College Gameday Scoreboard
1. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants vs. Washington (Monday, 8:29 p.m.), ESPN, 8.36 million homes, 11.34 million viewers.
2. College Football: Boston College vs. USC (Saturday, 8 p.m.), ESPN, 5.28 million homes, 7.56 million viewers.
3. "College Football Tonight Scoreboard" (Saturday, 7:44 p.m.), ESPN, 4.55 million homes, 6.32 million viewers.
4. College Football: Pittsburgh vs. North Carolina (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.), ESPN, 4.52 million homes, 6.13 million viewers.
5. "The Closer" (Monday, 9 p.m.), TNT, 4.34 million homes, 5.97 million viewers.
6. NFL Football: San Diego vs. Tennessee (Friday, 7:34 p.m.) NFL Network, 3.77 million homes, 6.88 million viewers.
7. "NCIS" (Monday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.37 million homes, 4.77 million viewers.
8. "College Gameday Scoreboard" (Saturday, 4:15 p.m.), ESPN, 3.36 million homes, 4.37 million viewers.
9. "NCIS" (Saturday, 8 p.m.), USA, 3.28 million homes, 4.41 million viewers.
10. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Thursday, 11:30 a.m.), Nickelodeon,, 3.2 million homes, 4.55 million viewers.
11. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.156 million homes, 4.83 million viewers.
11. "WWE Raw" (Monday, 10 p.m.), USA, 3.156 million homes, 4.84 million viewers.
13. "NCIS" (Saturday, 9 p.m.), USA, 3.1 million homes, 4.01 million viewers.
14. "SpongeBob SquarePants" (Thursday, 11 a.m.), Nickelodeon, 3.05 million homes, 4.38 million viewers.
15. "NCIS" (Saturday, 7 p.m.), USA, 3.01 million homes, 4.14 million viewers.
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ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Co. Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom Inc. USA is owned by General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. NFL Network is owned by the National Football League. TNT is owned by Time Warner Inc.
People often ask why I do so many long roadtrips just to go watch a football game.
Some think I’m crazy to drive all night to watch a football game, then immediately drive back, sometimes over a thousand miles.
The answer is simple. First, I love my Ducks.
Second, nothing beats a gameday atmosphere in college football, absolutely nothing. It’s like a drug, and I am hopelessly addicted to cheering on the Oregon Ducks.
Third, you never know when something amazing is going to happen, and to be able to say that you were there to experience it first-hand is amazing.
I’ve had those memories from one such roadtrip way back in 2000 when Oregon played at Arizona State. The game ended up going to double overtime, and should have been triple overtime if ASU hadn’t faked an extra point attempt with Todd Heap letting the pass fall off his fingertips. I had about four separate heart attacks in that game, and thought I would never see something to match it…
But that’s why I do these roadtrips every year, for the chance to see something amazing. Last weekend in Tucson, something amazing occurred.
I left work on Friday and jumped on the freeway, fighting brutal LA traffic the whole way. Apparently I wasn’t the only one trying to escape Los Angeles Friday evening, but going only 30 miles in 2 hours was a practice in frustration. Once I finally got past Redlands though it was clear sailing all the way to Phoenix. I stopped at the same Mobil gas station in Quartzsite that I’ve stopped off at countless number of times prior, the one at the exit with a wagon next to the Pizza Hut mini-store. I recall playing around on that wagon while some college buddies and I gassed up after spending a week out in LA for spring break, and stopping there for food with my parents when they picked me up from college, and when my buddy Ryan bought a ‘Quartzsite Trailer Trash’ trucker hat there when his band came out to my school to perform…he wore that hat every day for years, probably is still wearing it right now if it hasn’t completely fallen apart by now. Strange how for all of these trips between LA and Phoenix, with different vehicles, over hundreds of miles it always works out that I need to stop at the exact same gas station every time.
On to Phoenix, and my friend Stephanie’s house, for a quick nap. I had to head off to Tucson extra early, because ESPN College Gameday had chosen to broadcast live from Tucson for the Oregon-Arizona game, their first time ever in Tucson (they’ve done their show four times from Eugene). The broadcast was starting at 7am, so I needed to be at my buddy Dal’s place early so we could get there.
