Mailbag: What's the one Oregon sporting event you had to have been at?

Thomas Tyner's 600-yard game, the Toilet Bowl, Pele's final game....there's so many options.

2009’s War for the Roses — one game I really wish I could have covered. (GoDucks.com)

Rise and shine, it’s spring game time. But before diving into Saturday’s 1 p.m. kick on the Pac-12 Network, start your morning off with a cup of coffee and the latest I-5 Corridor mailbag.

Today we feature answers to questions about the Portland Diamond Project, Justin Flowe’s health, Oregon’s Division Street and the Portland Pickles.

First we begin with a question from Kevin Wade, a member of The I-5 Corridor’s exclusive Oregon 50 club.

Knowing the outcome, what is one past sporting event in the state of Oregon you wish you would have been able to cover? Thomas Tyner’s 600-plus-yard game, the Toilet Bowl, Pele’s final game… — Kevin Wade.

I wouldn’t wish covering Tyner’s 600-yard game upon anyone. As I mentioned earlier this week, covering high school football is one of the hardest things to do in this profession. It’s pages upon pages of hand-written notes from poor vantage points. And then when The Oregonian made us start taking our own photos on top of that? 

Nightmare fuel. 

Shoutout to Andrew Theen, who deftly covered his first and last high school football game that night. 

A few candidates: 

• Portland’s “Blazer Day” championship parade in 1977 would have been a trip. The Blazers have been mostly good since I’ve lived in Portland, but I’ve never seen the city when it’s been all in on a team like that. People have been telling stories from that day for nearly 50 years.

• On March 31, 2012, Alex Keudell pitched a four-hit shutout for No. 23 Oregon in a 1-0 win against No. 14 Arizona State. First pitch came at 2 p.m. on a Saturday and the game lasted 1 hour, 45 minutes. If you’re going to work on the weekend, that’s about as good as it gets. 

But the winner for me here is going to be 2009’s War for the Roses.