Husky Stadium roars with Dawg pride

This is the day every University of Washington fan looks forward to all year: the Apple Cup. It was rivalry weekend in the NCAA and the Huskies faced their biggest rival — Washington State University. Husky pride overflowed at the tailgate and even more so in the stadium. UW pulled out all the stops in the game against the Cougs. Bigger and better band routines, louder cheers and fuller seats.

For many fans, the day started long before kickoff. Some serious fans even arrived to tailgate at 6 a.m. just to make sure they had plenty of time to settle into the purple and gold spirit — and make a day out of beating the Cougs. The Apple Cup is an event like no other football game — we’re talking specific merchandise, people flying home to Washington and ridiculously huge crowds.

The game started with a special presentation from the band, who created a giant flag pole during the national anthem. Then — my personal favorite part of any Husky game — the football team, cheer team, the flag holders and Dubs the dog ran onto the field in a prideful haze of purple smoke, energy and pure joy. The entire stadium was officially pumped up, cheering louder than ever before at the entrance of the teams. The Coug entrance was pretty much ignored by the stadium, except for the WSU fans who made up a quiet, yet large number of game goers. In the press box, reporters secretly cheered for the Huskies and gave silent cheers when we made big plays.

Myles Gaskin, UW junior and star running back, had a particularly big game, making several important plays including four touchdowns and countless yards that aided in securing the Husky win. Enough so that talk of drafting Gaskin before graduation has piqued the interest of football enthusiasts. It’s too soon to know for sure, but with a game as big as the Apple Cup, Gaskin is definitely headed to the NFL, whether it be this year — as fans hope — or after graduation.

2017 marks a fifth consecutive win for UW against WSU, meaning nobody on the current Cougar football team has won an Apple Cup. This very well might have added to their loss.

According to Mike Leech, WSU’s head coach, the team played both nervously and jittery. This is understandable considering the Coug mindset seems to be “this is what happens when we play UW.”

This was a fantastic way to end the Husky football careers of big players like Dante Pettis — who was unfortunately injured early in the game — Sean Constantine and Will Dissly, all who will be graduating this year.

Congratulations to Husky football players Keishawn Bierria, K.J. Young, Lavon Coleman, Ezekiel Turner, Connor O’brien, Sean Constantine, Azeem Victor, Ralph Kinne, Tristan Vizcaino, Andrew Kirkland, Coleman Shelton, David Ajamu, Forrest Dunivin, Derek Hunter, Will Dissly and Dante Pettis for your time playing for UW.