Tag Archives: husky stadium

by | August 11, 2013 · 7:39 pm

Husky Stadium: What Makes It Unique

In the next month, the Washington Huskies will begin practicing and eventually move into their newly renovated Husky Stadium.  Over this same time period, we will be writing a few posts about Husky Stadium.  Some will be on the technical side of the stadium and some with be based on opinion.  Here is the first post in the series.  We hope you enjoy!

College football is full of pageantry and tradition.  Each school has something that they try to make unique.  They do this to get a step ahead in recruiting and for the fans.  These traditions turn into what they’re known for.  There’s the checkered end zones in Tennessee and the gator chomp in Florida.  There’s the buffalo in Boulder, Colorado and the War Eagle in Auburn.  The University of Washington has their own traditions.  In this post, I’ll take a quick look at a few of the traditions and landmarks that are unique to the school and Husky Stadium.

The Lake 

Husky Stadium from Lake Washington

Husky Stadium from Lake Washington

As you cross the 520 bridge, the stadium comes into vision.  The view is quite stunning, as you can see from above.  Husky Stadium is one of two places that you can tailgate on a boat, dock and then walk into the game (the other being Tennessee).  The view inside the stadium is just as beautiful.  From the north, south, and west side of the stadium you can look to the east.  If you look over, or to the side, of the (new and improved) video board, the lake will supplement a view that you won’t get at any other stadium in the country.  When talking about Husky Stadium, Lake Washington is one of the first topics that comes to people’s mind.

The Cascades

Lake Washington isn’t the only scenic aspect of Husky Stadium.  The Cascade Mountain range is also part of the stadium’s allure.  Depending on where you sit you’ll be able to see the surrounding mountains and while walking around it’s easy to spot Mt. Rainier.  Seattle locals know how blessed the city is to be surrounded by water, beautiful architecture and an amazing mountain range.  If you have forgotten or aren’t from around here, then Husky Stadium will feature all of that beauty.

The Siren

Most football teams have something that happens when they score.  A certain song blares through the PA or some people run around with flags (ASU promotes chants of U-S-A! Very patriotic).  At Husky Stadium, a siren goes off.  You could take away other things from Husky home games and it will be a little off, but if the siren was to go away I think this would be the weirdest feeling.  It’s something I, and most fans, take for granted.  I’ll try to stop.

Tequila! 

In the second half, during a break in the action, the band will bust out ‘Tequila’.  The song is what the Husky Marching Band is known for.  The stadium turns from a crowd of people ready to make a quarterback go deaf to a crowd celebrating a day off.  If the siren is the intensity of Husky Stadium, ‘Tequila’ is the fun of Husky Stadium.

Husky Legends

Between the third and the fourth quarter of every home game, U-Dub brings back a former player who was a Husky great.  They show highlights of the former player and then introduce him to the crowd.  In the dark ages of He Who Shall Not Be Named (it started with a T), the Husky Legends were what would give us hope.  It’s great that the school and team pays homage to their past, every game.

The Barking

On any given Seattle Saturday in the Fall, around 70,000 people bark all at once, as a teenager tackles another young man who didn’t run as far as normally expected.

Andrew

A year ago today, Matthew wrote this post on the blog.  It’s still my favorite thing we’ve ever had on here.  If you have a few minutes, go read it.

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by | July 14, 2013 · 12:48 pm

48 Days

Husky Stadium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 31st. Boise State. Husky Stadium.

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by | November 5, 2011 · 2:26 pm

Bleeding Purple

 We’ve been posting a few of our favorite Husky Stadium memories over the last few weeks, and I thought I’d throw up one more before the game.  You might see a couple more before the season ends, or you might not.  The Good Guys like to keep you guessing!  I wrote this about eight years ago, while I was in college.  Some of it’s a little outdated, but the sentiment hasn’t changed.  It’s one of my favorite things I’ve written, so I thought I’d share.  Hope you enjoy.

-Matthew

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                So far none of us has jumped.  Still, my dad’s recommendation to stay on the bridge has come roughly every other autumn Saturday for the last eight years of my life.  I’m not selectively suicidal, diving into depression on these certain Saturdays.  My dad just wants to make sure we make it to the University of Washington football game on time, and a body dropping the some 100 feet into the water of the Montlake Cut would slow us down considerably.  Someday I might have to try it, except I want to get to the game on time as well.

