TAKE ONE: CONNECTEDNESS
One of the few criticisms I have had of this staff — and the staffs before it — is that a lack of access is going to erode some of that built-in goodwill that college football teams carry simply by the colors and logos. Winning will help hide that erosion, but eventually the erosion starts, and eventually the foundation starts to show its cracks.
To me, the Ducks vs. Them series and the preseason hype videos never really filled the gap for a fan base that still wants to connect on some level other than just winning games in the fall.
Having watched what I hope will be the first of many Meet the Flock videos, it sure looks like those little voices talking about connection have started to break through. I know these videos are going to be carefully crafted and edited, but it still felt like we got a glimpse of who the players were and what it was like for them to practice. For the longest time, I have mentioned that I don’t really want to report on practice to give away plays, talk about injuries, or leak strategy; I think there are stories inside those practices that fans would love.
Not the background stories that are easy to get over the phone, but the stories of a player. I vividly remember watching Tony Washington off to the side working drills during his freshman year, and I wrote a really cool piece about him that fall based on that practice. I was able to reference that moment again a few years later following the ugly loss to TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
Fans probably learned more about Dante Moore the person in that video — along with his recently released letter on mental health and the well-known story about his mom’s battle with cancer — than they ever could have in a dozen post-practice interviews. Who knew anything about Ryder Hayes? Not many. Seeing KJ (Akili Smith Jr.) as a part of this also started to help people see him as his own player, and I think these are the kinds of connections that last a lifetime — especially for young fans.
Plus, who couldn’t love Rex? There is a story there, and I bet it evolves throughout the next nine months.
TAKE TWO: BEST JOB?
