While you guys were having your little tearfest about our uniforms, I decided I needed a football fix, so I went to the Pacific Rim Bowl! Someone on Gaf made a thread about it a couple years ago. But basically it's a game played between my old high school (Ashland Grizzlies) and the Japan All Stars, which is made up of student athletes from the Kansai region of Japan. It's played every two years and alternates between country.
It's meant to be more than just a game and instead promotes friendship and an exchange of culture between the two countries. Before the game, the teams go off on various trips together, and the home team's families act as host families for the away teammates. And when it's time for the game, people cheer for both teams.
Final score: Ashland 31, Japan 23.
Japan outplayed us for the most part but threw too many interceptions. They were about 5 yards from possibly tying the game but couldn't punch it in on 4th down with about 10 seconds left.
What's cool though is both teams are incredibly even now and the game was really good. There was a stretch in the series (goes which goes back to 1988) where we dominated and then they dominated, but not anymore. The game today was tied 17 - 17 going into the 4th quarter. The final score two years ago was Ashland 32, Japan 30.
But the best part was seeing the Japanese team get a huge ovation after the game from the crowd of about 4000.
Now with that out of the way...
No matter how many postseason losses they pile up, that inferiority complex will never go away:
That's pretty rich coming from someone whose team can't even win the frickin' Cactus Bowl and has a much worse bowl record that we do over the last 10 years. It's funny how people dwell on the past when their team is playing like garbage. Let's see... Since 2009 we've been in the Rose Bowl three times and have won it twice (including setting a scoring record against the defending National Champions), won the Fiesta Bowl, won the Alamo bowl, and have had two National Championship appearances and a Heisman winner. Our record over the last five years is 60 - 8. Wanna know how many teams in the FBS have a better record than that? None.
But yeah, that "inferiority complex." I mean, Oregon's basketball team won the first ever NCAA National Championship like 80 years ago, and Washington has never won it. But who gives a shit? Programs change, and Oregon football is going through that.
Looking forward to extending our win streak against you guys to 12.