In to Phoenix at 1am, out the door at 4am headed towards Tucson, groggy but completely Ducked out in my gameday outfit and an Oregon flag in my pocket to wave when cameras panned by during the ESPN broadcast.
I got a little bit lost in Tucson, so Dal and I were running a bit late when we got to the ESPN College Gameday set on the University of Arizona campus. There was a decent-sized crowd there, but not as many as there had been for the USC-Oregon broadcast I had attended a few weeks prior back in Eugene…and for that one it was still dark, very cold, and raining.
Looking around, not surprisingly most of the Arizona fans were about LeGarrette Blount. Yeah, to be expected by this point, but I’m so over giving a crap about what people think about Oregon’s 5th string RB. The Ducks have one of the premier RBs in the country in LaMichael James, they don’t need Blount. But if people wanna talk shit about it, I just pity them for being such idiots…or in Tucson’s case, PITTY them.
“I pitty the fool that holds me under 5 yards (Blount’s rushing total vs. BSU, the only game he played in this year)
“Cage your LaGarrett”
The gameday crew slowly made their way out for their Sportscenter live check-ins before the Gameday broadcast began. Right away I could tell this one wasn’t going to be as good as the USC-Oregon broadcast. The gameday crew seemed much more maligned and subdued, and the crowd wasn’t nearly as rowdy. Eh, it was the first time Gameday had been in Tucson, and the AZ fans didn’t quite know how to properly bring the energy that having the prestigious TV show do a live broadcast from your campus deserved.
I was pleased to see a decent turnout by fellow Duck fans, it was a good sign that the crowd that night would have a good turnout as well. Say what you will about Oregon, but one thing you can’t ever deny is how loyal our fan base is, we travel well.
There was one sign that really pissed me off though. After being in Arizona for the last two games, there’s been a lot of recent animosity between the two fan bases because of injuries and fan behavior. 2005 Oregon’s starting senior QB Kellen Clemens broke his leg during the game in Tucson, then two plays later the backup QB Dennis Dixon suffered a concussion.
2007 it got ugly, when senior QB Dennis Dixon tore his ACL on the field, causing some of the Arizona fans erupt in cheering. This really pissed me off, as with many other Oregon fans really leaving a sour taste. Worse still was when Arizona fans mobbed the sidelines, taunting Oregon players while the game was still ongoing trying to pick fights with them and Oregon fans in the stands, and taunting and preventing Dennis Dixon from going to the locker room. There were almost numerous fights that nearly broke out near us as the game ended and Arizona fans stormed the field, then tried to antagonize Oregon fans in the visitor section behind the visitor bench by the visitor locker room entrance.
So two games, one with really piss poor Arizona fan behavior, and in both Oregon’s star QB was lost for the season.
One fan at the broadcast decided to bring a sign that read:
Clemens [check]
Dixon [check]
Masoli, you’re next
Some Arizona fans nearby were commenting on it finding it disrespectful, it was more than just that it was flat out wrong, and should have been confiscated by the Gameday sign nazis that roam the crowd looking for inappropriate content.
It was also interesting to see the splattering of random fans from school’s not affiliated with the game that day. There was of course the traditional WSU flag, being flown at every Gameday broadcast across the country since the 90s. Dal and I stood next to the WSU bearer for that week, and next to a family of Stanford fans. Behind was a Kansas State fan sticking out like a sore thumb wearing purple, and a few other random sprinklings of fans of various schools around the country…even somebody waving a Green Bay Packers flag. There were also a noticeable amount of Ohio State fans there, which pleased Dal greatly being a Buckeye fan while also an Arizona alumnus.
Eventually the Gameday live broadcast started, and the crowd jumped into their U OF A chant…
About halfway through the broadcast co-host Chris Fowler addressed the crowd, just like he had during the broadcast in Eugene weeks prior, to thank everybody for their participation.
Eventually the broadcast neared its end, and the traditional climax…when Lee Corso makes his pick for the winner of the game by donning the headgear of the mascot of one of the teams.
