my oregon ducks 6th game of the 2009 season was on the road at unranked UCLA on the 2nd saturday of october
this was the first time during the 2009 season i DIDN’T go to the game, being it was in pasadena
#13 Oregon @ UCLA
PREGAME:
on monday, following the wazzu game, i had enough brain energy to tell Maddi and Ian about the wazzu game (Maddi and Ian were my best friends during the first semester of the 2009-2010 school year, that’s why you read about them in all these stories)
after 5 straight games in 5 weeks, my vocal chords were beaten up pretty bad and Maddi and Ian could tell cause they told me my voice was hoarse (word to describe how having no voice sounds)
it didn’t help my voice that i had a cold
i was also lacking sleep because i only slept 5 hours a night during the week, and sleeping in a car on the weekends going to and from games is not what you’d call getting a “good nights sleep”
so in mr. karl’s class that whole week, whenever it was silent reading time, i’d open my book, look down as if i were reading and close my eyes. that way if mr. karl looked at me, he’d think i was reading haha!
of course, since i sat next to Maddi, i secretly wanted to just lay my head on her shoulder cause that’d be more comfortable than sleeping with your head tilted forward haha (bad for your neck)
but we were in a classroom and if i did that, mr. karl would know i’m sleeping
and also, it’s the girl that lays her head on the guys shoulder and falls asleep, not the other way around
and plus, Maddi and i are just friends and only couples do that kind of thing so basically, i would’ve been breaking a whole lot of rules if i had put my head on her shoulder and fallen asleep haha
anyways, we only had like a 4 day week that week so i was thankful for the upcoming weekend to rest up
i didn’t talk much during the week in any my classes because i was tired, had a cold and had no voice
on thursday i told Maddi to have a good weekend and she told me the same
on friday, alex, my and i went up to Saltspring Island in British Columbia for our cousin Casey’s wedding on saturday
the wedding was at the same time as the oregon-ucla game, but i had a cell phone that had internet so my dad said i could have my phone out during the wedding, as long as i don’t go crazy on TD’s or yell profanities when oregon screws up on plays
on the 3 hour ferry ride to the island though, i got really sick and remember, i already had a bad cold
i told my dad though that i’d still go to the wedding
saturday morning at the hotel though, while everyone was asleep still, i got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, closed the door and threw up in the bath-tub. i was really sick.
when alex and dad woke up to get ready for the wedding, i got up too hoping my dad wouldn’t notice the mess in the bath tub haha
he noticed though and told me it’s best if i stay at the hotel and get some rest because the wedding is outside in the cold
so my dad and alex leave for the wedding and i’m all alone
i grab a couple of blankets and bundle myself up even though the hotel room is at 70 degrees
i turn on the tv and watch oregon play UCLA
THE GAME:
i couldn’t yell because i had no voice and i couldn’t flair my arms in anger at bad plays because i had bundled myself up to stay warm cause i was sick
oregon’s offense didn’t do anything in the 1st half so we were down 3-0 at halftime and i was really scared we would lose (boise state flashbacks)
at halftime, even though i didn’t have a crush on Maddi, i kept wishing she was there with me on Saltspring Island because i was alone, sick, cold and scared and all i wanted was someone to wrap me up in their arms to keep me warm and Maddi was my best friend
of course she wasn’t there, i’m 200 miles north of seattle in canada, i had to just do the best i could
thinking of her though did make my heart a little warmer and made me not scared
the kickoff to start the 2nd half, Kenjon Barner returns the kick for a TD!
TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN DUCKS!
just like that we’re ahead 7-3, but i couldn’t jump off the bed so i just smiled
then on the very next offensive play of UCLA, 1st and 10, they throw an interception and oregon takes it in for a TD!
TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN DUCKS!
14-3 ducks just like that!
in just 25 seconds, oregon goes from being down 3-0 to up 14-3!
on UCLA’s next posession, they fumble on 2nd and 10 and oregon recovers!
after a few plays, Nate Costa throws a jailbreak screen pass to Jeff Maehl and he runs in for a TD!
TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN DUCKS!
THE MAEHLMAN DELIVERS!
when i need a package delivered, i don’t go to FedEx, i go to the MAEHLMAN!
suddenly oregon is up 21-3!
in less than 4 minutes, oregon goes from being down 3-0 to up 21-3 so i said outloud: “thank you Maddi”
i’m the kind of person that goes out at night to look at the stars and make a wish and then pray for it to come true. the fact that oregon exploded for 21 points in a 4 minute span after i made a wish for Maddi made me think the stars heard my wish and said:
“we can’t give you Maddi because she’s too far away right now, but we can give your Ducks 21 points to get you through the day”
(by the way, i still do that. i still go out at night just to look up at the stars and make a wish. none of the wishes ever come true but i still try)
oregon ended up winning 24-10 so i was happy
POST GAME:
my dad calls after the wedding and ask if i feel good enough to go to the reception, i said no i’m too sick
now that oregon game is over, i layed down and fell asleep
sunday morning we all left and took the ferry back to the mainland
on the drive home, i just slept to get some rest
here are highlights of the game:
adamkendall2 