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| Me, Caleb Feist, Casey Heinz, Kieran Colahan & Conor Colahan |
Upon leaving my hotel in Wilsonville, Oregon Saturday morning which was around 95 miles from Eugene, I didn't expect to have nearly as much traffic as I did.
Being an a very experienced driver, I found a way to minimize the delays along the way.
The traffic moved from time to time but there were pockets of traffic.
I needed to make time so I creatively saw opportunities to get off certain exits where I could just go across to the other side and get back on the highway.
I did that on a few occasions and I passed hundreds of cars in the process.
Royalty knows all the tricks of the trade.
I saw ways to get ahead and I made sure I took full advantage.
Finally I got close to the Autzen Stadium area.
Thankfully I was told by my new found friend and big Oregon Duck fan, Kevin Feist, where to park and pick up a shuttle bus to the game.
I wound up paying $5.00 to ride a school bus to and from the game.
That was the best $5.00 I spent on this trip.
By doing so, I avoided the hassle of dealing with the rest of the traffic that was going to the game.
It worked out perfectly for me.
Once I got to the stadium, I still needed to found a ticket. I wasn't alone others were holding fingers up too.
After looking for a short time, a gentleman approached me and he said he had an extra ticket. I asked him where it was. I looked at my seating chart and I saw it was towards the corner of the end zone right by the gate I was outside of. So I asked him what he wanted for it, he said $20 so I immediately decided not to haggle with him and I gave him a twenty dollar bill.
I proceeded to go inside the stadium.
I got a text from Kevin Feist's son Caleb who was attending the game with his friends.
Ironically, the ticket I bought outside was located in the same section. I was in section 36 row 56 seat 12 and Caleb and his friends were in section 36 row 68 seat 27.
I told him I'll look for him at halftime.
I said I like to keep the play by play of the game.
I proceeded to my seat and I watched and scored the game.
The Ducks got the ball first after the New Mexico Lobos won the toss and deferred the kickoff to the second half.
The Ducks were driving and the Lobos intercepted a pass. That turned out to be the highlight of the day for the Lobos who couldn't do anything else right all day.
The Ducks demolished them, 72-0!
Kenjon Barner who replaced LaMichael James who was suspended for this game, had a career high 147 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns then he caught a 60 yard pass for another touchdown. He did all that in the first half of the game. The Ducks lead at the half, 59-0!
In addition, Cliff Harris ran back two punts for touchdowns of 61 and 64 yards respectively. It was the first time ever a Duck has done that.
The Ducks set a team record for yards in a game with 720.
They also tied the Autzen Stadium record for points with the 72.
It was quite an assault.
The game was over long before the half but for me personally the fun was just about to begin.
I got to meet up with Caleb and his friends as you can see in the picture.
Caleb is wearing a hat and he's to my right. Next to him is Casey, then Kieran is also wearing a hat and Conor who's Kieran's brother is in the front of us.
It was a privilege and an honor to meet these young men who all are from Burns, Oregon which is comprised of 4,000 people.
Being able to meet them made my visit extra special and memorable.
They all seem like very nice kids. I look forward to staying in contact with them.
Royalty attracts people of all ages.
Please stay tuned as I plan to do a Stadium review for my buddy Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey.
In addition, stay tuned to see how the rest of the trip unfolded.
Thank you for reading.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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