“Improvement Week”

The Ducks may not be playing this weekend, but that by no means we have a bye-week,” rather this is an improvement week. Yes the additional time to heal injuries, plan for the next game and refocus on the overall goals of the team are important. But this week is not just for the team to improve and take strides to achieve the ultimate goal, but for the fans to do their part as well.

This Saturday when you sit on the couch and turn on the big screen (or if you are Europe, sit on the futon and open your laptop) to watch college football, remember you must do your part because there is no “I” in National Championship. 

Here are four things as fans we can do to help our Ducks while we are on our Improvement Week:

1. Drink like you’re at a tailgate: Giving your liver, head, etc. a week off would seem like the best approach, but in fact that’s not the case. The moment you lighten up, your body won’t be trained to put down two Blue Raspberry Mad Dogs or putting away a half-rack of Nick Lachey’s with ease. Do you think Casey Matthews stops power cleaning because there is no one on the scheduled? No. You shouldn’t either.
2. Watch other teams play: This is one of those rare weekends where you can spend time scouting other teams. Watch Wisconsin v OSU, or Cal v  USC. See how your Ducks stand-up to some of the other teams in the country. I can promise you Darron Thomas is still watching game film this week to prepare, so you should too.
3. Talk Sh** about our Rivals: Perhaps we could give the Beavs or Huskies a break this week, because no matter what happens, the Ducks won’t win this weekend. But the moment you let up, you start to give them that confidence that they have the upper hand.  Continue to belittle our little in-state brother and remind those pups to the North that they are insignificant in the football world. Chip Kelly never stops coaching his team up, so we should never stop trying to bring other team’s fans down. 
4. Wear your Ducks gear: First off, you better have more than one Duck shirt, so “I don’t have to have to re-wash it” is not an excuse. Plus we need to remind everyone who is #2 in the country and #1 in our state and conference. Kenny Rowe will be wearing his Ducks gear this week, so why shouldn’t you.

Achieving the goals that the Ducks set forth each year is never an easy task. The least we can do is to do our part to make sure that we are at the top of our game, while our boys continue to work to stay at the top of theirs.

Go Ducks.