I just wanted to say thank you to all those who have tuned in to my blog over the past few months to read my blog and listen to the rantings of your average college fan. I never expected this site to get much attention, but its done pretty well so far. Once the season gets closer I plan on putting a lot more content up again. Its been tough recently because of the lack of news, a summer job averaging 50 hours a week, and then working on finding a professor to do research with when I return to school.
Go Dawgs
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Shawn Kemp Jr a Husky
The final UW scholarship has gone to the son of Seattle Super Sonic star, Shawn Kemp.
To me this is surprising as Kemp has been away from the game for nearly two years as he dealt with academic issues. He first committed to Alabama in 08, then Auburn in '09.
Kemp Jr is listed at 6-9 265lb, but Romar has stated he will be at 250 for the season and expects him to be able to contribute right away. Romar has already stated that Kemp will not redshirt this season.
Hopefully Romar gets Kemp together and puts him on the right path.
To me this is surprising as Kemp has been away from the game for nearly two years as he dealt with academic issues. He first committed to Alabama in 08, then Auburn in '09.
Kemp Jr is listed at 6-9 265lb, but Romar has stated he will be at 250 for the season and expects him to be able to contribute right away. Romar has already stated that Kemp will not redshirt this season.
Hopefully Romar gets Kemp together and puts him on the right path.
Memorable Nights - A Story of My Husky Basketball Experience
Well, it's about 3am and I've been thinking about Husky sports. It started with football and slowly moved its way back to basketball as it usually does. The thoughts usually start out about games both past and future and generally culminates in me thinking about a few games in particular and in turn into a few camp-out nights that have been the greatest times in my college career. Many people may judge me for sitting in line for hours on end, camping over night in sub-freezing temperatures to go watch a ball game, but it doesn't bother me one bit. They ask me "why would you want to sit outside on a Friday night when I could be partying at some frat or a house party?" They tell me it's lonely or anti-social. I believe none of that for one minute for two very simple reasons. One: I do it with my friends. The same people I would be partying with are sitting in line right next to me. Some arrive earlier than others, but we all get there eventually. Two: I love the game. The team. The atmosphere. It can't be beat.
I have been very privileged when it has come to Husky Basketball whereas football has been more down than up during my time at UDub. I first came to UDub for the 2008-2009 season and didn't follow the team much before that. I would watch games on television here and there in the previous years, but I had no emotional investment in the team. This quickly changed thanks to a spare ticket a friend had.
In High School I never attended any of the sporting events for several reasons that do not need to be dictated here as they are neither relevant nor important. All that matters is that attitude transferred over during my first year of college. I watched every football game on T.V., but did not buy season tickets my freshman year. I suffered through every disappointing loss, including the BYU and Apple Cup games. This culminated in me not buying basketball tickets as well. I didn't follow the basketball team as closely as football, mainly due to my school schedule which included labs at 6:30 to 9:30pm on Thursday evenings.
One day I got a call from my friend, Scott Alspach who has contributed a bit to my blog and the inspiration behind it, asking if I wanted to attend the Arizona State game as he had a spare Dawg Pack ticket from a friend who couldn't attend. I figured it could be a good time and I would at least get to hang out with my friends. So four hours before game time I met up with my friends at McMahon and we headed down to the line. We stood in what was to be the usual spot for me that year, somewhere near the steps leading up to Hec Ed from the Graves building. Jim came buy, tore my ticket and slapped a wristband on me about two hours pregame per usual and I waited patiently and anxiously, not knowing what awaited me. As some of you may know the game ended up with a 73-70 victory in overtime. It was ridiculous. My friends and I ended up sitting in the back left of the Dawg Pack, which unfortunately is now a weak section, but that season and that game the crowd was roaring no matter where you sat. I quickly learned the chants after a few times through and found myself jumping and yelling like everyone else. After the game I knew I was addicted and had to get to the rest of the games somehow. I bought regular tickets for the Seattle U game and the Wazzu game and missed out on the Arizona game as the tickets were already sold out. March 7th showed up. I woke up around 4am to get ready to head down to Hec Ed where UDub would be playing against Wazzu to clinch the Pac-10 title outright for the first time in 50 years. It was snowing when I left and the temperature stayed sub-freezing the entire 8 hours I was in line. I naively thought 8 hours would be enough to be near the front of the line. I found myself on the back side of the Graves building as there were around 20 tents pitched from the front of Hec Ed down across the road and stretching along Graves. I sat there in the numbing cold for 8 hours and by god, it was worth every frozen minute. Jim came by, tearing tickets and putting on bands as always. I didn't get one because I had a regular student ticket, but I was not concerned. As with the Seattle U game I would be sneaking into the Dawg Pack using old wrist bands from past seasons the older students had. A few hours later I was standing on the court cheering, screaming, and celebrating with 10,000 other people (minus the cougar fans of course) as UDub cut down the nets. That night we gathered in McMahon with about 8 or 10 people and few cases of brew and set out on a night that has forever been labeled "Pac-10 Night." It resulted in everyone drinking far too much and paying the consequences for it. The next morning I vowed I would never miss another football or basketball game during my student tenure at the University of Washington. I've stayed true to my word and I can't recall missing a single game the past two seasons, minus the first football victory in what was something like 20 games against Idaho in 2009 when I had to attend my cousins wedding up in Port Angeles and the actual game itself when Game Day came to town during the 09-10 season, more on this later.
