In
my years as a student, I was lucky enough to spend two seasons working on the
sidelines as a part of Cougar Athletics. One of the most vivid memories I have
of those two years was the start of the 1997 season. The sun was shining and UCLA was in
town, along with ABC and a national television audience. As the Cougars took the
field and the crowd roared, I couldn’t help but smile. As the game progressed, I don’t think
anyone realized what we were seeing: the Pac-10 title game was taking place in
August. As WSU paraded towards the
Rose Bowl, Skip Hicks could look back for the entire season, and wonder,
“what if?”
The
1997 season was a strange one for me.
I was on the field for all of the home games, but I never saw the two
biggest away games, and still haven’t, to this day. My sister got married on the day of the
USC game, and though there was a guy out in the church hallway flashing us the
score (the minister even interrupted the ceremony to announce the victory), the
only play I’ve seen of that game is the block that sprung Kevin
McKenzie. As for the Apple Cup,
the ‘greatest job ever’ forced me to miss that one, as I had to tend Martin
Stadium for a high school playoff game.
At least I got to sit in the press box by myself and hear Bob
Robertson call the victory that sent us to the Rose Bowl.
(Ironically,
the daughter of the guy who was giving us the USC score is getting married on
September 6, at which time I will be in South Bend. Sorry, Trish.)
All
in all, 1997 was good times, except for the whole Mitchell “Fright Night”
Freedman thing. Where the heck
did that guy come from? He
absolutely destroyed us in Tempe and then disappeared.
But
this column isn’t about just the 1997 season. It’s about what makes Cougar football
special. It’s about my father and
I, sitting in the stands in 1988 when Shawn Landrum broke through Husky
blocking and then watching Timm Rosenbach taking it in on fourth
down. It’s guys like Cory
Withrow, less than a week after having the worst game of his life and still
struggling to earn a scholarship, coming to my high school to say some nice
things to a few kids. Or the time
my Dad introduced me to my great uncle, John Bley. Dad said he was a great football player
in his day, but I didn’t really realize how great until Uncle John was
gone.
I
was in the stands for the 1992 Apple Cup as well. I was sitting with my sister and her
boyfriend (now my brother-in-law), listening to Husky fans behind us berate our
team and especially Mike Price.
One of my great Cougar moments came when my sister turned around to
Price’s hecklers and said, “quit talking about him, he’s my dad.” And they believed her! I laughed until my sides ached. Unfortunately, I (on the advice of
my sister’s boyfriend) was dumb enough to go to the CUB at halftime to warm up,
and got to watch Philip Bobo and C.J. Davis meet in the endzone on
TV. Needless to say, that was the
last time I did that, though I still let the individual responsible for the
travesty marry my sister.
I
saw now-NFL-superstar John Lynch accidentally set fire to his helmet as a
freshman in Pullman, when he and Stanford were in town. Tom Vardell ran all over us that
day, but Lynch’s boner was the truly memorable moment on that cold
Saturday.
Like
it or not, there’s a little part of Cougar football that’s about losing. Losing is what makes us enjoy the
victories. Games like the 1996
Apple Cup, when Ryan Leaf (who never feared the Huskies, even when he
was a freshman) and Chad Carpenter were this close to keeping a great game
going. Also in 1996, when USC
scored a late touchdown and Leon Bender led the extra point-block team
onto the field, and you just knew
that he was going to block that kick (he did). Or the 2000 season, when we lost so many
close games, but saw Jason Gesser blossom into a leader. It’s even about guys like Steve
Birnbaum, who played an entire season with a torn ACL and behind a terribly
inexperienced offensive line and never got any love from us, the
fans.
Something
great is going to happen again this year, and while some people will be too busy
ripping coaches or players to notice, many of us will see someone overcome some
obstacle, finally reach his potential, or make just one unforgettable play. Memories, people, and experiences - -
these are the things that make Cougar football great, and make me live for the
first game of the season.