Dear Oregon Ducks:

I hope you are all doing well tonight. It's surely been a stressful season for all of us, and I just want you to know that I am here for you. Always have been, always will be. But on this Thanksgiving Eve, 2008, I have just one wish.

My wish is that you all realize what's at stake this Saturday. Yes, it's the Civil War game, and yes it is a long standing tradition that pits coworker against coworker and neighbor against neighbor in good old-fashioned friendly rivalry. But this is more than just a football game against your Pac-10 rival. This year we have an opportunity not only to shove Oregon State out of the Rose Bowl, but also to prove everyone in the local media wrong.

You're a young team this year, Ducks, and I am proud of your accomplishments. But what I am hoping for this Saturday is that you show up strong, you show up proud, and you show up fired up to represent. It's never been a question about talent in this particular game, and this year is no exception. What has always been the crux of this game is just who wants it more.

My wish is that you want it more, Ducks. I am counting on you to want it more. I know deep down you do, because I do, and I don't want ME to want it more than YOU because there isn't a lot I can actually do about it. You have to remember that the Beavers are cocky and expecting to have this game in the bag, and I am counting on you to remind them why we are the Oregon Ducks, why we are more respected, more watched, more well known than they will ever hope to be.

Please know that all those "fans" out there will go back to their mundane existences as soon as the season is over and the Beavers are back in the toilet where they belong. Know that the only reason we keep seeing all those Beaver flags flying on car windows at totally inappropriate times is because our state is currently full of people that aren't from here and don't know the difference between the U of O and OSU. Don't let the fact that the Oregonian has lost all faith in you deter you from your ultimate goal.

I have had faith in you since the day I was born and will always support you. I am asking that you show me how right have always been. I am asking you to beat the smack out of those Beaver bastards and toss them back into mediocrity where they belong.

Come Sunday, and for the rest of my life, I will be a Duck fan. And thanks to your good genes and athletic ability, you will too. Let's make this a year to remember.

Yours,

TtheD