The Pac
Since the beginning of the 2014 season, the relatively new and upcoming Pac-12 joined the ranks of top echelon conferences. It has people talking, so it's important to buff up on your knowledge. Join the conversation by using these references, and people will assume you really know what you're talking about.
The Pac-10: Let's do a history refresher. Many of us grew up with Pac-10, which was founded in 1978 when Pac-8 accepted WAC schools Arizona and Arizona State. Then in 2010, it added Colorado and Utah in order to keep up with conferences like the SEC and the Big-10 that were expanding their size to 12-14 teams. On top of that, it added its own conference championship game, which demanded that fans take it seriously. Pac-12 rolls off the tongue now, but it was a real struggle for those of us who'd been calling it Pac-10 for 33 years.
'The band is on the field!' a.k.a. The Play: Let's go even farther back in history. This particularly famous commentary was made during the last play of the 1982 California/Stanford game. With four seconds on the clock and Stanford up by one point, almost everyone believed that Stanford had won - including the Stanford marching band who had already started to move onto the field. That was when the Bears executed a miraculous last-ditch effort using five lateral passes to traverse the entirety of the field and scored a touchdown. In the process, confused Stanford band members scattered in the face of the charging football players, clutching their instruments and trying not to get run over, which caused announcer Joe Starkey to yell, 'The band is on the field!' Since then, no play has ever touched The Play's legend. However, it's not too surprising to hear people call an exceptionally fantastic play a 'band on the field' moment.
Big Game: A big game could be between any two teams on any given week of the season. The Big Game only refers to one thing in the Pac-12: the California Golden Bears vs. the Stanford Cardinals. These universities are rivals in almost every way, academically and athletically. And they've got some history. While some, namely NFL Super Bowl honchos, might not think it's fair that they specifically get the Big Game designation, it makes sense to Pac-12 folk.
The Axe: If you are lucky enough to win the Big Game, this is what you get. The Cal-Stanford version of a rivalry trophy is truly an axe head mounted on a plaque. It used to be a full lumberjack axe, but the handle broke off during Cal's first theft in 1899 after the baseball game. This was no petty prank - a wild chase ensued with veangeful Stanford students and police officers in hot pursuit through the San Francisco streets. The subsequent steal-back was executed by Stanford with Ocean's Eleven-like brilliance. Ultimately, the two universities decided the Axe would be the trophy awarded to the winner of the Big Game. Did this decision stop students from trying to steal it from the rightful school? Not at all! But come on, it's college.
Bruin: While we're on the topic of mascots, let's talk about UCLA's because most people don't know what it is. Bruin is an archaic term for a brown bear. Joe and Josephina 'Josie' Bruin used to be live bears until being replaced by costumed mascots in the 1960s. Originally the Bear Cubs, then Grizzlies and lastly Bruins, UCLA strives to be a slightly different, if less creative, school than Cal.
Civil War: Here's a great nickname for the classic rivalry between Oregon and Oregon State. History tells us the outcome is unpredictable and the hate runs deep. They've gone into double overtime with seconds on the clock. They played a 0-0 game, dubbed 'The Toilet Bowl' and 'one of the worst-played games in history.' They vied for the Rose Bowl in 2008 in a fan-fueled nail-biter. In 2010, Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris (in)famously summed it up: 'This is basically like the big brother/little brother backyard brawl...[Oregon's] the big brother.'
Pasadena: When traveling, this is a lovely city in Los Angeles County down in southern California. In the football world this lovely city only means one thing: the Rose Bowl. In the past, the winners of the Pac-12 would almost always 'head to Pasadena,' usually with roses clenched saucily between their teeth. Since 2014, however, Pasadena has become an important stop rather than a destination. Now a semifinals match in college football playoffs, the Rose Bowl may mean fewer roses and more exclamations of 'WE'RE IN!'
Duck Dynasty: The 2014 Oregon Ducks have the best shot of heading to Pasadena. Sometimes things are timed together so well that you can't help but wonder if someone planned it; for example, the wild popularity of the A&E TV show Duck Dynasty and the domination of the Oregon Ducks football team. How convenient that Oregon can scoop up this culturally relevant, alliterative phrase and make it its own. Of course, we know a show about a family who runs a business making gear for duck hunters and the Oregon college football team don't have anything to do with each other. But still, it makes you wonder about ducks...
Just as each generation of teenagers coins its own slang from year to year, this new era of college playoff football will surely bring about more hip lingo. We eagerly look forward to what it might be.
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