Photoessay #874 - Two athletic sites at Univ of Oregon

Today, I'm featuring two athletic sites at the University of Oregon that I saw this week.

First the new basketball arena under construction. Picture snapped across Franklin Blvd from our hotel parking lot. Wow, pretty big project in this era of cutbacks and budget crises. During Susanna's freshman year, they announced that this arena would be built on the site of the softball field. Not necessarily a bad thing as UO's softball venue, Howe Field has got to be the oldest field in Division 1 softball (built in mid 1930s as baseball field. But objections, whatever, they scrapped the plan. Some of the parents a few years behind Susanna felt the coach had lied when she said there would be a new softball field. I pointed out that, at the time, it seemed like they WOULD build a new softball field.

They've made some very small improvements but really not much. The Mac Court bathrooms are open which I choose to preserve as my own personal legacy.

Anyway, the donors moved in, basically bought out the existing professional AD's contractor and, according to me, the inmates were running the asylum. But, the rich donor who served as AD for two years for no salary did get things done (see photo). They also re-instituted baseball and he built, with his own donations a building for academic services for athletics. Which seems pretty twisted unless you saw what they were using now which was pretty plain and run down.

Remember the story about how Register-Guard reporter interviewed Susanna for a feature article? About how he and Susanna sat on the steps leading down to the basement of Mac Court and she was squashing cockroaches with a bat.

The very steps.

Ah, Mac Court, what a heap. Of the same period and right next to Howe Field. But it's famous and a great sports venue. If you like old and funky. And, you can believe it, a great many cockroaches live in that place. The softball team has their dressing room and some facilities down there. The girls never complained, they liked it as far as I knew. Definitely authentic.

On our recruiting trip, they pulled the corniest stunt. We went into the modest team room and a locker was all set up with all of this UO athletic apparel, everything you can think of. Jackets, shoes, shirts, pants, tons of it. With her name over the locker. "Look!" they said "Here's your locker with your name on it already and all of the stuff you will get!"

So corny and so effective.

PS Teddy and Krystal played at the dog park today and Krystal had really worked out some new moves overnight and She was getting Teddy down more than the other way around. You go Krystal!!!