I want the 'Oregon' to be emphasized in Oregon State University soccer. Is that so much to ask? The back-to-back baseball national champion OSU baseball team is well known for its Oregonian roots. Coach Pat Casey has been clear about how important he feels having native talents like Darwin Barney, Kevin Gunderson and Joey Wong on the team.

"They're proud of being from Oregon. That's important for our guys to accept this challenge. They're creating a name for themselves."

How can you argue with a philosophy that has yielded two national championships? If it can work for baseball it can work for other sports as well. Beaver football fans got to rally behind Derek Anderson from Scappoose. I couldn't locate Scapppoose on a map but I can tell you its in Oregon and that’s all I need to know (don't ask me how I know that Sara Jean Underwood is also from Scappoose).

I don't want to hear that Oregon soccer players can't compete with the talent from California and Washington. Anyone that believes that shouldn't be coaching at Oregon State, period. It is an Oregonian's right to feel superior to our neighboring states. Most Oregonians I know live here expressly because it is NOT California.

I think Corvallis and the Oregon soccer community want to support a program that supports their own. When Casey was being courted by Notre Dame, Nike founder and Oregon sports supporter Phil Knight stepped up and volunteered to fund Casey's well deserved pay raise in order to keep him in Oregon. When the men's head coach Dana Taylor came to OSU from Indiana he brought his own deal with Diadora to the team. If we can't support Nike how many favors can we expect to receive from the famously generous Phil Knight. I would love a new roof over the soccer field bleachers. It would suite me fine if that roof had a giant swoosh on it.

At least head coach Steve Fennah has the women's team signed with Nike. And he was at Jesuit High School for five years before coming to OSU. I can let it slide that he is originally from Wales. Football head coach Mike Riley graduated from Corvallis High School. Just saying.

Both programs need to commit to putting Oregon kids on the field. I'm not endorsing a policy to exclude all non-Oregonian players. But I think Oregon should be better represented on Lorenz Field at OSU. What is the risk? We can hardly lose more games than both teams already are. I definitely don't ever want to hear about local talents like Tim Muravez that wanted to play at OSU and were turned away. Tim eventually played at OSU. He was wearing a Gonzaga jersey and played ninety minutes in a win over my Beavers.

Recruiting local talent allows the program coach to sell the benefits of being close to the players home, friends and family. Corvallis is consistently listed as one of the top places to live in the nation. Why can't we get young Oregon soccer players to play in their own back yards? The NCAA signing period for soccer begins on February 6 and ends on April 1. I sincerely hope to see some Oregon talent recruited to the Beavers during that time.