We can all talk about losing the Pac 12 that we love. But let's be honest...
Is the Pac 12 of last year the Pac 12 we love? How about 5 years ago? 10?
Even during Chips run at Oregon in early 2010's, you had Oregon and Stanford, and that's it. During Pete's run, you had Washington and a decent USC. In USC's 2000's run, you had USC and everybody else.
The golden age of Pac 12 football in my eyes was from around 89'-03'
USC was good, Washington was dominant for stretches, Oregon finally awoken, Arizona had the desert storm defense, WSU had some fun teams, as did ASU with Jake Plummer, and UCLA had a couple Rose Bowl births.
89' to 03' is the Pac 12 I love and miss, and I think we need to realize that that Pac 12 was gone forever. The current Pac 12 even with the LA schools was never going to be a power again.
Sometimes life changes. Andy Bernard had the best line at the office finale “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.” That's how I feel now. We have a new reality. Oregon and Washington will join the Big 10, that's all but a given.
Be thankful that we still have a chance to create a new good old days. Oregon State, Washington St, Arizona, and ASU may never have them again. That's the real tragedy.