sleeping with the enemy

go ducks! i am proud to say that i set the alarm for a respectable 1:50 a.m., coincidentally the same time dan was getting home from work, for the 2:01 a.m. GMT kickoff of the the 113th Civil War. we sat up drinking ale and watching ESPN America until well after five. yes, the game was that good. yes, it was worth it.

as i read through the facebook posts this week, i realized that the beavers in my life outnumber the ducks about 4 to 1. maybe more. although i knew i was destined to go to Oregon from the seventh grade, i didn't actually move in until junior year. so my circle of alumni friends include cissy, mike and raman. sad, right? i also have angie (a gator-duck like me) and a few others in the network who sport the green and yellow. but it was mostly beaver believers posting: my husband is a beaver; my bestest friends are beavers; my in-laws are beavers; most of my high school alum are beavers. even my own dad seems to support whoever is doing the best during the season. unfair.

(i even found myself getting so angry at all the stupid duck fans with their stupid roses. we had a raging OSU machine coming to our house, on a roll, aiming to take our rose-bowl bid and we bring roses? like the game is already over? who does that? well, the beavers did last year. it was a dumb idea then, and a dumb idea now. we got lucky. bunch of idiots.)

so, you'd think a win would be extra-awesome against the beavs, but it's so strange...when we finally clinched the win and coach kelly was getting his gatorade shower, i was jumping up and down while dan slumped on the couch. as soon as it was over, radio silence. it's so lonesome being a duck in my life and knowing many of my friends were suddenly so bummed. and it's extra lonely when we lose and the crushing weight of shame hits me like a ton of bricks. it's amazing how emotionally invested we can get in our teams.

anyway, i guess the point is, i love the ducks and i am so happy they won. and i love all my beaver network, despite of and because of their allegiance. and i am more than ready for another 113 years of trash-talkin', high-stakes, barn-burners.

i just don't want to have to stay up until 5 a.m. again to watch them.

in all, it was a great game, State of Oregon.

i love college football.

p.s. dan got this in an e-mail last night. wtf? really? will people never learn.
and my friend emily sent me this, who doesn't love sportscenter (and a gigantic fuzzy duck)?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN53yX9OnP0&feature=youtube_gdata.