Jake Fisher knows the true meaning of tradition.
The 6-6, 300-pound senior grew up in Traverse City, Mich., raised on the same Big Ten rites like everybody else. He wanted to play in the Ohio State-Michigan game like everybody else. He even committed to the Wolverines.
Fisher decommitted when Brady Hoke was hired in 2010, however, and in his mind he chose tradition again. Four years later, Fisher is playing in the first College Football Playoff National Championship Game. He finally gets to play against Ohio State, but why did he choose to fly across the country to get there?
“I’ve seen the longevity of coaches at Oregon,” Fisher said. “They’ve all been there for 30 years. I went there and trusted the coaches. I trusted the program.”
Everybody else doesn't see it that way. You know the narrative heading into Monday. Ohio State is the “traditional program.” Oregon is the social media gimmick, the team whose white national championship uniforms are being dissected for traces of green and yellow.
That’s the Oregon way, right? Nike. Phil Knight. Spread offense. All those reasons Oregon isn’t accepted as a blueblood are everything college football is now. Face it, Oregon is the new standard. The uniforms are the perfect operational disguise.
Oregon coach Mark Helfrich still fielded a handful of questions about the uniforms during Rose Bowl media days last week before the 59-20 victory over Florida State. There’s no question the Ducks are the fashion trend setter; even traditional programs like Ohio State and Michigan tweak their uniforms now.
But would a recruit really choose Oregon because of the uniforms?
“I hope that I didn’t do that,” Fisher said. “I hope they saw a little more of themselves than jerseys and some cleats. You don’t get those back after the games anyway.”
Helfrich now tries to sell that there is more to it than looks.
“We always say if you put a dog in a shiny helmet, he’s still a dog,” Helfrich said. “We want great guys inside those cool uniforms and the high-performance stuff. Obviously, we have a great relationship with Nike, and that’s something we embrace.”
Of course they do. Knight, Nike's CEO, has poured millions into Oregon athletics, and detractors can’t look past that. It’s no different at the other powerhouse programs with well-heeled boosters.
“Every athlete that’s a part of the University of Oregon understands the contributions that they’ve made,” Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota said of the Knight family.
It’s part of the culture. Yet it takes an assistant coach like defensive coordinator Don Pellum, one of those lifelong coaches Fisher referenced, to fully appreciate it. Pellum played linebacker for the Ducks from 1980-84. He’s spent all but four seasons since as an assistant coach in Eugene.
He’s watched Oregon evolve from a program that played at Hayward Field, a 10,000-seat track facility, into a "superstructure." Now, the Ducks are able to pull recruits like Fisher to the Pacific Northwest to play in Autzen Stadium, which at 54,000 seats is a little more than half the size of Ohio Stadium and Michigan Stadium. That's part of the charm. That's part of the mission.
“The guys left their blood on Hayward Field because that’s where they played before,” Pellum said. “And this is for all of us.”
The national championship berth legitimizes a program that shouldn’t have to beg for validation. Consider Oregon has had just one losing season since 1994, Rich Brooks’ last season in Eugene. Mike Bellotti, Chip Kelly and now Helfrich upheld that streak. This is Oregon’s seventh consecutive season with at least 10 wins.
All that has been done with a spread offense that continues to pile points on the board despite being labeled a “finesse” offense. It closely resembles the offense Urban Meyer uses at Ohio State.
Oregon also embodies entertainment, and that's reflected in a fan base that has sold out every home game since 1999. Helfrich said the Ducks had a “home-field advantage” at both Cal and in the Pac-12 championship game in Santa Clara. That continued at the Rose Bowl against Florida State.
“I think the passion of our fans certainly showed just by their representation here,” Helfrich said. “Unbelievable representation in terms of volume and sheer numbers.”
Oregon seemingly has it all, and longtime play-by-play announcer Jerry Allen said the success will continue, even if the focus continues to be on the appearance. Allen said that’s fine, too.
“It’s flattering I guess,” Allen said. “The Ducks and their fans have felt that a little bit, with Nike, the uniforms and the flair. ESPN and media services have loved Oregon a lot.
“When you’re flashy and you’re successful, people enjoy that. Oregon is used to that to some degree.”
That sounds like college football today in every sense of the word. That sounds like the meaning of tradition.
