Props to Jim Caple
It’s good to be on top.
In the wake of the Huskies’ Pac-10 Championship, Page 2 writer and former UW Daily Editor Jim Caple weighs in with a masterful piece that captures the joy of college sports. Let’s take a moment to commend Mr. Caple on a job well done. When something notable happens in Seattle, Caple’s the guy who brings it to the masses:
They will remember this day and this season long after their student loans are paid off, with the tales no doubt growing ever taller as the years pass. “Remember how we camped out all week for the Wazzu game in nothing but sleeping bags, and it snowed, like, a foot and a half one night, and it was so cold our vomit froze on our faces and we caught pneumonia but we still stood for the entire game despite 104-degree temperatures? God, those were great times!”
As the final seconds ticked down and the party broke out, Brockman allowed himself a glance around the old gym, to preserve the memory of not just this moment but of his whole four years at Washington.
“I was just looking at the people and their reactions,” Brockman said. “I knew how happy they had made me and how special they had made me feel, and I really wanted to see that same enjoyment on their faces. Looking around in the gym, there was so much energy, so much excitement — that’s exactly why we all picked up a basketball in the first place.”
Read the entire article: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/090309&sportCat=ncb
This article speaks to the very reason my friends and I started this site. If it weren’t for the glories of our college years (the 2001 Rose Bowl, humbling Oregon at Autzen in 2002 (my personal favorite) and four consecutive years of Apple Cup triumphs), we probably not be doing this. Sure, the NBA and NFL are great way to pass an afternoon, but nothing intertwines the feelings of drama and ownership like intercollegiate athletics.
And therein lies the great crime of Husky ineptitude for the past several seasons. An entire graduating class of Dawgs were robbed of these spectacular highs. There really is nothing like college athletics – the capacity for enormous, communal elation is unmatched by anything.
Not to get all F. Scott Fitzgerald on you, but that’s why us alumni keep turning out for tailgates. Sure, you can have fun at a Husky game in your 20′s or 30′s, but nothing matches the electricity of being in the student section. We’re all trying to recapture that feeling, if just for a moment. We wear nicer gear and have better food at the tailgates, but any of us would trade places with the skinny kid in the dirty hoody sitting right behind the band.
I’m really happy for the students that were at that game. And even though my girlfriend and I watched the game on Catalina Island in a tropical-themed dive, I could tell what it meant to them. Go Dawgs!
There is never a bad time to run a picture of Dubs. Get that bag! Get it!
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Saturday was definitely a moment I’ll never forget. Adding to the emotion of the day was the brief moment of silence for Marquis Cooper before the game, followed by an impassioned version of the Star Spangled Banner performed by an urban gospel choir. I nearly came to tears as I remember the 2003 Apple Cup, which ended fittingly with Cooper’s pick-six and a warm, tearful embrace between Constable and myself.
Before Saturday, my proudest moment of Husky basketball was beating Arizona to win the Pac-10 tournament, followed by Selection Sunday and receiving a one seed. If these Dawgs can get to the Sweet 16, I think you have to consider that a huge success.
the catalina effing wine mixer!
Doesn’t it feel good to embrace our Huskies? Great post.
True, True, True!!!