Former coach Mike Bellotti and broadcaster Aaron Fentress did not include this moment in their top five and it lit off (mostly) fun debate about the merits of Wheaton's inclusion/exclusion from the list.
I thought it would be fun to join the fray, but I am going to give a 'Point Counterpoint" for both arguments. I will begin with the argument against Wheaton's pick being that important.
Point: Why 'The Pick" is NOT a top five moment
The play, while a critical game changing play was not one which changed the direction of the program. Whoa? What!
The Ducks lost three games during the regular season in 1994. While many people do not remember this, the win there was not even needed to get to the Rose Bowl. The Ducks went 7-1 in 1994 Pac-12 games with USC (6-2) and Arizona (6-2) finishing second and third respectively. Washington was 4-4 with Washington State 5-3.
Change the result of the Husky game and the Ducks finish in a three-way tie with USC and Arizona - both of whom the Ducks beat head-to-head in 1994. It could rightly be said that Josh Wilcox's touchdown catch against the Wildcats was a bigger moment than Wheaton's pick; without that win, Oregon finishes 6-2 and Arizona goes 7-1 to take the conference title.
So why does the play hold such a special place in Oregon fan folklore? For several reasons. Most importantly is the advent of pregame highlights which always featured the play. It became the point at which the cheers of Oregon fans reached their pre-game crescendo. Had the Ducks never evolved from that moment; it might continue to be the most important play. But the Ducks would not see another Rose Bowl for 15 years; would not see a Rose Bowl win for another 2 seasons.
There is no doubt that the play was important in that game; but there have been thousands of plays, in thousands of games, which have been important to the outcome; yet are not program changing.
Fans romanticized the moment in time and it is those fans who still hold on the strongest to the notion that the play is program defining. Theirs is an illusion, though. An illusion brought on by a singular hatred for one team and how that moment seemed to knock the arrogance off of their smirking faces.
If 'The Pick' happens against Arizona State, would it hold such lofty mythological heights? I would say, no, it would not. Think about that. How many put the O'Neil to Wilcox 15 yard corner route as the most important play? Very few. Yet without that play, the Ducks never get to that Rose Bowl.
Counter-Point: Why 'The Pick" IS a top five moment
With our first point on the wayside, is there still a case to be made for Wheaton's play? Yes.
The case is in those very fans. They needed something more than a win against Arizona. Washington was three years removed from the share of a national championship. Oregon had been in their shadows for so long, it seemed an inescapable eclipse of everything that mattered.
There was a sense of arrogance to the north and a feeling of an inferiority complex in Eugene. I was watching the game with my older brother and his wife chimed in "why are you watching that? They're just going to lose to Washington again." Less than five minutes later, Wheaton made her eat some crow. He does not know that, but that is what happened.
She was wrong. Oregon fans finally had some semblance of hope that maybe the mountain was not too difficult to climb. Maybe the Ducks could do more than 'just get to a crappy bowl game.' Success became a new expectation which had never before seemed reasonable.
It would be those fans who would begin to pack Autzen week after week. It would be those fans who began to romanticize 'The Pick' that would create a feared stadium where 'other teams came to die' as Michigan coach Loyd Carr would later say. Without that moment, I am not sure that the fan excitement builds. We will never know for sure, but it was a turning point for those people who paid the bills. They turned out; they bought jerseys (I have a great picture of my sons in a No. 20 jersey from 1996), they started to buy tickets.
I had just graduated from Oregon in 1994 - I would not buy season tickets for another three seasons; but that moment changed my opinion of what I wanted to do with my disposable income. Autzen became Autzen on that day; in that moment. Without 'The Pick' Autzen is just another undersized stadium with an average team in front of a (mostly) apathetic fan base.
Which side am I on?
Tomorrow I will release my top five moments in program history.
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