In what may be construed as a sign of things still yet to come, Oregon athletics was taught a valuable lesson on the art of finishing an athletic contest at the hands of UW track athlete.
Oregon racer Tanguy Pepiot thought he had a huge lead in the steeplechase event. As you can see in the picture below, he begins to slow down and celebrate by signaling to the 50 or so fans that happened to be walking through the stands on their way to the concession stand, presumably to drum up a little bit of pub for himself.
All the while, UW's very own Meron Simon was practicing the art of "FINISH" as he turned on the after burners and stunned Pepiot by crossing the finish line first.
It was a sanguine moment, to be sure, in the long history of Oregon and Washington sports rivalries. Perhaps this is a sign of the ebbing of the tide in the momentum that Duck athletics has enjoyed over UW in major sports such as football and basketball. Perhaps it is nothing more than reminder to Oregon athletes that their arrogance has reached such epic levels that even little-known track athletes in front of sparse crowds simply presume victory whenever a purple-clad athlete is presented as opposition.
Who knows?
What I do know is that this GIF will live in infamy. And if I happen to see it show up on the pages of this blog time and again over the next several years, I'd be more than ok with it.