30,000 ROCK

“We are here at the Natty … We keep winnin’ the day”

— UO a cappella group On the Rocks, singing at Sunday’s pep rally

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — “Rock out with your beak out.”

Those were the parting words of advice that ESPN anchor Neil Everett, a 1984 University of Oregon graduate, gave to the tens of thousands of UO football fans at what was far and away the largest pep rally in school history Sunday, on the eve of the Ducks’ date with destiny in today’s BCS National Championship game against No. 1 Auburn and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

Everett took the stage in historic downtown Scottsdale with another popular Duck alum, pro golfer Peter Jacobsen, in front of what Scottsdale police estimated was more than 30,000 Duck fans, with a few thousand more watching from four levels of a Nordstrom parking garage at the Fashion Square shopping mall.

They were part of an all-star UO lineup that worked the green-and-yellow crowd into a frenzy, just a couple of hours after 30,000 Auburn fans had occupied the same space for their pep rally on a makeshift football field designed by SportsOne, a Beaverton special events company.

The crowd roared for all who took the stage, from the UO cheerleaders and the Duck mascot, to Otis Day and the Knights of “Animal House” fame, to former UO football greats Ahmad Rashad and Joey Harrington, to mega-popular UO singing groups Supwitchugirl and On the Rocks, to even the bizarre scene of the heavily tattooed Canadian heavy metal singer Sebastian Bach singing, “We are the Ducks of Oregon!” and shouting, “Are we gonna kick Auburn’s ass tomorrow, or what?”

Bach was invited after appearing on NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” a few days ago to sing a “power ballad” as a gift to the Ducks.

But the biggest roar was for UO football coach Chip Kelly, who came out with this little ditty: “If you believe in karma, we are playing in the Tostitos BCS National Championship, and your coach’s name is Chip.”

He thanked all the fans, called the situation “RiDuckulous,” and said, referring to the UO football team, “I know with all my heart that these guys will make you proud. And, lastly, please don’t ask me for a refund.”

Kelly was referring to the UO fan who asked for a refund of more than $400 for game ticket and travel expenses after the Ducks were embarrassed at Boise State on Sept. 3, 2009. Kelly wrote the check.

It’s not likely any UO fans will be asking Kelly for a refund after today’s game, no matter the outcome. Indeed, imagine how far the Ducks have come in just 16 months and one week, after Kelly’s first game as the UO coach against Boise State. From a painful 19-8 loss to the Broncos, to former Duck LeGarrette Blount’s infamous punch in the same game, to all of the off-season turmoil and player arrests last winter, to this: a chance to be national champions for the first time in 115 seasons of UO football.

The UO has won national championships in men’s and women’s track, both outdoor and indoor, in men’s and women’s cross-country, and even in men’s basketball, albeit 72 years ago in the first-ever NCAA tournament in 1939.

But a national football title?

“It’s surreal,” said Everett, whose grandfather, Neil Morfitt, played backup quarterback for the UO’s 1920 Rose Bowl team. “It really is for those who have followed Oregon football for any length of time. It’s rags to riches. And, hopefully, the university can sustain it.”

Rashad, one of the most legendary players in UO history, who went on to a stellar pro career with the Minnesota Vikings and three other NFL teams before becoming a successful sports broadcaster, said today’s game is “the biggest defining moment ever in the history of University of Oregon athletics.”

Rashad is the Ducks’ honorary captain for the game, while 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson will play that role for Auburn. “And the coolest thing about it,” Rashad said, “is the team is totally ready for it.”

And so are Duck fans.

“This is crazy,” said Tom Finneran, aka the “Duc-Nut,” a Portland coffee salesman who dresses for every UO game in his green-and-yellow camou­flage outfit, complete with face paint and green hard hat. “The dream come true. Team of destiny.”

Sharon Deen of Albany and her daughter, Kim Kissinger of St. Helens, got into the pep rally area about 3:30 p.m., 90 minutes before the event’s launch, to get right up next to the stage.

“We sat through some pretty bad football,” Deen said of being a season-ticket holder for more than 40 years. “This is so exciting.”