Before I knew it, it was time to order football tickets and the first day I could purchase said tickets I was up at 8am to be one of the first to order. I figured sales would be slow considering UW's football program had just finished an 0-12 season highlighted by blowing a 10-0 lead against the Cougars, including a missed field goal that would have won the game in regulation. The tickets were ordered and I found myself in Husky Stadium a few weeks later for the home and season opener against LSU. I enjoyed my first experience with tailgating and had a Hurricane too many and found myself high fiving everyone in sight wearing purple, which including one sneaky LSU fan who took advantage of my current state. My hand felt dirty. A 5-7 was the final result and it could have been 8-4 had we performed better in a few instances, but 0-12 to 5-7 is not a bad thing at all. Rushing the field after beating #3 USC in the final seconds with a field goal was amazing. I bought the shirt the day it came out. I wear it for every USC game.
Not long after football started, basketball tickets went on sale and I again awoke early to secure the forbidden treasure that was season Dawg Pack tickets. I succeeded in purchasing the tickets and so began my first year as a full fledged member of the basketball crew.
Two nights stand out that season.
The first night was Game Day coming to UW for senior night against UCLA. It was the be Quincy Pondexter's last home game and man was I bummed about that. As I said above, I actually ended up missing the game and I'll detail how that came to be.
Game Day was on Saturday so naturally I planned to camp out starting Thursday. That's when I realized we played USC on Thursday as well, so it was going to be tricky. We arranged for our good friend to come down about 30 minutes before the end of the USC game to bring a tent and get a good place in line for us. What went down next was ridiculous. UW lost a nail biter to USC by the 3 and the bitterness was surely felt as students left Hec Ed. Now, it is important to note that one particular group of students who were mostly seniors had been the first one to every game this season and first by quite a bit. They camped out just about every home game to my recollection and were the core of the Pack that year. They came out to find a group of 5 or 6 students who had outright skipped the USC game to wait for game day. The result was two hours of arguing over who should be first in line to get into not only the game, but Game Day itself. The police were called to resolve and mediate the matter and threatened to kick everyone out if more trouble was caused. The two groups negotiated for a while and a deal was made, which does not need to be detailed. After the dramatic night, people settled in, had a few drinks, talked sports, stats, and everything in between and slept the drama away. The next day people were in and out as class came and went. As night came, a large spot light was brought out to the front of Hec Ed. The maintenance crew turned it on, checked that everything was in working order, turned it off, and went home after erecting a small "fence" around the light consisting of the waste high dividers used to normally separate the lines going into Hec Ed. Not 10 minutes after they had left, a student hopped the fence, switched the lights on, and the party began. Some one had rented two speakers and connected them to the power supply the Sports department always gave to those camping out. A laptop with Husky Nation and other party tunes was hooked up to said speakers and a dance party broke out. About an hour later, Harry the Husky, the cheer leading team, and part of the Husky Marching Band showed up and played songs and danced for the next hour or so. It was brilliant. After they left the dance party continued. One kid did a fake break dance routine and crushed a can beneath his foot. This lead to my roommate, hailing from Bosnia on exchange for the year, doing a reverse worm and crushing a can with his back. He then climbed on top of the bridge and started chants. A big screen was hauled out and a video of Rece Davis of ESPN was played. Rece called out the Dawg Pack saying he expected a big showing. There was booing, yelling, and inspirational speeches around. Around 2 or 3am a few police showed up to check ID's and make sure things were not getting out of hand. People scattered back to their tents and the lights remained on all night. The next morning we awoke in a haze of too many beverages and a lack of sleep. Game Day started at 9am Eastern time which meant 6am out here on the West Coast. In turn this meant we had to be up at 4am to put our tents away and shuffle into Hec-Ed. I didn't sleep one wink that night