A few weeks ago, I posted an article via this website. Not sure if anyone noticed the difference, but I created this site at the beginning of the year when there was some uncertainty about what the future might look like. I was very open that I liked writing for Rivals and communicated with our new publisher that I would like to continue writing for the site.
But you also never really know how that story will play out, so I had a backup plan for this site. Well, I did continue writing for Duck Sports Authority and now I have this site as well. So what to do with it?
I was not sure until sometime in the last week. My plan is to use this to discuss things about Oregon football and other sports about topics that really are not the bread and butter of a recruiting website; it will allow me a manner to express some thoughts that are outside the sphere of recruiting and game coverage, yet still relevant to the topics at hand. I can get a little more editorial and personal in this space without it creating a sort of conflict of interest.
As anyone who follows me on any form of social media is likely aware – I like to read a lot. One of the books I read this week seems to dovetail into how I and many other people might be feeling today. The book was Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions.[1]
What does this have to do with football? I will get there via a brief digression. I loved the book and cannot argue with many of the topics, but I disagreed with Hossenfelder’s take on free will. She believes in scientific determinism – which she describes as a ‘future that is fixed except for occasional quantum events that we cannot influence.’ Her apparent definition of human free will involves decisions that can change the future. To the ultimate reality of life (of both individuals and the entire universe), this is true. The universe is going to end someday and nothing we do can change that eventual outcome.
I guess in this way, she is correct, there is no free will. But the thing is, I don’t think this is how a non-scientist looks at free will. I think we can change not whether or not we eventually die, but the road we take to get there. When I woke up this morning, I had a choice: go for my normal morning walk, or stay in bed a little longer. Write my Fifth Quarter article at five in the morning, or wait until after running errands. That is all human free will means to the average non-scientist: an ability to make decisions that are only partially dictated by the natural order of my particular molecular existence combined with my life from its inception until this very moment. But I did have the opportunity to choose what to do and was not restricted in those moments by anything resembling determinism.
That also means when I wake up today, I can take a look back at a game for what it was – a game that did not go as some people expected. Several years ago, I learned something really important, I cannot tell other fans what being a fan should look like for them. It could sound preachy and egoistic to say “get over it” or “don’t boo players.”
I have vowed to do my best to not tell others how to be a fan. If people want to boo, hey, they paid for their tickets, they can do what they want (within the bounds of decency, civility, the rules set forth by the university, and legal stuff, etc).
Over the last six weeks, I have lost three friends from high school. We are far too young to be seeing this many of our former classmates die. I have also been confronted with the reality that there is some level of toxicity among others that cannot be overcome. It has helped me gain my own perspective on how I can deal with football letdowns. I can look at the facts, I can consider the effort, and I can understand where I fit into the grand scheme of a football game.
In my Fifth Quarter article today, I pointed out some things that stood out to me; mostly I think that the defensive issues lay in two basic areas; no pressure on the quarterback and too many wide-open receivers. Some of that is a reality that the Ducks did a pretty good job limiting the tight ends, but their zone coverage had holes in it that could not be overcome. The inability to cover in the back end likely led to less aggressive blitz schemes in this game.
Do I think that coaches should be fired or even demoted after a single game? No. But that is just an opinion. Should there be a healthy evaluation of where people are playing and what the defense needs to do against teams like BYU, Utah, Washington, and Oregon State? Yes.
Do I think Oregon is a 6-5 team because they got blown out by what is possibly one of the best teams that the program has ever played in any season? No. What the game really showed is the disparity between the very top and everyone else. The gap is wide, and it is not going to narrow anytime soon. This game was not just a schematically flawed game, it was one in which the talent gap was even wider.
What I did see – something that was missing during the Pac-12 Championship Game last season – is a team that did not quit. This team worked their ass off right up until the last snap. Moral victories do not matter much to me, but when a team is getting whooped, seeing them give every ounce of energy until the very end is crucial.
Field of Glory
I took the photo in this article this morning on my daily walk. This field is in the middle of a neighborhood in the Waterhouse Trail area of Beaverton. As I was walking it yesterday, I saw this field and remembered the days when I was coaching youth football and how so many of my Saturdays used to begin in some small field somewhere like this. They were magnificent moments with the only concern that the kids learn some valuable lessons and have fun.
It gets different at the college level, but it is a nice reminder to step back into the simplicity of youth every once in a while. It was a refreshing journey.
FINAL NOTE:
This will be the first season in over a decade in which I am not covering a game from the press box. This was a decision I made of my own accord. This was a choice I made so I could spend more time with family and friends at the tailgate. Because we have so many off time games (later than 5 pm, ultra-early games) and my wife does not like sitting in the stands alone, I had been driving to Eugene alone, setting up tailgates alone, trying to get it all done myself and it was grueling at times when I would leave Portland at 9:00 am and not get back until 2:00 am the next morning.
I knew last season that I would not be in the box this season, but because I also knew why before the 2021 season even started, I had to keep it quiet. I will miss the vantage point but will be happy to reconnect with so many people before and during the games.
I have some thoughts on this secondary career which I will share in this forum throughout the season.
For a final thought: This site is not intended as a profit-seeking venture. The only income I will earn from any links are those that lead to my books. Outside of that, everything will be free.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Existential-Physics-Scientists-Biggest-Questions/dp/1984879456/ref=asc_df_1984879456/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=544446015557&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8339188367008507878&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032827&hvtargid=pla-1464466235251&psc=1
Very refreshing Scott, thanks for making this available for us other fans.