A hot topic within the Oregon Ducks football world has been the notion of whether or not fans have the right to boo their team when they are unsatisfied with the results on the field.
During the second half of Oregon’s game against Cal a couple of weeks ago, the student section let out a rain of boos towards quarterback Anthony Brown and the offense as a whole, with head coach Mario Cristobal and his team unable to find much production on that side of the ball. Eventually, chants for Brown to be replaced by true freshman QB Ty Thompson were impossible to ignore.
So after the Ducks seemingly righted the ship on offense against UCLA this past weekend, Cristobal had a message for the Duck fans in attendance, and it was picked up online and spread to the fanbase as a whole.
“Hey! No more booing in Autzen, I don’t want to hear that s**t!” Cristobal said after the win.
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A majority of the Oregon fanbase seems to agree with him, while others are claiming that fans have a right to voice their displeasure. When asked about the interaction on Monday, Cristobal further explained his relationship with the crowd, and his comments after the game.
“They provide the best atmosphere in all of college football. I know I had… I call it family time with some of our fans over there in the Rose Bowl,” Cristobal said. “I appreciate that time because to me if you’re part of our fan base, if you’re a member of the organization, you’re a part of the family. I probably could’ve used, I should have used a better choice of words, but we have the best atmosphere and advantage in the country in our home stadium and family can talk like family.”
Cristobal admits that he might have been able to get his message across in a nicer fashion, but after an emotional win over a division opponent, nobody can blame him for being fired up and wanting the beloved Oregon fans to ride with him and his team.
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“So we chopped it up a little bit to get ready to get back into Autzen and do what we do because look, there’s going to be times where there are frustrating moments. We all have them. I get it. I totally get it,” Cristobal continued. “But I also fully understand and I hope we all understand and could agree upon that when Autzen is on fire, there is no comparison and that’s where we need it week in and week out. So, it’s a little family time.”
The Ducks will have another chance to play in front of the crowd at Autzen this coming weekend when the Colorado Buffaloes come to visit for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. After a huge win over UCLA, the crowd should likely be rocking on what projects to be a sunny afternoon in Eugene.
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