ad had probably 3 or 4 hours the night before. The next morning, around 5am when we were filing into Hec Ed, maintenance came out to turn the spot light on. At some point in the night the lights had died. This was likely due to all of the gas having been burnt up, fueling our all night party. We watched in silent snickers as they twiddle nobs, checked power connections, and struggled to determine what was going on. I don't think they ever fixed it and luckily we had remembered to remove the makeshift Batman sign my Bosnian roommate had attempted to paste onto the light. After an intense few hours of Game Day yelling, cheering, and coordination with the program, the student section found ourselves in the small gym connected to Hec Ed where we were to stay until game time several hours later. We tried to sleep on the hardwood floors, but between the noise and people trying to play basketball on the other end, it was pretty pointless. Around noon, Marketing brought us food. Pizza and Fried Chicken. The chicken was the uppercut to my time. About 20 minutes after consuming the food I felt sicker than I had ever felt. I missed over two weeks of high school due to a mono like virus and this was worse. The stuffy air filled with the B.O. of several hundred students several days without showers, too many farts and burps to even think about, plus more carbon dioxide than several large trees could deal with due to a tight space with no ventilation meant I was in a world of hurt. I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the game in this state so I left my ticket and wristband number with my Bosnian roommate and I struggled back to Stevens Court where I flopped onto my air mattress, unable and unwilling to climb into my bunk. I turned on ESPN and drank about a gallon of water before the game even started. I'm sad I missed the game, it would have been a great experience, but the two nights before were worth it in my books. Quincy opened the game with a 3 pointer, wiped his brow in mock, and probably real, relief and went on to dominate the game, which included a Top 10 worthy windmill dunk.
The second night was the Pac-10 tournament championship game night. Due to their poor road performance for most of the season, UW needed to win at least two games in the tournament, if not win it all, to secure a berth the NCAA tournament. As any Husky fan knows the game was a back and forth battle of the ages. It is in my top 5 favorite games of all time. Neither team led by much throughout the game and in the end UW sealed the win with what was a strange sequence of events, at least in my mind. Jerome Randle, the "Pac-10 POY" (complete B.S. I could write 5 pages on how much crap it is that Pondexter didn't get the award, but I digress....), was dropping bombs all night long. UW led by 3 points with only 20 seconds to go. Pondexter had the ball when Nikola Knezevic, a no namer I don't even remember, stole the ball. California calls a time out with 10 on the clock. The last shot is going to be taken by Randle, no doubt about it. The only question was who would defend him. Would it be Isaiah Thomas? He had been successful throughout the night with two steals. Venoy Overton, the defensive specialist? No, it was Elston Turner. Elston Can't-Make-A-Damn-Free-Throw Turner. Elston The-Three_Point-Specialist Turner. What in god's name is happening? Then, chaos. Elston tips the ball away somehow with 5 seconds to go, but then is called with a nonsense foul. It was a loose ball, no foul should have been called. Either way, Randle was to head to the line for a pair of shots. He sinks the first and my heart drops a little. I know he will go for the intentional miss on the next one. Everyone in the apartment is freaking out. I am literally on my knees, hands on my head about to tear my hair out. Randle misses, UW gets the rebound. A pair of fouls ensure and Venoy Overton heads to the line where he coolly sinks two free throws to seal the game 79-75. My apartment erupts. The girls living below hate us more with every stomp and yell. We do not care. 10 minutes later we are still reveling in the victory, amazed at how we got there. A quick run to Safeway was made and another fantastic night of celebrating began. We ended up in the Sweet 16, during which time Joe Lunardi probably received thousands of emails from the Husky faithful who trashed him and his east coast bias for doubting our abilities against Marquette. I was in Arizona without a T.V. for the Marquette game and had to endure the 15 point deficit and ensuing comeback via text. As soon as I had internet access I watched the game and it joined the Pac-10 championship game in my top 5. Quincy, I will love you forever for that shot. What a beast.