                I was born watching Washington Husky football.  Well, almost.  I was born, and then later that day my dad held me as he watched the Apple Cup, the annual game against the cross-state rival Washington State University Cougars.  The Huskies have been a part of my life ever since.  I remember games playing on the radio as we built a shed in our yard, and my dad complaining about a lack of playing time for star running back Napolean Kaufman in the Rose Bowl.  Minutes later, I remember Napolean racing down the sideline for a near touchdown that helped win the national championship.  I centered birthday parties around the Apple Cup and watched the Huskies get beat one year in a blizzard.  Another year I fell asleep halfway through the game, with the baseball mitt I had just got for my birthday still on my hand. Continue reading →

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by | November 4, 2011 · 12:37 am

It Must be Oregon Week

If you were to ask my girlfriend, she would say that I’ve acted a little differently than normal this week.  She’s the one who spends the most time with me and the only one, aside from me, who probably noticed but she’s right.  I wouldn’t say that I’ve been in a bad mood or not fun to be around.  No, I’d just say that I’m a little more on edge than I usually am.  I didn’t know why, but this afternoon it became clear to me.

I was listening to Kevin Calabro and Jim Moore (I don’t know why, that show is not very good) on my way to school tonight and a Duck fan called in.  He talked about how any thoughts of the Huskies winning were ridiculous.  He said that if the Huskies were thinking about taking some shots on Darron Thomas, then Keith Price was going to be in a world of hurt.  Then, he said that even though Chip Kelly and Oregon are under NCAA investigation that Husky fans are celebrating a cheater Saturday, who had to resign because of sanctions.

That last comment really ticked me off.  I went into Starbucks and, while glaring at a lady who walked in the shop wearing an Oregon sweatshirt, realized what had been bugging me all week.  It’s just the Ducks.  Last year I wrote a quick post about why I hate the Ducks and, frankly, while reading back through it I thought of more and more reasons.

I’m not going to make this post into a list of reasons why I hate the Ducks, that would get me angry and you would get bored around reason number 53 or so.  Instead, I wanted to pass along a quote given by our very own Good Guy, Joe., about his trip to Eugene.

“As we drove into Eugene on I-5 signs were hanging on the overpasses saying all sorts of stuff, mostly i cant repeat.  Then, because we all had Husky gear on, the parking attendants made us park like 3 miles from Autzen and then forced us to walk right through the alumni parking lot.

Then after the parking lot, we had to walk to the visitors seating gate. We sat with the teams parents, one of Sams high school buddies played for UW, Nick Newton.  That gate is right next to the UO student gate.  Let me tell you, there’s no more pathetic group of humans.  Our band was coming in at the same time and the UO students were all over them, yelling and throwing crap at them.  THE BAND!!!!!
IT WAS ALL I COULD DO NOT TO JUST GO BALLISTIC!!”

This is one of the many stories I’ve heard from Husky fans about Autzen Stadium.  I’ve heard many fans say they will never take their kids or their wife there.  Not that Husky fans are saints.  I’m sure that there have been plenty of altercations that were started by Husky fans over the years and I’m sure there will be more on Saturday night, but my biased opinion is that Oregon has the most classless fan-base in America.  When I take my seat on Saturday I expect to see a few fans in green and yellow around me, holding up a symbol with their hands that is supposed to resemble an ‘O’.  I’ll mutter a few things under my breath, then move on.  If one of them dares to say something during the honoring of Don James or the ’91 team, things will get ugly in the stadium.

There wasn’t a huge point to this post (frankly, it’s quite a waste of the Good Guys’ 500th post), but one thought that keeps me going is wondering what the rivalry will be like when these two teams are even.  One part of me thinks that it’ll be more heated because the game will mean more.  Then again, my hate might die down once the Huskies put this terrible losing streak behind them.  Let’s face it, the Duck’s dominance over the Huskies in the last 7 years probably sours our view of them even more.  Ted Miller sums up that the  Huskies winning would be good for the conference.  I’m thinking that I could care less about the conference come Saturday, I just want to beat the dang Ducks.

A few bullets holes after the jump.  Continue reading →

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by | September 3, 2011 · 8:42 pm

The Good Guys’ Husky Season Predictions

We’ve had more posts in the last day than we have in the last month!  This post got up a little late, but we promise that we wrote this before today’s game.  If we hadn’t these posts might not seem so optimistic.  More from the game later tonight or tomorrow.  Anyway, here are the Good Guys’ Husky season predictions:

Joe

It all comes down to the schedule. The Huskies have a tough road ahead, especially after the realignment to twelve teams. Playing in the P12 north means Stanford and Oregon will be on the schedule. Utah, on the other hand, doesn’t play either one. So right off the bat teams in the P12 north are at a scheduling disadvantage for 2011, the UW included. With road games at Stanford, USC, Utah, Nebraska and Oregon State, the path away from Husky Stadium will be tough. I see no real shot to beat Stanford or Nebraska on the road. Utah, USC and Oregon State are all winnable games, but the Dawgs will only get 2 of them. My road record prediction? 2-3.

