USC vs Oregon Football

Every two years we head down to Eugene for the USC vs Oregon football game. The weather wasn't good enough to fly in 997, so we drove Bertha (Mom's big Buick).

We stay at the Eugene Hilton because it's in walking distance of Autzen Stadium. It's also the choice for the USC Train tour organized by Witfawn for loyal Trojan fans, members of the Trojan Marching Band and cheer squad. If you make it to the hotel early enough on Friday, you can join their outdoor pep rally.

As we walked to the stadium, we stopped under a pedestrian bridge to don our rain gear. Our first stop was the athletic team entrance. An hour and a half before game time, the USC team arrived with their traditional "rock the bus." Then it was off to the tailgate party sponsored by the Portland Alumni Chapter. A dog, a brew and pep rally got us ready for the game. We get our tickets through StubHub so we always end up in "enemy" territory. At least this time we were near the band.

Ducks fans love their team. And they love to cheer (yell-O). Autzen Stadium is famous (infamous) for it's noise level. The last time, they broke the record with 127.2 decibels. It's louder as you get closer to the field and our great seats in row 12 were in the noise danger zone. My ears hurt by halftime! I can't imagine how bad it was on the field! Even though the USC players said the noise wasn't a factor, the Ducks were victorious. -- Margy