The season was over far too early, but I managed between intramural games and Husky softball. Football returned again in the fall and I found myself a few rows behind the band as was custom for my group of friends. We saw our first winning season in 10 years as well as the first bowl game in close to 10 years and the first bowl WIN in 10 years. Beating USC with a second last second field goal on their own turf was awesome in its own right.
Husky Basketball returned the same day UW Football was to face #1 Oregon in Eugene. Many fans attended the football game instead of the exhibition match against St. Martin's. It almost ended up being a good decision as UW fought with the Ducks for quite sometime before getting squashed.
2010-2011 had its own series of fantastic nights and memories. I distinctly remember three nights as standing out.
The first night was camping out for the Arizona State game. Coming in with a fresh victory over then ranked Arizona, emotions were high and everyone felt great. We stayed up late, had a few select drinks, made signs, talked sports for hours on end, and started a touch football game on the concrete. This led to my roommate getting smashed into the bushes by one of our small, female friends, as well as a broken (?) foot after slipping on the concrete, a few scraps and bruises and a great time in general. It was a great bonding night and was when I really got to know these people really well and they have been great friends ever since. Before the game MBA talked with a friend of mine whom I had had a conversion with on a tagged picture of him on Facebook. He laughed about it and said don't do that on his pictures because he gets 30 some notifications and it annoys him.
The second night is probably one of my favorite college memories. It is better than the two days partying and camping out for game Day. Better than celebrating any of the Pac-10 titles. One of my friends had bought a date with Justin Holiday from a date auction, held by Greek Row if I remember correctly. He was awesome and brought he a pair of signed shoes from his High School days and was all around a cool person from what I was told. She would text him good luck before games and he was always kind enough to respond. Sure, she was on the practice squad for the women's team and is a cute, little blonde girl, but it is still somewhat amazing that he would always find time to message her back and thank her for her support. So senior night rolled around and we had set up camp about 36 or 40 hours prior to game time, per usual. The same friend had talked with Justin about getting some of the guys, namely the seniors, to come to the camp out on Friday night before the game to talk and hang out with us. It would be a great experience as not only would it be the seniors last game at home and a great opportunity for us, the fans, to thank the seniors for their hard work, but a chance for the senior Dawg Pack members to interact closely, one last time, with the basketball squad. Justin managed to wrangled in Darnell Gant and asked if that would be OK. She of course said yes and so we waited a few hours. Around 11pm Justin and Darnell roll in with about 20 other people who turned out to be their family and friends. Amongst those 20 people was also Abdul Gaddy, who snuck his way in like a ninja somehow on his bum knee. I did a double take because he was so quiet and unassuming. Now, I consider myself a fairly tall guy at 6-2 to 6-3, but Abdul Gaddy, who is listed at 6-4, was several inches taller than myself. Justin and Darnell might as well have been giants. So the players came into our little Romarville and signed our posters, hung out, talked, shook hands, and gave out hugs for 15 or 20 minutes. Then one of them got a hold of my iPod docking station and an impromptu dance party broke out once more, though this one was a bit more sober and involved a lot more dancing talent. Darnell, Justin, and their families danced and sang with us for another 20 or 30 minutes before they started to head out. Abdul was forced to watch as he had just had his ACL repaired a few months before and was in no condition to be doing anything besides the Dougie head rub. Before they left, Justin and Darnell made sure to shake every guy's hand and gave every girl a hug. Justin asked to make sure they had interacted with everyone and they thanked us all one last time before heading home for some rest. It was the most humble and honest I had seen a group of athletes behave since...ever, really. Out of the 11 active players (13 if you count Desmond Simmons and Tyreese Breshers) on the UW roster, only those 3 opted to come out and mingle with the fans. It is an act of kindness I will never forget and it made the night truly memorable, even if they did go on to lose to USC the next day. I had a Darnell sign one of my posters and pinned it up on my wall the rest of the year. I've been meaning to dig it out of the box to put on my wall at home while I'm away for the summer. I am not one to try and get things signed, but I wanted something from this night because I knew it would mean more than an average signature. The player was there. I talked with him. Shook hands with him. Sat down next to him and listened to his stories. That signature tells a story to me and it's one I'll cherish for a long time.