At home is a different story. Eastern, Hawaii, Cal, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon and Wazzu. I can honestly see them going 6-1 at home. All of the games except Oregon are very winnable, in fact I expect them to win all of them except Oregon. Don’t get wrong, I do think they can win the Oregon game. It’s a classic trap game for the Ducks, the week before the smackdown with Stanford (and the weeks prior to UW they get Colorado and Wazzu, two games that could be blow outs, softening the Ducks senses a bit). So I am really hanging my hopes of beating Oregon on two things: The Ducks look past the Dawgs, and it’s the last game at the old lady, Husky Stadium, before the remodel. Both those intangibles help the Dawgs tremendously. The only thing the Ducks have going in that game, assuming they are undefeated, is to slide by and get to Stanford with no losses. It’s about freaking time the Dawgs beat the Ducks, I’m sick and tired of losing to the Univ of Nike. My heart says Dawgs win, my head says Ducks win. For the sake of my season preview, I’m going 6-1 home record.

In the end, the Huskies will be 8-4. I know that sounds very “kool-aidish”, but just look at that home schedule and tell me how they don’t go at least 5-2. The key is the road, they must get 2 wins this season away from Seattle if they have any dreams of another bowl appearance.

Dan

The 2011 Huskies have the most talent of any Washington team in the past 10 years. Pair this fact with a momentous end to last season, and another solid recruiting class, and expectations are high at Montlake. Not championship high, but close. The Huskies won 4 games last year by a touchdown or less, but their average margin of loss was 26.5 points. Given this, achieving 7 wins was a minor miracle last year. I doubt we see as many blowout losses, and I’d be surprised if the Huskies weren’t better, at least to the eye this year. Whether this improvement equates to a better win-loss record, we will have to wait and see. Looking at the schedule, 6.5 seems to be a fair line for wins. Most fans will probably say 7 or 8 wins, but I tend to think 6 is more likely, especially given the top to bottom strength of the conference. I think the Huskies are still 1 year away from championship contention, kind of like every other local team!
Andrew
Last time we saw the Dawgs they were celebrating in San Diego.  It seemed like Husky football was back.  The strong defense, power rushing team from the early 90’s showed up in late November and December and gave Husky fans reason to dream.  I think it’s clear that this program is on it’s way back and the 4 game winning streak to end last year proved that.  With that being said, this year is crucial for the program.  The Huskies lost their star quarterback and best player on defense.  It’s time for Sark to prove that his recruiting will make UW take another step forward.
I believe there will be some bumps along the road this year.  A new QB and a relatively young team will prove that.  But, I also believe that this team is the most talented team we’ve seen in Seattle since the wildly inconsistent 2002 team.  Are we going to be playing for a championship at the end of the season?  Probably not.  But, anything less than 6 wins and a bowl game would be a disappointment.
I don’t remember much from the early ’90’s since I was roughly 1, 2 or 3 years old during the Huskies best run.  I’ve read, heard, and learned about those teams and how nasty they were.  How they’d run the ball down opponents throats and suffocate teams with the purple-reign defense.  I’ve never seen much of that football at Husky Stadium.  This year, they’ll take another step to becoming that team and it will be a special year.  It seems fitting that this style of play will be back for the final year before the renovation.  I’m looking forward to the memories, because I think this year will bring a few of them.  No, we aren’t all the way back but we’re getting there.  The Dawgs scratch and claw their way to an 8-4 record (6 wins at home and 2 on the road) and Seattle will start dreaming about 2012 Pac-12 championships once the season is over.
Matthew
I touched on my general thoughts about the season the other day, but I’m going to look positively at this season. I’m tired of saying, the Huskies should be good, but I can’t quite bet on them to do it yet. That might still be true, but I’m going to expect big things anyway. Or slightly bigger things, anyway. I’m saying an 8-5 season. I can see them winning 7 or 8 in the regular season. If they win 7, they should have a very winnable bowl game. If they win 8, I’m not so sure about the bowl game, so 8-5 seems like a good guess.That said, I could see them edging their way to 9 or even 10 wins. To do that, they’ll likely have to beat one of the big three (Oregon, Stanford, Nebraska), and they’ll probably need a few of the Pac-12 teams on the edge to really fall apart. I’m looking at you, UCLA, Cal, Arizona and OSU. Let’s make it happen!

Individually, I think Alameda Ta’amu will be considered one of the three best defensive players in the league by the end. I expect Sean Parker to join the ranks of great Husky safeties. Kasen Williams and Austin Seferian-Jenkins will have the most impact of any offensive true freshmen since Reggie Williams. And that’s all I’ll write for now, because we’re on our way out the door for the game!

Go Dawgs!

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