EUGENE, Ore.
This unholy place, Mac Court, was already 52 and in a famously bad mood when Arizona played its first basketball game here on Jan. 12, 1979. It didn't take long to loathe its existence.
After losing 63-60, UA coach Fred Snowden was so outraged he threatened to retire the next day.
"I'm going to call my wife and re-evaluate what I'm doing," he said, incensed that referee Irv Brown had waved off a tying basket with 33 seconds remaining. "I'm going back to the hotel and do some serious thinking."
Snowden coached another three seasons, but he never did win at Mac Court. Indeed, this shrine to uncivil basketball is not the retiring type.
Lute Olson introduced himself to Mac Court on Jan. 26, 1984. As Oregon scored to lead 30-29 at halftime, Olson charged from the sideline in full pursuit of referee Mike Eggers. UA assistant coach Scott Thompson wrestled with Olson, holding him back.
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Eggers called a technical foul and the steamy place took the cue. Oregon fans booed Olson so long, and so loudly, that he bowed, stood erect and waved. It was his welcome-to-the-Pit moment.
"We dug our own grave," Olson said after the 69-55 loss. Own grave? How apt. A cemetery sits immediately across the street from the old gym.
No contemporary Pac-10 (or even Pac-8) coach won at Mac Court more than Olson. He was 15-9 and he paid for every one of those victories with a volley to his sensibilities.
In February 1997, Arizona's soon-to-be NCAA champion team arrived at Mac Court five days after Oregon fans behaved so badly against Stanford that the school roped off and vacated 228 student seats. In effect, the UO suspended its fans.
Moments before tip-off, Ducks coach Jerry Green grabbed the PA microphone. "You've all got some extra work to do today," Green pleaded to the thinned-down crowd.
Thus, the Pit Crew all but stomped the old arena into firewood, with the Ducks jetting to an 18-4 lead and upsetting 13th-ranked Arizona 78-72.
In 18 trips to Mac Court, I witnessed Olson confrontations with (a) fans, (b) UO student reporters and (c) Ducks coach Ernie Kent. It was always the most anticipated road game of the season and rarely failed to deliver.
Olson was never afraid of a confrontation and neither was Mac Court. He even criticized the moldy, green shag carpet in the visitors locker room. Not that anybody cared; it was still there the next year, too.
In February 2001, Arizona's game-day bus driver timed his arrival at the worst possible moment. The No. 9 Wildcats, who would reach the Final Four, had to enter the arena through a mob of Pit Crew students waiting for the gates to open.
"Overrated!" they screamed as hundreds of green-clad Duck fans made themselves manifest. "Overrated!" And the Wildcats were. Oregon won 79-67.
The menacing place could sometimes put a tear in your eye.
In March 1991, the No. 7 Wildcats lost 62-58 and retreated to the basement in an overheated, germ-laden locker room that could've been used on the set of "The Munsters." Arizona forward Bison Dele openly wept while changing into his civvies.
UO athletic director Bill Byrne embraced Ducks coach Don Monson in a basement corridor and said, "You know, I actually got tears in my eyes."
Over the last quarter-century, Arizona has engaged in more meaningful games, those of a higher profile at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion and Stanford's Maples Pavilion, but the atmosphere at Mac Court always suggests it's a Big Game, even when the Ducks are struggling to break .500.
In March 2000, No. 3 Arizona suspected it would be a difficult afternoon when a front-row Pit Crew goon outfitted himself in a Hannibal Lecter mask. Amazingly, while hustling for a loose ball, Arizona's Richard Jefferson plunged smack into Mr. Lecter. Someone shoved Jefferson. He shoved back. For an ugly few seconds, it appeared as if there would be a brawl.
Jefferson was assessed a technical foul. Olson stomped loudly on the sideline, threw off his sport coat to reveal that Mr. GQ had sweated through his dress shirt.
Later, in the locker room, an 86-81 loser, Luke Walton was asked for his take on the day's contentious events.
"Stupid things," he said. "Stupid things."
You don't get stupid things at Cal's Haas Pavilion, or even at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena. You get basketball. At Mac Court, you get theatrics.
Today is Arizona's last appearance at Mac Court, which will be replaced next season by the $200 million Matthew Knight Arena, which, by comparison, is likely to come off as a wine-and-cheese place.
The Ducks are moving a few blocks down the street in an attempt to triple their revenue, leaving behind this museum of basketball. If it didn't smell so bad, it would almost be romantic.
"I think they'll have mixed feelings about leaving," UA coach Sean Miller said after Friday's practice. He looked around the three-tiered, 83-year-old arena and compared it to some of the basketball relics in Philadelphia and in the ACC.
Then he walked out into the rain and took a seat on a bus parked next to a cemetery.
May Mac Court rest in peace.