The final night of the season is one I'm sure every Husky fan remembers as if it was yesterday. The Pac-10 tournament championship game against regular season title holder, Arizona. After splitting the series due to a questionable block/goaltend call in Arizona, UW and its fans were looking for not only a guaranteed trip to the big dance, but vengeance as well. About 10 people came over for what was sure to be a thrill ride. Boy, what a game. UW got up early, only to relinquish the lead in the last few minutes. UW was down by 4 points with a minute a some change to go. MBA rebounded the ball with a minute to go. Isaiah brought the ball up. It worked its way around to C.J. Wilcox who bricked one without hitting the rim. I.T. rebounded near half court. Took a few dribbles in and pulled up to drain the first of two in 'Momo' Jones' face to put UW within 1. Sadness was quickly being replaced with hope as my apartment erupted as the shot swished on through. This joy was quickly killed as Derrick Williams dropped an AND1 with 27 on the clock. Isaiah brought the ball up once more, drove the lane, and kicked it out to an open Terrance Ross who drilled one from range to put UW within 1 point once more. More cheers, more hope, more anxiety, more adrenaline, more Husky Basketball. I.T. fouled Momo with 14 on the clock. At this point, I.T. now has 4 fouls and has played all but a minute in the tournament. Clearly out of breath he heads towards half court while Momo sinks a pair of free throws without a single Arizona player under the basket in case of a miss. Arizona up 3 with 14 seconds to go. Our apartment is quiet, we whisper to one another about how we can pull this off. Do we drive for two and hope for a foul? Do we try another three? 14 seconds is a lot. Time enough for a 2 pointer and foul Arizona one more time before a last second shot, but we have no timeouts. Instead, I.T. drives the lane again, kicks it out to the left wing this time. C.J. Wilcox is waiting and open. He shoots with 7 to go. Momo tries to stretch out for it, but to no avail. Boom! He drains it with 5.7 remaining. The apartment is hysteric, but we know there is time for Arizona to get off one last shot. Arizona uses its final time out. I start to pace back and forth. I stood on the couch. Crouched on the floor. Said a prayer to whoever would answer it. Momo came out of the time out, dribble down court and threw up a runner that rattled out as time expired. Overtime. For the first time in tournament history. Dear God. I have to endure 5 more minutes of insanity. Screw the 2010 championship game, this is the game for the ages. MBA and Aziz both have 4 fouls. Arizona is clear of foul trouble coming into overtime. Terrence Ross hits a fade away Ala Brandon Roy early on. Wilcox double clutches a shot less than a minute later. MBA fouls on a weak call that causes Romar to nearly takes his jacket off. A great time spending possession happens for UW, two rebounds means three opportunities, but not fall through the nets. Wilcox gets called for an offensive foul with a minute to go and UW up only 1. Parrom misses, Holiday rebounds to I.T., I.T. sees C.J. open down court and throws a chest pass over half the length of the court (try it, its hard as hell). C.J. Throws down a HUGE jam to put UW up 3. Hopes are high until Arizona tries to one-up UW as Parrom drains a monster 3 pointer to tie the game. Then began Gus Johnson's call. Shot clock turned off! Game clock at 8! He's guna do it himself! Thomas! Shake! Cross Over! Step Baaack! ......................................................GGGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! AT THE BUZZER! YUNG ZEKE! AND WASHINGTON! WINS IT! ON A LAST SECOND J! COLLLLLDDDD BLOOOODED!
We didn't even hear the last part of the call until 10 minutes later after we stopped yelling, screaming, cheering, hugging, celebrating, and disbelieving what just happened. That was the single greatest shot ever in the history of the program. The backboard literally lit up as the ball went through the net. Could you plan it any better? No, you couldn't.
And this, my friends, is why I love this team. It is because of my friends, the players, and the sport that I stress out months at a time, wait for hours and even days in line, all for 40 measly minutes of game time.
The Dawg Pack and Husky Basketball have turned a good time in college into a great time. My favorite memories have occurred during the season and the off season has included many hours debated and discussing the team with fellow enthusiasts.
Its 5:30 am. I have to wake up in a few hours to get ready for a full shift at work. I was planning on getting up at 10, but noon is much more likely now. This means I'll miss the sunshine, but it's worth it because Husky Basketball is what I live for.
