I hate the Huskies. I hate the fans. I hate purple. I thought hate was the strongest emotion, but now I understand that I despise the Huskies. I used to root for the Cougs and any team playing the Huskies. Now, I root for the Cougs and for the Earth to swallow the Huskies.
The garbage in Seattle teamed up with Oregon, their “rival,” to cut and run. Their 11th-hour move was despicable. But they are not done with their scorched Earth policy against the Cougs. Their new athletic director, Troy Dannen, had no desire to continue the Apple Cup unless it was on their terms. They also want to gut everything of value in the conference leaving the Cougs with nothing but the figurative shirt on their back.
He claims the move to the Big Ten athletic conference requires new economic realities. Funny, I thought it was supposed to bring in tons of money. How can it be both a free-flow of cash while at the same time signaling an economic reality that the Apple Cup would need to die, unless we would play in Husky Stadium every year.
They are pure garbage.
Prior to the Huskies officially destroying the conference for big money, which supposedly doesn’t exist, there had been speculation that the Huskies were going to leave the conference. Some members of the Washington legislature were pushing the idea of tying the Huskies to the Cougs so they couldn’t leave the Cougs high and dry.
When it appeared the talk about jumping ship died down, the legislature believed there wasn’t any urgency and nothing was done. That is when the Huskies completed an early morning deal. They stabbed the conference in the back with their shady, backroom, underhanded dealings. The deal was made. The Cougs were left high and dry. The legislature was caught with its pants down.
Since then, I was one of many who have argued this year’s game should be the last Apple Cup. The Huskies were OK with keeping it going, but only if it were always played at Husky Stadium.
Then a deal was made with the devil himself. The schools are going to keep the Apple Cup alive with Pullman games. The Apple Cup will not be played on rivalry weekend, instead it will be a meaningless early-season game. In fact, I bet their fans see this as them doing a good deed — they are providing charity to the needy.
The reality is they know the legislature is not happy about what they did. The people with the purse strings in Olympia are looking at the Huskies in a disapproving way. The AD and others in the Husky organization know this. They have to do something to make the legislature happy.
So, they are going to continue to play the Apple Cup. They hosed the Cougs with a sham five-year deal. Three of the five games will be played in Seattle. The 2024 Apple Cup, which should have been played in Pullman, will be played in Seattle. They are trying to sell it as a neutral location. This deal has already decreased the number of Apple Cups being played in Pullman. It has dropped from 50% to 40%.
They are absolute garbage.
Here is what the future holds. At the end of the five years, the Huskies will not be in the crosshairs of the legislature. They will be free to make whatever decision they want to make.
Their dirty, secret dealings have destroyed the conference. This will rapidly lead the Cougs to a lower tier. The talent level and money gap between the schools will continue to grow. At the end of the five years the Huskies will claim the game is not what it used to be.
After this, once every four years or so they will offer charity to the Cougs by allowing us the “honor” of playing in Husky stadium. They’ll call it the Apple Cup to try to shine up the turd sandwich.
This is the last true Apple Cup. It should be allowed to die with dignity rather than linger on life support for years to come.
The Huskies are garbage.
The WSU Athletic Department has provided the Huskies with a source of short-distance games. The Huskies should be forced to play their games on the East Coast, with the conference they joined and the Cougs shouldn’t be used to make the travel easier. They shouldn’t give the Huskies an out.
Anderson is a former co-host and producer of a conservative talk radio show. He has a degree in philosophy and enjoys photography, woodworking, and sports. When not computer programming, he volunteers in the community.
