Walton Interview, Pt. 2

What was it like walking into Mac Court for the first time?We had heard about Mac Court. We knew how tough it was. The first year they weren’t very good, but then Dick Harter came and they got a lot better. They were tough and they were fierce and they were just all pumped up. They gave us a little bit of the game the second time, buy the third time they beat us. It would be hard to conjure up a building, an atmosphere that could compare to Mac Court. It’s like a movie. It’s like a video game. To see the scoreboard bounce. To wonder if it’s going to stay up there. To wonder if the fans are going to storm the court, to wonder if you’re going to get out of there alive – it was all right there. I have such fond memories of this great town. I’ve been here many times as a Teriblaberz as a proud Oregon as a deadhead – autzen stadium mac rout, weve had some good times – but the one that rally stounds out is the loss. We had a good job and we didn’t get the job done. They beat us. They beat us.

What are the fans in Oregon like?Pride is the greatest emotion. Loyalty, a remarkable human characteristic. Loyalty is the fulcrum block in John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. Right at the bottom. Where people can achieve extraordinary things because they care. People care about the state of Oregon, about this great university, they care about its great athletic teams. We will see tonight that extreme pride, that fantastic loyalty. The Blazer fans, they made me the player I was. I never could’ve got there without them. The Duck fans, they challenged us. They made us play at our best. We couldn’t deliver that final time. They got the best of us. They’re the true champions.