A Message To The Pac 12

Got into a conversation the other day with a coug fan about who has the worst fans in the Pac 12.  His answer?  Oregon.  And the beaver fan butting in on our conversation naturally said the same thing.

And they're not alone in this.  Many of the other fans from the conferences 11 other teams say the same thing.

To be fair, even I can admit Oregon fans can be a little overzealous at times.  What can I say?  We're proud of our teams' recent success.  The seed that was planted 18 years ago when Kenny Wheaton went the other way against Washington, is now a full grown Douglas Fir tree.

Oregon fans love to point out that their fir is more beautiful than yours!  So if you're getting tired of it and want them to go away, it aint happin'.

Oregon has a track record that goes back to "the pick" in 1994, and has been building since.  Joey Harrington took the program to the next level in 2000 and 2001.  In both years - 2001 especially when they were snubbed out of the NC - Oregon was in contention for a national championship appearance. 

Since Chip Kelly has been here (first as an OC in '07) Oregon has climbed to even greater heights.  National champion contenders in '07, '09, played for it in '10, and again a contender last year.

Oregon is the only team currently in the country to have played in three straight bcs bowl games.

And fans that used to say, "Kelly has yet to win a bcs game," can no longer play that card after Oregon's win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Sure Oregon lost an experienced starter at QB in Darron Thomas, who went 23-3, but the Ducks have depth all around, including at QB.

Both Brian Bennett and Marcus Mariota have tremendous potential.  

Combine that with many key players returning, some people project Oregon will be BETTER in 2012, and they're set up nicely beyond 2012 as well.

Of course there are the sanctions yet to be handed down, and that's the only hope fans from the 11 other teams have.  However, from what I've read so far, I see no reason to think it will be anything more than a slap on the wrist.

And Chip may leave for the NFL as he almost did earlier this year.

The point is this:  the program that turned the corner in '94, will keep movin' along.

The Ducks aren't going away.