Christmas is as good a time as any to witness an Oregon CFP miracle

This is where the haters pipe up and say, "No chance, because they're going to choke against (JMU/ Texas Tech/ Indiana) just like always."

But the beauty of sports is that they are about the possible, the intersection of hope, vision, sacrifice and the dream. Part of what makes Dan Lanning such a great coach is that he embraces that part.

He spends an enormous amount of his considerable intelligence and energy teaching his players how to believe, how to make and carry out a concrete plan for success. He's Ted Lasso in a scruffy beard, without the impeccably prepared shortbread and the sneaky pop culture references.

As a Oregon fan, the only right way to begin the playoffs starts with the idea that this is the year, this is the dream Duck fans have shared with The Voice of The Ducks and Uncle Phil. This time Oregon gets the officiating break. This time the star wide receivers are healthy. This time the Ducks punch it in to the end zone, seize the momentum, get off to good starts, stop the run. Matayo Uiagalelei plays like a warrior. Kenyon Sadiq writes his legend.

Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.

The Ducks have always come up short. That was true for the Red Sox, the Cubs and the Philadelphia Eagles before they finally took their first one. Sometimes dreams win.

The talent is there and the culture is strong. Each step of it requires total focus. But at the beginning, a fan's part of it is to provide the noise and the energy and believe. Sometimes believing can change everything. That's the music, the cinema of sport.

Belief costs nothing. And anyone can be a cynic. The sneer, the mocking cliche, all the weapons of meanness have no real power against true belief. Dante Moore, Bryce Boettcher, Dillon Thieneman and Poncho Laloulu just might lead the crew that can get this done. This time, the Ducks have as much talent as anyone.

It's time to rise up in joy and commit to the ride.