During Oregon football’s 34-13 win over UCLA on Saturday, senior linebacker Bryce Boettcher made his first career interception for the Ducks.
Boettcher, a Eugene, Oregon native that grew up just minutes away from his current home field, made a diving play over the middle, turning the ball over to his hometown Ducks as they pulled away from the Bruins.
Somewhere, the faint sound of hundreds of Boettcher-aged Eugene locals could be heard shouting. In one off-campus rental, the play was so awesomely shocking that the room fell into a brief silence. Boettcher’s status as a hometown hero had reached mythic levels. He was even leaving those he grew up with in shock.
But why?
What was so amazing about a fairly routine interception during a blowout win for the Ducks?
Well, the answer is complicated.
Boettcher wasn’t originally supposed to play football at Oregon. He enrolled at his local university as a baseball player with hopes of breaking into the starting lineup at some point.
From there, things started to get a little crazy.