Go Dawgs
I have been very privileged when it has come to Husky Basketball whereas football has been more down than up during my time at UDub. I first came to UDub for the 2008-2009 season and didn't follow the team much before that. I would watch games on television here and there in the previous years, but I had no emotional investment in the team. This quickly changed thanks to a spare ticket a friend had.
In High School I never attended any of the sporting events for several reasons that do not need to be dictated here as they are neither relevant nor important. All that matters is that attitude transferred over during my first year of college. I watched every football game on T.V., but did not buy season tickets my freshman year. I suffered through every disappointing loss, including the BYU and Apple Cup games. This culminated in me not buying basketball tickets as well. I didn't follow the basketball team as closely as football, mainly due to my school schedule which included labs at 6:30 to 9:30pm on Thursday evenings.
One day I got a call from my friend, Scott Alspach who has contributed a bit to my blog and the inspiration behind it, asking if I wanted to attend the Arizona State game as he had a spare Dawg Pack ticket from a friend who couldn't attend. I figured it could be a good time and I would at least get to hang out with my friends. So four hours before game time I met up with my friends at McMahon and we headed down to the line. We stood in what was to be the usual spot for me that year, somewhere near the steps leading up to Hec Ed from the Graves building. Jim came buy, tore my ticket and slapped a wristband on me about two hours pregame per usual and I waited patiently and anxiously, not knowing what awaited me. As some of you may know the game ended up with a 73-70 victory in overtime. It was ridiculous. My friends and I ended up sitting in the back left of the Dawg Pack, which unfortunately is now a weak section, but that season and that game the crowd was roaring no matter where you sat. I quickly learned the chants after a few times through and found myself jumping and yelling like everyone else. After the game I knew I was addicted and had to get to the rest of the games somehow. I bought regular tickets for the Seattle U game and the Wazzu game and missed out on the Arizona game as the tickets were already sold out. March 7th showed up. I woke up around 4am to get ready to head down to Hec Ed where UDub would be playing against Wazzu to clinch the Pac-10 title outright for the first time in 50 years. It was snowing when I left and the temperature stayed sub-freezing the entire 8 hours I was in line. I naively thought 8 hours would be enough to be near the front of the line. I found myself on the back side of the Graves building as there were around 20 tents pitched from the front of Hec Ed down across the road and stretching along Graves. I sat there in the numbing cold for 8 hours and by god, it was worth every frozen minute. Jim came by, tearing tickets and putting on bands as always. I didn't get one because I had a regular student ticket, but I was not concerned. As with the Seattle U game I would be sneaking into the Dawg Pack using old wrist bands from past seasons the older students had. A few hours later I was standing on the court cheering, screaming, and celebrating with 10,000 other people (minus the cougar fans of course) as UDub cut down the nets. That night we gathered in McMahon with about 8 or 10 people and few cases of brew and set out on a night that has forever been labeled "Pac-10 Night." It resulted in everyone drinking far too much and paying the consequences for it. The next morning I vowed I would never miss another football or basketball game during my student tenure at the University of Washington. I've stayed true to my word and I can't recall missing a single game the past two seasons, minus the first football victory in what was something like 20 games against Idaho in 2009 when I had to attend my cousins wedding up in Port Angeles and the actual game itself when Game Day came to town during the 09-10 season, more on this later.
Before I knew it, it was time to order football tickets and the first day I could purchase said tickets I was up at 8am to be one of the first to order. I figured sales would be slow considering UW's football program had just finished an 0-12 season highlighted by blowing a 10-0 lead against the Cougars, including a missed field goal that would have won the game in regulation. The tickets were ordered and I found myself in Husky Stadium a few weeks later for the home and season opener against LSU. I enjoyed my first experience with tailgating and had a Hurricane too many and found myself high fiving everyone in sight wearing purple, which including one sneaky LSU fan who took advantage of my current state. My hand felt dirty. A 5-7 was the final result and it could have been 8-4 had we performed better in a few instances, but 0-12 to 5-7 is not a bad thing at all. Rushing the field after beating #3 USC in the final seconds with a field goal was amazing. I bought the shirt the day it came out. I wear it for every USC game.
Not long after football started, basketball tickets went on sale and I again awoke early to secure the forbidden treasure that was season Dawg Pack tickets. I succeeded in purchasing the tickets and so began my first year as a full fledged member of the basketball crew.
