Went to my first Ducks game at Autzen

[Otolith]

First let me say that I am not a Ducks fan, nor am I anti-Ducks. I just love college football. My neighbor gave me a couple of tickets (great seats BTW) and a reserved-space parking pass, and I was thrilled to go to my first football game since moving out here 2 years ago.

Here are my observations:

1) Autzen is a beautiful stadium. It felt like it was built yesterday -- very cozy and clean. And I really liked the jumbotron, and the TVs at the concessions so you don't miss any action.
2) Despite what some Duck fans like to think, Autzen is not a loud or "intimidating to oponents" venue. While Nevada was on defense, my buddy and I had a whole conversation on which cheerleader was the hottest. Then to prove my point further, I called my wife on my cell phone and said "You know how they say Autzen is so loud?" - and she replied, "you're not actually in the stadium now are you?". You can't hear yourself think at a loud football stadium. Anyone who thinks Autzen was loud, well you just haven't been to a real college football game in a really rockin' stadium yet. In fact, I've been to a game at Husky stadium before, and it was MUCH louder.
3) About them cheerleaders -- very nice [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]
4) What the heck is "Lightning Strikes" supposed to mean?
5) The loudest the Ducks fans cheered was before the game, when they played old highlights on the jumbotron. Nice to see the highlights, but the crowd response was a bit silly.
6) Whats up with the Oregon band? They seemed tiny and had no uniforms. And some high school band performed at half-time.
7) The tailgating was kind of on the tame side.
8) As for the football -- the Ducks looked good on offense at times, shaky on defense as usual, and Clemens panics and scrambles too often. If Fife and Clemens are actually equal in talent, then Belloti should just go with the younger guy since he will have more time to develop in the system.

Overall, I would say it was a good experience as college football games always are, but I sure hope there is a little more excitement when the bigger names come to town.

[ 09-07-2003, 08:42 AM: Message edited by: Otolith ]

[Stz ll]

I have not missed a duck home game for many years. I can tell you that when the ducks are playing well and playing a big rival such as the Huskies, Beavers, etc the stadium is so loud you can't even hear yourself think.

I think the main problem yesterday is the ducks were not playing particularly well and the game was actually kind of a boring one.

As for the band. That was a high school band with a few of the Oregon players mixed in. The reason for this is that school is not in session yet and the band members are still on summer vacaton.

[ 09-07-2003, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Stz ll ]

[lost_sailor]

The loudness has nothing to do with the stadium. It can get loud, and does. The fans probably went to sleep along with the Ducks!

We won but we sucked, or is that we sucked but we won?

A win is a win! They're saving it up for Michigan