Last night on national TV my Oregon Ducks beat the Stanford Indians er Cardinal 52 to 31 in a game that that was a roller coaster ride of emotions.
My season tickets for the last 19 years have been on the sunny side of Autzem stadium in section 13 ( To your right in the picture above) However, yesterday a good friend of mine was able to get two tickets in Section 29 CL directly across from section 13 under the covered part of Autzen Stadium. Section 29CL includes access to a large club room behind the stadium where there are many amenities such as plush carpet, TVs with games, two bars serving adult drinks, many easy chairs and a Duck shop out of a upscale airport gift shop. The seats in the stadium are molded plastic theater type seats with a cup holder. I do love the cup holder for my Diet Pepsi. The tickets come with the requirement of a large donation to the Duck Athletic Fund.During the game I noticed the fans on this side of the field tend to be a little more gentile. In public I tend to be on the quiet side but not at a football game with my Ducks. I have a loud deep voice and at Autzen Stadium I yell "LET'S GO DUCKS" at the top of my lungs from the time the opposing team breaks the huddle on offence until the play is over.I never yell when Oregon has the ball until the play is over.
Auzen Stadium has a well earned reputation as the loudest stadium in the country.
This from Wikipedia:
Autzen is known for its crowd noise. On October 27, 2007, during a 24–17 defeat of the USC Trojans, a record crowd of 59,277 fans was recorded at 127.2 decibels. A similarly-loud 31–27 upset of third-ranked Michigan in 2003 prompted a Michigan Daily columnist to write[17]
“ Autzen's 59,000 strong make the Big House collectively sound like a pathetic whimper. It’s louder than any place I’ve ever been, and that includes The Swamp at Florida, The Shoe in Columbus, and Death Valley at Louisiana State. Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die. ”
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr later said that Autzen Stadium was the loudest stadium he'd ever been in.[18]
I must say the fans in section 29CL were not used to my Section 13 yelling. Several middle aged laddies in the two rows in front of me kept looking back at me. To my right were two Stanford fans in disguise who would politely clap as if at a tea party whenever Stanford would do something good.
I am sure the people around me though I was a barbarian when I let It be known, very loudly, that I though a Stanford defensive player was faking an injury to slow down the "no huddle" Oregon offence. I felt vindicated when the same player, #44, came running back into the game after being held out under the rule for one play. Teams have been doing this to Oregon all season.
Don't get me wrong, the fans in section 29CL are good Ducks, and we do appreciate their money. Some fans go to a game to be entertained and some go to be the "12th man."
LET'S GO DUCKS !
(For more information about the "12 man" concept click on the title for a link)
UPDATE: Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News:
The Autzen atmosphere was fabulous, as loud as I’ve ever heard it from start to finish.