The Gameday crew gave their opinions of both Arizona and Oregon, of which we could only hear a word or two over the PA and the crowd would immediately start cheering or booing depending on if what they side was pro or anti Arizona. I had a feeling they were all leaning towards Oregon…after four trips to Eugene for games, they love Oregon. Oregon has been involved in games that Gameday broadcast from five times, four being home games, and every single time Lee Corso has picked Oregon putting on the Duck head. So I was confident Corso would once again show his Oregon pride, Duck fans love him too much for him to go against us.
Herbstreit was calling the game that night, so he couldn’t make an official pick, but all but chose the Ducks in his comments. Desmond Howard also picked Oregon. The guest picker for the week, Arizona alumnus Amanda Beard, of course chose Arizona to win, but then came the big moment with Corso and the headgear…
As expected, Corso put on the Duck head, and the crowd booed and left when the cameras shut down.
As we walked back to Dal’s car I spotted a sushi place with a sign that cracked me up…
Fuku Sushi? Yeah, fuck you sushi!!! Coming soon to engrish.com, or feel free to lolcat caption it as you see fit.
Back at Dal’s place we turned on the Michigan-Ohio State game, which I hear is a rivalry that a few people might care about. I went online to check the various Oregon messageboards…yeah, Duck fans were absolutely livid over the insulting “Masoli, you’re next” sign that had appeared at the Gameday broadcast. I watched the Michigan-OSU game for a bit, but the long drive and short night of sleep was catching up with me so I crashed out in Dal’s room for a few hours before the game that night.
Eventually we headed out for the stadium with a quick stop to pick up Dal’s girlfriend Liz. She was going to come with us to the gameday broadcast too, but with a badly sprained ankle it was probably best to stay off her feet as much as possible rather than just stand around for three hours then do it again that night at the game.
Traffic was brutal, in part because of the game but also there was some major bike race going on that was shutting down some of the main Tucson roads. No real shortcut to get around it, just have to wait for a gap so traffic can pass by.
Liz and Dal headed towards the stadium
There was a large contingent of Duck fans, always good to see, as we made our way to the stadium. I took my share of ribbing, which I always get in my Duck colors when on the road. It’s to be expected, and I actually kind of enjoy taking shit from the other fans over proudly wearing my Duck colors.
The ESPN College Gameday bus, parked underneath the stands at Arizona Stadium.
We settled into our seats, once again on the visitor side near the visitor’s locker room entrance behind the Ducks bench…Pretty close to where we were in 2007. Little did we know that all hell would break loose and we’d be in the epicenter of it, but more on that later.
It was still an hour until the game started, and I spotted some familiar faces down on the field. Former Oregon head coach-turned-Athletic Director and TV broadcaster for the local OSN replays of the game was chatting down on the field and occasionally taking photos with Duck fans nearby.
Mike Bellotti chatting with somebody, while former Oregon and longtime NFL player Anthony Newman stands nearby.
Oregon’s QBs and centers take the field for warmups.
Either the offensive line are going through pre-game warmups, or they are practicing the Thriller dance.
An hour before the game the Arizona student section was already jam-packed, and downright hostile. They booed every time Oregon players emerged from the tiny stairwell leading from the visitor’s locker room, and did their best to make pre-game warmups a hostile experience.
The Duck and Oregon cheerleaders clowning around while waiting for the game to start.
The team headed back into the locker room for last minute preparations before kickoff, and the big issue with Arizona Stadium was once again noticeable…For the visiting team to get off the field they have to go one-by-one down a tiny little stairwell leading to a small door. To move a team of 65 large football players + coaches and other personnel, and it can take 5-10 minutes just for the team to get off the field. This is a problem because it sits right in the corner of the stadium where the cheap seats are for the really rowdy and drunk instigators among the Arizona fans tend to rally together, and the scene can get ugly while the visitor team has to just stand there one by one going down the stairs while those fans have a clear shot to do, or throw, anything.
This is something that absolutely MUST be addressed and improved by the university when/if they do any facility upgrades, purely from a safety standpoint this issue needs to be changed. You can’t have the team just standing around right by the crowd for minutes on end, it can create an unsafe situation.
Trying to get back to the locker room, going one-by-one down the tiny stairwell.
