I'm not a huge football fan but occasionally I will indulge and watch a quarter on TV. Years since I went to a Univ of Washington football...like pre-kids. I went once or twice. And I never did go to a Oregon Ducks game during Susanna's tenure there and our participation with Duck Sports. Though I saw the crowd.
And I did get a tour of Autzen tadium in the summer, when Susanna worked there. Hung out in Phil Knight's box and everything.
In the past years, Husky football has been pretty dreadful in the W/L thing. Two years ago, they gave the coach one more year. Result 0-12. Not good, season tickets fell. So they hired a new coach.
Lost the first game to a ranked opponent but they didn't get clobbered. Last week they beat Idaho, general rejoicing as the team had lost 15 straight. But this week USC came to town, #3 in the nation, they have beaten UW soundly forever. Just waiting for the 63-0 score or similar.
But when we got back from our trip, it was 10-10 at the half. Hey, not bad. Plus it's on TV. I can't resist. And the Huskies pull it off, winning 16-13 on a field goal in the closing seconds.
As you can imagine, they mob the field (I'm always worried about the players and coaches getting injured). And it's all over town. Sportswriters exult, you can feel the money pouring into the athletic department. Washington ranked in one of the polls.
A big deal.
I realize that the second to the last sentence at that paragraph comes from my association with U Oregon. When the football team won, it meant more money for softball. Because the boosters opened their pockets. You didn't want to talk to anybody in the athletic department during the week after the football team lost.
No matter that the football team had a fancy new locker room while the softball team had decrepit, cockroach infested quarters in the basement of Mac Court. Not that the players complained. They liked their place down there as far as I could tell.
During Susanna's sophomore year, the local paper featured a very well written article about her with the triplet story. The reporter even called me up, how crazy is that? And he described sitting on the outside stairs down to the basement interviewing her as she crushed cockroaches with a bat. Looooooove that Mac Court. The cockcraoches probably hold it together.
First picture of celebrating UW fans mobbing the field from Seattle Times used without permission .
Second picture of UO's MacArthurs Court built in 1927. Right next to Howe Field where the Duck Softball team playes. Howe Field built in the 1930s. Cockroaches and sawdust probably structural. They are building a new basketball facility at great cost. Softball dressing room in the basement of Mac Court.
Taken from Pioneer Cemetary across the street. By somebody else.
Another entry starting out to be one thing and ended up being about something else...
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