Average Joes playing at Autzen Stadium

By Joey McMurry

Props go out to the University of Oregon's intramural program. They successfully pulled off an all-day flag football tournament in Autzen Stadium complete with obnoxious students, horrible calls, and illicit substances (in this case, Gatorade was not allowed on the field. Go figure).

Seriously though, well done. It's not every day you get an opportunity to play on the same field as the likes of Dennis Dixon, TJ Ward, LaMichael James, and all the other greats who cleated up for action at Autzen. That's a pretty cool experience.

Walking through the tunnel was really something else. Seeing the rusty "Win the Day" sign at the end got me going. Imagine who has touched that and what their hands did on the field afterwards. To a sports junkie, and a Duck fan, that's unreal.

Speaking of unreal, imagine, for a moment, what it's like to do that with 50,000 people screaming and yelling. Gotta be amazing. I was a bit awe-struck just walking in with empty stands, so I can't imagine the emotion for those guys who do that every Saturday.

The chance to play on that field is, quite literally, a dream come true. It was a chance for all of us "average Joes" to go out and live a dream for a day. Getting a chance to play in a stadium like that is something sports fans dream about for their whole lives, and just because we are students at this school we were given an opportunity to live our dreams for a moment.

Even though no one was watching really, running on that field and playing football was a good time. Sure, our team didn't do too hot (Team Dream, we'll get 'em next year), but it was still an experience I'll remember for a long time. I can actually say that I played football on the same field as some of the best football players the world has ever seen. Not very many people can say that.

No one but college football players get to do that on that field normally.

Plus, the fact that I got to do it with all my friends made it that much better. They say your college friends are going to be your best friends for the rest of your life. I'm not sure if that's true yet, but I sure hope it is. I couldn't ask for a better group to share that experience with.

Here's to the McClainians - may we continue to play football together for years to come.

I'm just gonna throw it out there now, I expect a pick-up game at the ten year reunion. Just sayin'.

Team Dream.

Today, the team name that we came up with quite literally on the spot back in fall term really meant something. We were living a dream today in Autzen, so the name seems to fit. I now no longer question why we chose that name and stuck with it. Opportunities like this don't come to everyone - we really are living the dream here at Oregon.

And of course, you know it's a good day when you actually get sunburned in the state of Oregon. We cherish the days when the sun actually graces us with its presence. It picked a good day to come out in full force.