Eventually kickoff came around. It was the final home game for Arizona, senior day, so they had something special planned for the departing seniors playing in their last home game.
The game started, Oregon getting the ball first. Oregon promptly stormed down the field and scored a touchdown.
The Oregon flag made its first appearance in the endzone, while the Oregon Duck did his traditional push-ups in the endzone for every point scored.
The Arizona fans in the endzone seats didn’t appreciate this, and loudly booed the flag runner and threw objects, mainly water bottles, in his general direction tossing objects on the field.
That seemed a bit unnecessary. I can understand booing the flag, but to throw things onto the field is just disrespectful and embarrassing for your own team. They continued to do it after every time Oregon scored. Whenever the Oregon flag appeared, flung garbage from the stands followed.
The game Ducks took a 14-0 lead, but the scoreboard was malfunctioning, so when Arizona scored the board read 7-4 Arizona lead.
Whenever there was a break a few Arizona fans would move through the aisles towards the Duck visitor section we were sitting in with signs about LeGarrette Blount trying to antagonize. Apparently people in Tucson hadn’t heard that our 5th string RB isn’t much of a factor in the game, and it seemed a bit dickish to be walking over into the Oregon section repeatedly to try to start a fight, just enjoy the game guys.
“Blount is about to get smoked”
“Elizabeth Lambert could kick Blount’s ass”
Early on it looked like Oregon might run away with the game, but this just made me more nervous because the same thing happened in 2007, with Oregon losing that game thanks to Dixon tearing up his knee.
The 2nd quarter it was all Arizona, as they stormed back, leaving the game close by halftime. It was anybody’s ballgame in the 2nd half, who wanted it more. The victor of this game would be in the driver’s seat for winning the Pac-10 and earning a Rose Bowl berth, the loser would be all but out of the hunt for the Pac-10 title.
Some players heading in early for halftime
Coming back out of the locker room was the most running LeGarrette Blount (#9) did all night, but Arizona fans sure noticed when he emerged from the tunnel and made his presence known.
In the second half things started to get really interesting. Oregon’s offense stalled, and Arizona took the lead. By the fourth quarter Arizona had a chance to all but put the game away, but kept tripping over themselves making dumb little mental errors. A pass just slightly overthrown to a receiver in the endzone, a missed field goal from close range, an unnecessary penalty…little things started piing up for Arizona, and it was keeping Oregon with a breath of life when they could have completely shut the game down.
Still, it was worrisome, and the crowd was getting raucous sensing an upset over the Ducks. Wilbur, the UA mascot, mocked the Oregon crowd and Duck mascot by throwing bread in their direction “feeding the Ducks,” then brought a box of tissues to the Duck mascot.
Though things started to shift a little. Football is a game of momentum, and one or two little things can completely switch a game. Oddly those two things both occurred on field goal attempts going towards the same goal posts.
First Arizona kicker Max Zendejas missed an easy shortrange field goal at the end of the third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter Oregon kicker Morgan Flint attempted a 43-yard field goal that hit the horizontal cross bar of the goal posts, but took an awkward bounce and managed to go forward through the goal posts. That seemed to re-energize the Ducks, and I commented to Dal and Liz and the other Wildcat fans near me “sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good!”
The game raged on…Oregon scored. Arizona scored. Tit for tat, both teams battled.
Arizona had a chance to burn out the clock to win the game, but they foolishly kept throwing the ball, incomplete passes stopping the clock saving valuable time for Oregon to stay in it. They tried to seal the game away by throwing the ball deep into the endzone on a third down, which Oregon intercepted.
Down a touchdown with two minutes left, following the interception had to go 80 yards and score a touchdown to send the game to overtime. Apparently not realizing the fact that the game was still very much in doubt, some Arizona fans started spilling out from the student section onto the sidelines in preparation of rushing the field.
To the credit of the rest of the Arizona student section and surrounding fans though, a “get off the field!” chant started up telling their moronic brethren to get back in their seats because the game wasn’t over. I smirked a bit thinking, “wow, they’re going to feel really stupid when Oregon scores a touchdown here and sends it to overtime.” I might have said it out loud to Dal, but I can’t recall if I did or not. In post-game interviews with Oregon players, apparently a few saw and thought the same thing I did.
