10:08 p.m., Autzen Stadium press box. Currently, I’ve got an energy drink in one hand and am typing with the other. Because what I just witnessed was so boring I need stimulants to keep me engaged.
Sarcasm doesn’t bleed through print well, does it?
In several of my stories leading up to the game I just watched — No. 3 Oregon’s upset of No. 2 Ohio State in front of the most packed Autzen Stadium of all time, in case you live under a rock — I made a couple subtle, tongue-in-cheek jokes about all the hyperbole and trumped-up discussion about how this was, ‘The biggest game in Oregon history.’ I didn’t buy it. In my time as a football fan, no game ever matches the level of excitement that is told it will carry.
Until tonight. Truly that was one of the most incredible football games I’ve watched. It was always going to be the biggest I ever covered, but I never expected it to be the wire-to-wire slugfest it was. I’m glad I was wrong, that was awesome.
One of the many perks of my job is getting to be on the sideline of games when the clock hits zero. Normally, it’s a brief walk to midfield to soak in the atmosphere of what was likely an otherwise boring game. Tonight, I had to avoid being trampled to death as the stands flooded onto the field.