Two nights stand out that season.
The first night was Game Day coming to UW for senior night against UCLA. It was the be Quincy Pondexter's last home game and man was I bummed about that. As I said above, I actually ended up missing the game and I'll detail how that came to be.
Game Day was on Saturday so naturally I planned to camp out starting Thursday. That's when I realized we played USC on Thursday as well, so it was going to be tricky. We arranged for our good friend to come down about 30 minutes before the end of the USC game to bring a tent and get a good place in line for us. What went down next was ridiculous. UW lost a nail biter to USC by the 3 and the bitterness was surely felt as students left Hec Ed. Now, it is important to note that one particular group of students who were mostly seniors had been the first one to every game this season and first by quite a bit. They camped out just about every home game to my recollection and were the core of the Pack that year. They came out to find a group of 5 or 6 students who had outright skipped the USC game to wait for game day. The result was two hours of arguing over who should be first in line to get into not only the game, but Game Day itself. The police were called to resolve and mediate the matter and threatened to kick everyone out if more trouble was caused. The two groups negotiated for a while and a deal was made, which does not need to be detailed. After the dramatic night, people settled in, had a few drinks, talked sports, stats, and everything in between and slept the drama away. The next day people were in and out as class came and went. As night came, a large spot light was brought out to the front of Hec Ed. The maintenance crew turned it on, checked that everything was in working order, turned it off, and went home after erecting a small "fence" around the light consisting of the waste high dividers used to normally separate the lines going into Hec Ed. Not 10 minutes after they had left, a student hopped the fence, switched the lights on, and the party began. Some one had rented two speakers and connected them to the power supply the Sports department always gave to those camping out. A laptop with Husky Nation and other party tunes was hooked up to said speakers and a dance party broke out. About an hour later, Harry the Husky, the cheer leading team, and part of the Husky Marching Band showed up and played songs and danced for the next hour or so. It was brilliant. After they left the dance party continued. One kid did a fake break dance routine and crushed a can beneath his foot. This lead to my roommate, hailing from Bosnia on exchange for the year, doing a reverse worm and crushing a can with his back. He then climbed on top of the bridge and started chants. A big screen was hauled out and a video of Rece Davis of ESPN was played. Rece called out the Dawg Pack saying he expected a big showing. There was booing, yelling, and inspirational speeches around. Around 2 or 3am a few police showed up to check ID's and make sure things were not getting out of hand. People scattered back to their tents and the lights remained on all night. The next morning we awoke in a haze of too many beverages and a lack of sleep. Game Day started at 9am Eastern time which meant 6am out here on the West Coast. In turn this meant we had to be up at 4am to put our tents away and shuffle into Hec-Ed. I didn't sleep one wink that night ad had probably 3 or 4 hours the night before. The next morning, around 5am when we were filing into Hec Ed, maintenance came out to turn the spot light on. At some point in the night the lights had died. This was likely due to all of the gas having been burnt up, fueling our all night party. We watched in silent snickers as they twiddle nobs, checked power connections, and struggled to determine what was going on. I don't think they ever fixed it and luckily we had remembered to remove the makeshift Batman sign my Bosnian roommate had attempted to paste onto the light. After an intense few hours of Game Day yelling, cheering, and coordination with the program, the student section found ourselves in the small gym connected to Hec Ed where we were to stay until game time several hours later. We tried to sleep on the hardwood floors, but between the noise and people trying to play basketball on the other end, it was pretty pointless. Around noon, Marketing brought us food. Pizza and Fried Chicken. The chicken was the uppercut to my time. About 20 minutes after consuming the food I felt sicker than I had ever felt. I missed over two weeks of high school due to a mono like virus and this was worse. The stuffy air filled with the B.O. of several hundred students several days without showers, too many farts and burps to even think about, plus more carbon dioxide than several large trees could deal with due to a tight space with no ventilation meant I was in a world of hurt. I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the game in this state so I left my ticket and wristband number with my Bosnian roommate and I struggled back to Stevens Court where I flopped onto my air mattress, unable and unwilling to climb into my bunk. I turned on ESPN and drank about a gallon of water before the game even started. I'm sad I missed the game, it would have been a great experience, but the two nights before were worth it in my books. Quincy opened the game with a 3 pointer, wiped his brow in mock, and probably real, relief and went on to dominate the game, which included a Top 10 worthy windmill dunk.