Oregon started moving the chains. A couple dropped passes made things precarious, but when Oregon converted a first down on a 4th and 5 Dal and I just looked at each other and gave a knowing stare, that it was inevitable, a foregone conclusion that Oregon was going to score and send this game to overtime.
Down the field Oregon marched, while a few fans went back to their seats but most remained down on the field mobbing the Arizona sidelines. Sure enough, with six seconds remaining in the game Jeremiah Masoli tossed a pass to Ed Dickson for a touchdown, sending the game to overtime. Right before the snap I shouted out “Ed Dickson! It’s going to Ed Dickson!” Dal just sort of nodded, knowing too that was where it was going. We could read the play from the stands on the opposite end of the field, but apaprently Arizona’s defense couldn’t because sure enough Ed caught it.
To overtime went the game, Dal commented that he had never been to an overtime game before and how mentally exhausted he was by it. I told him about the double OT game at ASU I had attended years prior that Oregon had won.
In overtime Oregon was on a roll, just unstoppable. They quickly stormed down the field and scored a touchdown.
Arizona’s turn, and they too respond with a touchdown…Time for double overtime.
In double OT it was Arizona’s turn first, and their playcalling all of a sudden got very conservative. They ran twice, once with their RB fumbling the ball, and according to Duck fans it was recovered first by Oregon then an Arizona player stripped it away, but the replay screen didn’t show this well enough to comment on it one way or another.
After a filed bubble screen on 3rd down, Arizona kicked a FG. This meant if Oregon scored a touchdown on their overtime possession they won, or they could kick a FG to send it to triple OT.
…It didn’t take long. Oregon RB LaMichael James darted through the line for a big gain, bringing it inside the 10. It was inevitable, only a matter of time. We all knew, zone read option, Masoli would keep the ball and stroll into the endzone.
Once again, even if Arizona knew what was coming, they couldn’t stop it. On 3rd down and short Masoli ran the zone read, kept the ball, and sneaked into the endzone to seal it.
44-41 in double OT, Oregon beats Arizona.
The fans that had mobbed the Arizona sideline must’ve really felt like jackasses, while I jumped with jubilation and Dal just shook his head in amazement as to how the game had transpired while cursing out Zendejas for missing the easy FG that would have prevented the game from going to overtime.
With the Ducks now the frontrunner for the Rose Bowl, I quickly made a paper rose and had Dal snap a photo of me with it with the scoreboard in the background.
Meanwhile, the Oregon team was heading back to the stairwell leading to the locker room while celebrating the unbelievable win. A few Duck players were very exuberant, and understandably so, as players motioned to the Duck section joining in on the celebration taking place by Duck fans in the stands.
One Duck player was a little too excited, safety Javes Lewis, who was off to the side jumping up and down waving his arms. Apparently Arizona fans took this as mocking the crowd, and started throwing a couple things at him. One of his teammates ran over to him and grabbed him, pulling him back towards the team mobbed together trying to slowly make their way down the stairs.
One fan went down onto the field and got in amongst the team and held up a “I SMELL ROSES” sign, in tribute to the team’s run towards the Rose Bowl as well as a reference to the fan-made song & music video that a week earlier had been placed on the internet and overnight become a huge sensation.
(admittedly, the song is effin’ brilliant and hilarious , and I must’ve listened to it 15-20 times on the drive out to Tucson from LA blasting it and shouting “I love my ducks!” into the Arizona night)
Apparently Arizona really didn’t like it.
They didn’t like how the game ended.
They didn’t like how their team had choked the game away.
They didn’t like how long it was taking for Oregon to get into the locker room.
They didn’t like that Oregon players were celebrating the win with the contingent of Duck fans, which happens at EVERY road game I’ve ever attended…but apparently in Tucson and Tucson only this is to be taken as a great insult, and some of the Arizona fans chose to retaliate.
From the corner endzone seats, debris started flying. At first it was just a bottle or two aimed at Javes Lewis jumping up and down, then it picked up momentum. Soon it was raining water bottles onto the Oregon players and personnel down on the field, and in the general direction of the elated Oregon fans celebrating the amazing double OT victory.
