Always Us

Stand as one.  Play as one.  Win as one.  Always Us.

Sometimes you.  Sometimes me.  Always Us.

Sometimes win.  Sometimes lose.  Always Us.

No matter the outcome, Ducks fly together.

Always Us.

I have been a life-long, multi-generation fan of Oregon Duck basketball.  Some of my earliest childhood memories include the exhausting walks to and from Mac Court, up and down the stairwells, the deafening roar of the crowd which shook the beams and rafters themselves.  As an adult Matthew Knight Arena will never quite hold the nostalgia of Mac Court but the new arena does hold at least one key trait that is important for Oregon basketball.

That trait is the ability of fans to feel a close proximity to the action on the court.  Mac Court's upper level seats may have had views partially blocked by those beautifully retro timbers and beams, but you were still able to feel as though you were hovering just over the game.  At Matthew Knight Arena, even when you are in the second level you are able to enjoy unobstructed and relatively close views of the floor.

Proximity to the action, to the team, to the Duck, the cheer team, the band, to the players, to the game.  These are some of the charms of being an Oregon basketball fan.  I go to as many games a year as I can manage and one of my favorite things to do is take other people, particularly those who have never been or may not go very often.  It is always exciting to experience with them everything anew.

It has been a very exciting season of March Madness for Oregon Duck basketball fans.  It has been SEVENTY-EIGHT YEARS since the men have made it this far in the NCAA Tournament.  Until this year the women have never made it to the Elite Eight.  Throughout the tournament the featured mottos have emphasized the unity of the Oregon community as a family.  The players have done as they always have, pausing for photos and autographs with fans, having fun with social media, working together as a team on and off the court.

A week after the Lady Ducks were sent home from their tournament, tonight the men were also sent home with a way too close of a loss to North Carolina.  It's a tough loss that was narrow enough that any single play could have tipped the tide.  And yet...

Stand as one.  Play as one.  Win as one.  Always Us.

Sometimes you.  Sometimes me.  Always Us.

Sometimes win.  Sometimes lose.  Always Us.

No matter the outcome, Ducks fly together.

Always Us.

I have been participating in a social media hashtag practice for Lent this year where a specific word is assigned to each day and each day I post a picture that says something to me about that picture.  I usually post my photos at the end of the day so that all day long I can think and ponder on the word of the day and its meanings.  Today's word is COMMUNION.  To me, at the root of this word are words such as COMMUNITY and COMMITMENT.  I have been searching the internet to find a post-game interview with one of the Duck players, but I did not even catch who said it when I first heard it on ESPN and so this is not an exact quote, but it summarizes the tears of Duck players and fans alike tonight, "It hurts now, but when you eventually look back it's all about these guys."

A year ago two of the most anticipated super-hero movies that came out were "Captain America: Civil War" and "Batman verses Superman".  I thought it was very interesting that both of these movies came out so close together even though they are from competitive production companies, competitive comic book publishers, and exist in totally different comic book universes.  And yet both films were about the good guys being tricked by the bad guys into fighting against one another.  In both films the super heroes were rendered ineffective because they allowed themselves to be divided.  They allowed themselves to be distracted from working as a team and they lost track of the goal, the prize.

The analysts did not think either Duck basketball team would make it far this year.  And yet, even despite injuries, both teams surpassed everyone's expectations.  They did it by showing us what a team looks like, despite having a visit from that recently retired L.A. NBA star who personifies the image of an egotistic ball-hog.  They did it by not thinking of themselves individually but as a family.  By not allowing themselves to be divided or to have divided loyalties.  They did it by maintaining their identity with each other and with their fans.  They did it by caring for one another, loving each other, making memories and having fun along the way.

One of my favorite moments of March Madness this year was when the Lady Ducks celebrated a victory in the locker room, the assistant coach was giving them a post-game pep talk, and he called out the ESPN analysts for doubting Oregon, and the girls rushed the camera, screaming, holding up their pointer/"one" fingers, cheering themselves as they jumped up and down.

Their joy summarized how much the wins of this season meant for both teams and for generations of loyal Oregon fans.  We have waited faithfully for, literally, generations, knowing we were good enough, and yet waiting for the right time.  We have cheered on team after team, touted our green and yellow, stood by our Ducks, walked into arenas full of empty seats.  We have remained faithful when so many others focused on football or track or other teams.  And we are so proud now to have stuck with it in the slow years, to have not gone the way of the fair-weather "fans" who come and go with the hype of good and bad years.

The end-of-season, tournament-ending losses are hard.  They are tearful and deflating.  They hurt.  But with them comes hope of "next season" and many fond memories and adventures.  I love being a lifelong Oregon Duck basketball fan and I am so very proud of my Ducks for remaining true to themselves and for all that they have accomplished.

This is what being a fan is.  This is Communion.  Community.  Commitment.

Winning some, losing some.

The difficult times, and the inexpressible joyful days.

No matter the outcome, Ducks fly together.

ALWAYS US.