducks, and it’s sad to see what has happened. The “crowds” are sparse and subdued, which is understandable. There hasn’t been much to cheer for. While I still root for Cal, I have been a Duck fan for 50 years (my kids and grandkids are Ducks). May no mistake….the Ducks are “my team.” But there still is something about the walk up Bancroft to Strawberry Canyon and Memorial Stadium on a fall afternoon, the scent of Eucalyptus the air……there’s nothing quite like it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwc13 Author No. 8 Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 10:52 AM, DUCKED said: “The Guy who went to the Cal and Stanford games.” As a Cal alum, that hurts. The truth always does. As a 10 year old kid, I sold programs at Cal games, when Joe Kapp was the QB and the Bears went to the Rose Bowl - and lost to Bob Jeter and Iowa - and in those days and subsequent years Cal drew decent crowds and was competitive. And, under former Duck assistant Jeff Tedford the Bears became a top five team led by QB Aaron Rodgers, an unknown kid from Butte Junior College, who had no D-1 offers out of high school. I have been back to Berkeley many times over the years, usually to see the Ducks, and it’s sad to see what has happened. The “crowds” are sparse and subdued, which is understandable. There hasn’t been much to cheer for. While I still root for Cal, I have been a Duck fan for 50 years (my kids and grandkids are Ducks). May no mistake….the Ducks are “my team.” But there still is something about the walk up Bancroft to Strawberry Canyon and Memorial Stadium on a fall afternoon, the scent of Eucalyptus the air……there’s nothing quite like it. Always loved the view of the San Francisco Bay from the top row seats at Cal Memorial Stadium. One of my favorite places to watch a football game, or at least enjoy the views. It's too bad Cal hasn't been able to consistently field football teams that complement such a beautiful setting. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic No. 9 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Without wanting to sound sarcastic or negative, I can well imagine those colossal schools inhabiting the Big 10 are much more excited abut Oregon And Washington joining the League than the other way around. Playing & competing with those huge programs on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis is far different than facing one of them in a single bowl game at the end of the season. I retain huge reservations about this whole expansion thing and have to trust the brain-trust of Oregon that they know what they're doing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudslide No. 10 Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 6:54 AM, Jon Joseph said: So you were The Guy who went to the Cal and Stanford games. Apparently, there were 3 of us. I attended Cal in the early '60s, saw all of their (as well as Stanford's) games ... and oh woe is me. Those games were intolerable. I wonder if that's what started me drinking...... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioDuck No. 11 Share Posted September 1, 2023 On 8/30/2023 at 3:53 PM, Mic said: Without wanting to sound sarcastic or negative, I can well imagine those colossal schools inhabiting the Big 10 are much more excited abut Oregon And Washington joining the League than the other way around. Playing & competing with those huge programs on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis is far different than facing one of them in a single bowl game at the end of the season. I retain huge reservations about this whole expansion thing and have to trust the brain-trust of Oregon that they know what they're doing. yeah, I know you can't judge a conference by one half of football, but the first half of Minnesota and Nebraska is horrible. If this is B1G football, the B now stands for BORING. I know this is not the top of the conference, but even the mediocre teams in the PAC are much more exciting to watch than this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic No. 12 Share Posted September 1, 2023 On 8/31/2023 at 6:43 PM, OhioDuck said: yeah, I know you can't judge a conference by one half of football, but the first half of Minnesota and Nebraska is horrible. If this is B1G football, the B now stands for BORING. I know this is not the top of the conference, but even the mediocre teams in the PAC are much more exciting to watch than this. This game between the Huskers and Gophers represents the both of the conference, much like Colorado and ASU or Stanford. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