Water bottles turned into other objects, for about 3 minutes it seemed like anything that wasn’t bolted down was being thrown at anyone not wearing Arizona red. Not all Arizona fans were participating, but any were.
Dal was ready to attack any Arizona fan he saw throwing things, he was furious screaming at them to knock it off. Duck players started pushing to get into the stairwell to get off the field as quickly as possible. One cheerleader got hit in the side of the head with a full water bottle and was knocked unconscious, and had to be taken to a local hospital overnight for observation after suffering a severe concussion.
Duck players got hit with debris, cheerleaders and personnel on the field got hit, Duck fans in the stands got hit.
It was embarrassing and as close to a riot scene as I have ever witnessed. 99% instigated by Arizona fans, the smart ones were leaving while the idiotic ones were trying to start fights with Duck fans. When they got angry that Duck fans wouldn’t retaliate to their taunts, they instead started taking it out on the Tucson police and security staff that had formed in the general area.
Things were still being lobbed when Dal, Liz, and I made it to the tunnel to exit the stands. It looked like a riot was going to break out at any second, and we wanted o part of it. I couldn’t imagine anything like this happening at Autzen Stadium, but I did recall an episode where water bottles were thrown into the endzone after a game in 2002 or 2003 after repeatedly atrocious referee calls went against Oregon…but this wasn’t about the refs making bad calls, or the team being cheated out of the game…Arizona was just outplayed in the final minutes, and the Arizona fans wanted their revenge for it. Rather than just take some solace in the fact that they were there to witness one of the greatest football games in recent memory, without question the best football game played all of this year, they instead wanted to exact their revenge…on an Oregon cheerleader?
In the end all they did was further embarrass themselves, their school, their program, and their city. Shame really, considering how well Arizona played they should have been damn proud of their team, but instead sunk to an all-time low, and firmly entrenching my opinion that Arizona on average has the absolute worst, the dumbest, the most classless fans of any school I have ever seen. To storm the field prematurely, then shower the opponent with garbage after the game was just beyond classless, and after the events that had transpired in the 2007 game my opinion of them was pretty low to begin with. I know individuals don’t define the program, and Dal and Liz are both cool Arizona fans…but wow, a LOT of Arizona fans completely embarrassed their program.
Surprisingly, for as much animosity there was in the stands post-game, outside the stadium things were rather solemn. There were a few comments here and there, but for the most part everyone was just stunned over how the game had finished.
The three of us made our way back to the car, and tuned in the postgame show as they ran through the stats and the local Tucson broadcasters tried to justify it. They complimented Oregon on being a great team, complimented their own team for fighting hard, then went through possible scenarios for the remainder of the season.
When I got back to my car at Dal’s place I said my goodbyes to Dal and Liz, then tuned in to listen to more of the postgame show. It wasn’t until I reached the outskirts of Tucson that they started taking phone calls, and almost every single call didn’t address the game itself, but the postgame.
I listened to Arizona fans call in all in order profusely apologizing to Oregon and saying that they were embarrassed to be Wildcat fans and embarrassed for the city of Tucson, that the actions of a handful of thugs could absolutely embarrass the city and program the way they did. While they were proud of their team, I was surprised at how apologetic the fans were that were calling in…So I guess not all Arizona fans are jerks, just the ones in the stands in the corner endzone. Though while listening to this I kept getting flipped off for my Duck flags, and one large Ford truck tried to run me off the road. Yeah, I was very glad to be getting out of Tucson. Dal and Liz had treated me well, but outside of that my opinion of Tucson was re-affirmed that its full of classless thugs, and the closer I got to Phoenix the better off I felt.
I tried to call in to the sports talk show to give the perspective of the Oregon fan who had been there right in the heart of the post-game atrocities, but the signal started to fade as I got outside of Tucson and eventually hung up.
A quick drive back to Phoenix and I was back at Stephanie’s place around 1am, to tell her all about the disgusting display shown by the Arizona fans marring what should have been an otherwise amazing game experience.
A much longer nap, and I was back on the freeway headed back to LA, stopping at the same Mobil gas station in Quartzsite once more, and back home.
