GD

(Can't seem to blog lately. It's not a time thing, or even a thought thing. It's a can't-seem-to-make-the-words-flow thing. But here I am, because this bears noting.)

This is literally the best time of my life. I have been a Duck fan since I shot out of the womb (as I'm known to say), through good, bad, ugly, beautiful, fabulous, heartbreaking, mediocre, extra special. I always have been and always will be a Duck, no matter what. So the fact that we've come this far and have achieved this status, well, it's the best thing that has ever happened to me.

And, as most of you know, a lot of really, really good things have happened to me in my life.

Any true, absolute, die-hard Duck fan will tell you: there is no greater time than now. We have the Football Jesus for a coach, we have a fantastic team, we have great fans, we have incredible supporters. Merchandise is flying off the shelves, Beaver "fans" are congratulating me, hell, several co-vacationers in Cabo came up to congratulate me after the Civil War game. We're on the map, my friends, and it feels great.

I remember when I moved to Southern California in the '80s and only the college football faithful even knew what a Duck was. I remember moving to Cleveland in the '90s and having to search the satellite feeds at Gonzo's to get even a glimpse of a Pac-10 game. I remember all those years of calling Taylor's on the evening after the Civil War game to get a score because the odds of it being in the paper were nil. Through it all, I wore my colors. Through it all, I call myself a Duck. Through it all, I defend my boys to the end.

Now we're everywhere. I met my new BFF and her husband from Minnesota in Cabo and her husband and I talked Duck football. I've met Duck fans in every airport I've been to in recent years. I give a "Go Ducks" to anyone in colors these days (you can always tell the bandwagoners, but that's okay - if you would have told me 15 years ago that anyone was jumping on the UofO bandwagon I would have laughed out loud). Friends from out of state are snapping up Duck gear, not as a nod to me, but because they are truly impressed. It's astounding.

I'll be where I am supposed to be on January 10, and no matter what the outcome, I'll be prouder than I have ever been. As much as I have to sometimes stop and think, Holy crap. National championship?, I beam continually through harrowing work days and crazy traffic. Because let there be no doubt: This is the best time of my life.