In September, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on college football.When I was 14, my brother enrolled at the University of Oregon, and I felt something like betrayal when he, and then my parents, started watching the Ducks. At that age, I was at peak insecure snottiness, and I pictured myself being above the weekly bacchanal that overtook Eugene every fall.A few years later, two things happened. First, I moved to Portland for college. Its not far, but its far enough and big enough that the Ducks arent the center of the universe -- especially within the ivory tower confines of my college -- and I found, to my surprise, that I missed them.I was homesick, awkward and wrestling with my identity. I wore my Oregon hoodie like armor in the campus coffee shop. And then LaMichael James happened. James, in 2009, was slippery and tough at the same time. He ripped through seams in defenses, always stayed up five or 10 or 50 yards longer than anyone expected. He had a side gig as a passable collegiate-level sprinter. Watching him, I realized for the first time: this is fun.Saturday afternoons, I would hole up in my dorm room, put on the Ducks game and forget about whatever existential crisis I was going through. My boss in college was a graduate of Oregon State University. He teased me about the Ducks reliance on Uncle Phil -- Phil Knight, Nike co-founder and Oregon booster. My comeback was always lethal: we were winning.Although DeAnthony Thomas didnt come along until two years later, nobody embodied the jubilant excitement of that time for the team like the electric running back. If James was a bullet train, Thomas was a fighter jet -- blistering fast, always faking and juking and making everyone else look like useless man-babies. He, too, ran track in the spring, better than James.?Thomas was undeniable. It was impossible not to get excited watching him.James, Thomas and the divinely gifted Marcus Mariota were the faces of Chip Kellys no-huddle, speed-of-sound offense. They were the bannermen of a charmed era in Oregon football.Southeastern Conference purists will tell you the Ducks only looked great at that time because of the conference they played in. Theres some truth to that, but it didnt matter to me. All I knew was that whatever else seemed confusing and uncertain in my world, I always knew the Ducks were going to win the day. The only question was whether theyd win by 50 points, or just 10.Everything about that time felt special. We (we is how Id begun thinking of the Ducks) were exciting, flashy and cool. The team would take the field in mirror-finish or black helmets and jerseys with wings on the shoulders and perform a weekly ritual of running opposing defenses to the point of exhaustion. Nobody could catch us, and we looked good, too.Although it took me 18 years to figure it out, this is the fact: underneath the slick uniforms, the speed, the 12-0 seasons, the more powerful attraction is always the tribe, the feeling of understanding exactly where in the world you belong.The Ducks still feel like home.Katelyn Best is a writer and journalist in Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in Portland Monthly, Excelle Sports and the Toast. Follow her on Twitter @BestKabest Cheap Phillies Jerseys Authentic . Duchene scored two goals and had an assist, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Friday night to match the best 10-game start in team history. Pat Neshek Jersey . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. 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IRVINE, Calif. -- Jaron Martin had four 3-pointers and a career-high 24 points and UC Irvine beat South Dakota State 73-58 in the opening game of the Sanford Pentagon Showcase on Monday night.The Anteaters (1-1) scored the first eight points, never trailed and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half.Martin finished 4 of 9 from 3-point range and 10 of 19 overall from the field. Jonathan Galloway grabbed 14 boards and blocked four shots -- both career highs.After the Jackrabbbits (0-2) closed to 52-40, UC Irvine had a 17-5 run to build its largest lead at 69-45.ddddddddddddSouth Dakota tied it twice in the first half but the Anteaters had a 10-0 run to pull away.Skyler Flatten had 12 points and Reed Tellinghuisen scored 11. South Dakota State shot 28.8 percent (17 of 59) from the field and 16.7 percent (5 of 30) on 3-point attempts. ' ' '