[Oasis]

This was a really fine piece of writing.  No doubt all of us have shared some of these experiences and been affected by them.  For a few years after The Play I lost my sense of certainty about the world. I used to triple-check or even quadruple-check things like having my keys, making sure doors were locked and that I had all my papers for a meeting.  Maybe it was because of The Play.  More likely it was just OCD.  (Now it's senility.  I can't remember.) 

And in the 70s and 80s when we would play USC I felt as if disaster loomed every snap. Their tank running back could break through our outmanned defense at any moment and the house would come down on us. 

I am a lot more confident now.  We all know the litany of qualifiers. ("But we're not taking anything for granted, no sir.....") But I'm not going to run out onto the field before the game is over.  What I think doesn't affect the result.  So while I want the team to be out there fighting like hell every play, I have confidence that they will do that.  Last week, even after Oregon made in 26-20, I didn't think we would lose because we had a chance to win.  It wasn't about what Oregon might do but what we could do.  (Oregon was extremely lucky to block the FG and recover even one onside kick.)  I didn't think we would blow the last onside kick.  And we didn't.

I'm confident about tomorrow too. I'm going to places crawling with USC people and I'll be a conspicuous Stanford fan.  Not obnoxious but not hiding my colors either.  We're going to go into that frenzied, sold-out Coliseum with about 80,000 rabid Figueroans and we're going to whip their butt.  That's the new reality.

[Oasis]

This was a really fine piece of writing.  No doubt all of us have shared some of these experiences and been affected by them.  For a few years after The Play I lost my sense of certainty about the world. I used to triple-check or even quadruple-check things like having my keys, making sure doors were locked and that I had all my papers for a meeting.  Maybe it was because of The Play.  More likely it was just OCD.  (Now it's senility.  I can't remember.) 

And in the 70s and 80s when we would play USC I felt as if disaster loomed every snap. Their tank running back could break through our outmanned defense at any moment and the house would come down on us. 

I am a lot more confident now.  We all know the litany of qualifiers. ("But we're not taking anything for granted, no sir.....") But I'm not going to run out onto the field before the game is over.  What I think doesn't affect the result.  So while I want the team to be out there fighting like hell every play, I have confidence that they will do that.  Last week, even after Oregon made in 26-20, I didn't think we would lose because we had a chance to win.  It wasn't about what Oregon might do but what we could do.  (Oregon was extremely lucky to block the FG and recover even one onside kick.)  I didn't think we would blow the last onside kick.  And we didn't.

I'm confident about tomorrow too. I'm going to places crawling with USC people and I'll be a conspicuous Stanford fan.  Not obnoxious but not hiding my colors either.  We're going to go into that frenzied, sold-out Coliseum with about 80,000 rabid Figueroans and we're going to whip their butt.  That's the new reality.