Sunday Morning Sidewalk: Embracing the Unexpected

Next month during Oregon’s first bye week, I will be taking a trip to Oakland with my two sons to catch the A’s during their last homestand at the Coliseum. It is a bittersweet moment, but still one to which I am looking forward.

As many of my friends and family know, I worked for the Eugene Emeralds for two seasons while at the University of Oregon – and was headed to Ohio University following graduation to work toward a Master in Sport Marketing. At the time, Ohio University had the best program in the nation (Oregon had just begun its program in Spring of 1994. I was actually in that first Sport Marketing class). Life had other plans for me, with my then 5 and 2-year-old sons needing me close following a separation during my senior year at Oregon. But they were also raised on baseball. Both were at Ems games as toddlers, both played youth baseball (the younger lettered in baseball in high school), and both have attended Oakland A’s games in the past.

This will be the first time we have all been to the Coliseum since they were young, and it will be a special experience. My oldest son lives in Washington D.C., and the youngest in Montana. As I was reading a post from new Oregon commit Rocco Graziano’s dad, Greg, I was reminded of how our journeys change suddenly and how those changes redefine who we think we are.

The suddenness of life’s twists and turns, the ones that knock us off course, have a way of forcing us to discover what we're really made of. When Willie Taggart abruptly left Oregon for Florida State, it felt like the ground was shifting beneath our feet. A season full of promise, the beginnings of a new era, was cut short, leaving the program in disarray. It was a moment that tested the resilience of the entire Oregon football community.

And yet, just as Kipling wrote in his timeless poem If:

"If you can meet with
Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;"

Oregon did just that. The Ducks faced the disaster of losing a head coach, but instead of crumbling, the Ducks found strength. Mario Cristobal stepped in, and for a while, it seemed like he was the right man for the job. He brought a physical, hard-nosed mentality to the program and, more importantly, he kept the recruiting pipeline strong.

But then, as swiftly as Taggart's departure, Cristobal left for Miami, and once again, Duck fans were thrown into uncertainty. The search for a new head coach began, and the anxiety of not knowing what the future held was palpable. Would the next hire bring more triumphs or another disaster?

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;"

Enter Dan Lanning. A young, relatively inexperienced coach who, at first glance, might have seemed like a risky choice. The doubters were loud. But Lanning - much like a pitcher stepping onto the mound with the bases loaded - trusted in his preparation and ability. He embraced the challenge, knowing that doubt was a part of the process.

Under Lanning, the program has begun to evolve once again. The foundation laid by Cristobal has been built upon, and the Ducks have continued to soar. The lessons learned from the abrupt changes in leadership have only made Oregon stronger, more resilient. Each twist in the journey has redefined the program and revealed its true character.

As I prepare to watch my sons reconnect with their childhood love of baseball in the same stadium where so many memories were made, I can’t help but think of the Oregon football program and its journey. Just as my life took unexpected turns, leading me away from Ohio University and deeper into the lives of my sons, Oregon football has faced its own detours. But in both cases, the ability to keep our heads when all about us were losing theirs, to trust in the process despite the doubts, has led us to where we are today.

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!"

This upcoming trip is a reminder that, despite the uncertainty, despite the sudden changes, there is a path forward. The journey, though often unexpected, is where the true magic happens.