LSU fans yell "Tiger Bait", guess what Duck fans do?

ok, thank goodness you're at least using lubricant

 

Not exactly true.

Ducks stunk it up until Rich Brooks was hired in 1977.

He turned the Ducks around, but it didn't show in win/loss until 1977.

Oregon went to the Rosebowl in 1995, at that time, Phil Knight stepped forward and asked;

"What do you need to take the Ducks to the next level?".




Back to Rich Brooks, he's like George Washington to Duck fans. He won the revolution. One Duck blogger always closes with;

Long live Rich Brooks,
Hail Mike Belotti,
Onward, and upward with Chip Kelly

Duck's are special in this regard;

hired Brooks 1977, left for NFL 1995
Ducks OC Belotti hired 1995, left to become Oregon AD 2009
Ducks OC Kelly hired in 2009

Ducks haven't fired a coach in over 35 years! Oregon fans support.

5 of the current Oregon assistant coaches were hired by Brooks

Nick Aliotto - D Coordinator, 20 years
Don Pellum - Linebackers, 21 years
Gary Campbell - Running backs, 27 years
Steve Greatwood - Offensive line, 26 years
Jim Radcliffe - Strength & conditioning, 26 years

Technically, the Ducks play on Rich Brooks field, at Autzen Stadium, the field name in honor of their former coach.

Brooks came back to college, and coached at Kentucky, where I thought he did well. After retiring, Brooks returned to Oregon and is enjoying life in Eugene.


Go Ducks

 

The University of Oregon’s first football game was played on February 22, 1894,

Oregon was in the Pacific 8 Conference, When I enrolled in 1974. Duck football was in a very sad state. Oregon usually couldn’t fill their little 30k stadium. I remember attending games of less than 15,000.

Present NFL coach Norv Turner was the Duck’s QB at that time. We made fun of him, Calling him “Norvell Turnover, because of his remarkable ability to fumble the snap from center.

After the Duck’s home opener in 1975, a 5-0 loss to San Jose State, the UO President told a reporter he’d, “rather be whipped in a public square than sit through a game like that.”

The Duck’s couldn’t even beat the Beavers, and they were more pathetic than us.
A national sports column, “The bottom ten” for years consistently listed Oregon State as the worst team in America. The Ducks were mostly at #3, (thank goodness for Northeastern).

Oregon football hit rock bottom in 1983, vs. Oregon State in the annual ‘Civil War’ clash. Dubbed, ‘the toilet bowl’, the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Sadly, the score had little to do with defense, there were 11 fumbles, 5 interceptions, and 4missed field goals. That game is doomed as the last scoreless tie in NCAA Div. 1 history.

Rich Brooks became head coach in 1977 and got off to a shaky start. Oregon had a season record of 2-12, four times during Brook’s first six years as head coach. Still, you could see that the Ducks were improving under his leadership. Interest was growing, the stadium was being filled more often. During the mid 80’s the Ducks became competitive, a .500 season was the new standard.

In 1989 Oregon posted an 8-4 record, they had to buy their way in, but the Ducks were going bowling.

Eugene was eggstatic, Oregon was going to the Independence Bowl!



The Washington Huskies were used to mopping up the floor with the Ducks. UO had beaten UW only 3 times in 20 years. There were some inspired efforts, but the games always seemed to slip away. In 1994 with the Ducks leading 24-20 the Huskies were driving down the field. With the ball on the ducks 7 line and 1:05 remaining, it appeared as if the Huskies might prevail again.

And then it happened, Duck’s DB Kenny Wheaton intercepted the pass.

Returning the interception 97 yards for a touchdown it sealed the victory for the Ducks. That year Oregon went to the Rose Bowl, for the first time in 38 years.

Wheaton’s interception, means much more to Duck fans. Oregon football fans are patiently loyal, steadfast, we’ve endured long painful years.

Proud Ducks view, “the pick”, as our ‘fait accompli’, our victory after a long hard fight. Oregon fans see it as the precise moment when the Ducks leapt upon stage. We saw and knew, exactly then, that the Ducks had become a force to be reckoned with. Oregon football had arrived!

A replay of “the pick” is the last video shown before the Ducks take the field. Watching it is an emotional thing for longtime Oregon fans. It puts a lump in our throat every time.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bellotti was elevated to head coach, after Rich Brooks left for the NFL in 1995. Bellotti elevated the expectations of the Ducks football program. Season records of the past deemed good, are now considered mediocre and disappointing. In his 14 seasons, Bellotti’s teams were selected for 12 bowls.

Bellotti, became Oregon’s athletic director in 2009, he is the winningest coach in Oregon history, with 116 wins and a 67.8 winning percentage. At that time offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the designated ‘coach in waiting‘, was promoted to head coach.


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbs00B7fqJU&feature=related"]"The Pick" - Kenny Wheaton's interception vs. Washington Huskies, 1994 - YouTube[/ame]