I Give You My Word

I give you my word. It used to mean something. In the Old West, a cowboy would look at his little lady friend and tell her that he was gonna catch the no-good theivin' son of a bitch that wronged her...."I give you my word."

Nowadays, someone's word is about as valuable as a share of Enron stock.

First, we have the whole Lance Armstrong thing. Swears up and down for years that he didn't dope. Sued countless people, had death threats sent to others. And for what? For him to tell Oprah that he actually did do it.

His example actually doesn't bother me that much because I always suspected that he doped. So, it doesn't come as any surprise. What comes as a bit of a shock is that 10 days ago, former University of Oregon football coach Chip Kelly told his Athletic Director that he would be forgoing a shot at coaching in the NFL to come back to Eugene for another year.

Kelly interviewed with several NFL teams after the team's Fiesta Bowl victory on January 3, 2013. Despite many rumors putting Kelly as being close to a deal with Cleveland, Kelly abruptly returned to Eugene on January 6, 2013.

Now, today, just 10 days later, Kelly was named as the next head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. I am not surprised, given I have said for months that Kelly would leave for the NFL. The school is facing sanctions over the Willie Lyles scouting investigation. And with Oregon having been to four straight BCS Bowl games under Kelly's tenure, he was the hottest coaching prospect on the market.

It's just the way in which he left. Oregon fans were resigned to the fact that he was going to interview after the season. Most were even prepared to have him leave. But for it to be reported that he was choosing to stay at Oregon, only to have him leave less than two weeks later, sure does sting a bit.

I have never been a fan of the University of Oregon, I did not go to school there. I have long said that I despise the way the organization carries themselves and have enjoyed watching them fall short of national supremacy over the years. That being said, I do feel sorry for Duck Nation tonight. You don't deserve to have it end this way.