Upon review, fallibility shares field.

Byline: Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

On Saturday afternoon, after Oregon's 34-33 comeback win over Oklahoma, I joined the on-field celebration, not as an objective journalist but as a subjective Duck caught up in the aftermath of the wildest college football game I've witnessed.

Up in the stands, Oklahoma fans watched with the blank stares of college football's answer to "The Stepford Wives." Moments earlier, the Sooners were leading by 13, the sun was shining and thousands of their faithless hosts were fleeing as if Rush Limbaugh had arrived unexpectedly at the Saturday Market.

Ah, but football is a mysterious game, even in the age of instant replay and especially imbued with the Zen of Aut (commonly known as Autzen). Therein lies the allure of sports. You never know what will happen, especially when the referee is spending more time on the phone than a cell-affixed teenager, awaiting the call from On High.

Walter Camp, the ascribed "Father of American Football," certainly never imagined that football games would be decided by videotape reviews. But Saturday's game was.

For those inclined to see football as a religion, Oregon was clearly saved by grace. Two calls by the officials - now being debated by tribes in deep Zimbabwe with satellite-dishes - proved favorable for Oregon in the last 70 seconds of the game. No doubt.

But what does that mean for we of the feathered flock, we followers of Tribe Dixon?

Should Duck fans wallow in guilt, as the thief who stole the bishop's candlesticks in Les Miserables initially did?

No. The Ducks stole nothing. They played by the rules, were ethical and were deemed the winners. Why should they feel guilty for that?

The essence of sports is chance. And even with the recent move to allow calls to be reversed by video reviews, we're still dealing with the human element here. (OK, so Oklahoma fans may argue that one, too.)

But, perspective, please. Since 1894, Oregon has played 1,032 football games. If you reviewed all the calls and non-calls, you'd probably find about half were right, half wrong. Same ratio, I imagine, Oklahoma would find in its football history.

Goodness, I have a friend who still won't admit that Oregon lost the 1990 Freedom Bowl because Michael McClellan, the replays showed, was over the goal line on the two-point conversion that would have given the UO a 33-32 victory. No, the refs ruled otherwise, and Oregon lost 32-31.

Back then, though I questioned the call, I accepted it and moved on. After the Sooner-Duck game, some aren't doing the same. Oklahoma President David Boren announced Monday that he wants the game stricken from the Big 12 record books and the officials flogged at halftime of the Fiesta Bowl on national TV.

Just kidding on the latter. He does want the game stricken from the conference records - seriously - and wants the officials to be suspended for the season.

The Pac-10 issued a one-game suspension to the officiating crew and instant replay officials. But to strike the game from the records is as ludicrous as UO President Dave Frohnmayer, a former state attorney general, filing a lawsuit claiming that the refs missed a Sooners wide receiver illegally pushing off on a touchdown catch.

It's a game, folks. Sure, we want fair, competent officials. But human fallibility is part of the game and always will be. Oregon might lose to Arizona State, its next game, because of a wrong call. Oklahoma might beat Middle Tennessee, its next game, because of a wrong call - if its defense improves.

Meanwhile, life goes on. You can't live forever saddled with regret. Unless, of course, you were one of those Duck fans who left early and missed an amazing game that was so much more than the two plays that are making news.

Bob Welch can be reached at 338-2354 or at [e-mail].