The second night was the Pac-10 tournament championship game night. Due to their poor road performance for most of the season, UW needed to win at least two games in the tournament, if not win it all, to secure a berth the NCAA tournament. As any Husky fan knows the game was a back and forth battle of the ages. It is in my top 5 favorite games of all time. Neither team led by much throughout the game and in the end UW sealed the win with what was a strange sequence of events, at least in my mind. Jerome Randle, the "Pac-10 POY" (complete B.S. I could write 5 pages on how much crap it is that Pondexter didn't get the award, but I digress....), was dropping bombs all night long. UW led by 3 points with only 20 seconds to go. Pondexter had the ball when Nikola Knezevic, a no namer I don't even remember, stole the ball. California calls a time out with 10 on the clock. The last shot is going to be taken by Randle, no doubt about it. The only question was who would defend him. Would it be Isaiah Thomas? He had been successful throughout the night with two steals. Venoy Overton, the defensive specialist? No, it was Elston Turner. Elston Can't-Make-A-Damn-Free-Throw Turner. Elston The-Three_Point-Specialist Turner. What in god's name is happening? Then, chaos. Elston tips the ball away somehow with 5 seconds to go, but then is called with a nonsense foul. It was a loose ball, no foul should have been called. Either way, Randle was to head to the line for a pair of shots. He sinks the first and my heart drops a little. I know he will go for the intentional miss on the next one. Everyone in the apartment is freaking out. I am literally on my knees, hands on my head about to tear my hair out. Randle misses, UW gets the rebound. A pair of fouls ensure and Venoy Overton heads to the line where he coolly sinks two free throws to seal the game 79-75. My apartment erupts. The girls living below hate us more with every stomp and yell. We do not care. 10 minutes later we are still reveling in the victory, amazed at how we got there. A quick run to Safeway was made and another fantastic night of celebrating began. We ended up in the Sweet 16, during which time Joe Lunardi probably received thousands of emails from the Husky faithful who trashed him and his east coast bias for doubting our abilities against Marquette. I was in Arizona without a T.V. for the Marquette game and had to endure the 15 point deficit and ensuing comeback via text. As soon as I had internet access I watched the game and it joined the Pac-10 championship game in my top 5. Quincy, I will love you forever for that shot. What a beast.
The season was over far too early, but I managed between intramural games and Husky softball. Football returned again in the fall and I found myself a few rows behind the band as was custom for my group of friends. We saw our first winning season in 10 years as well as the first bowl game in close to 10 years and the first bowl WIN in 10 years. Beating USC with a second last second field goal on their own turf was awesome in its own right.
Husky Basketball returned the same day UW Football was to face #1 Oregon in Eugene. Many fans attended the football game instead of the exhibition match against St. Martin's. It almost ended up being a good decision as UW fought with the Ducks for quite sometime before getting squashed.
2010-2011 had its own series of fantastic nights and memories. I distinctly remember three nights as standing out.
The first night was camping out for the Arizona State game. Coming in with a fresh victory over then ranked Arizona, emotions were high and everyone felt great. We stayed up late, had a few select drinks, made signs, talked sports for hours on end, and started a touch football game on the concrete. This led to my roommate getting smashed into the bushes by one of our small, female friends, as well as a broken (?) foot after slipping on the concrete, a few scraps and bruises and a great time in general. It was a great bonding night and was when I really got to know these people really well and they have been great friends ever since. Before the game MBA talked with a friend of mine whom I had had a conversion with on a tagged picture of him on Facebook. He laughed about it and said don't do that on his pictures because he gets 30 some notifications and it annoys him.
The second night is probably one of my favorite college memories. It is better than the two days partying and camping out for game Day. Better than celebrating any of the Pac-10 titles. One of my friends had bought a date with Justin Holiday from a date auction, held by Greek Row if I remember correctly. He was awesome and brought he a pair of signed shoes from his High School days and was all around a cool person from what I was told. She would text him good luck before games and he was always kind enough to respond. Sure, she was on the practice squad for the women's team and is a cute, little blonde girl, but it is still somewhat amazing that he would always find time to message her back and thank her for her support. So senior night rolled around and we had set up camp about 36 or 40 hours prior to game time, per usual. The same friend had talked with Justin about getting some of the guys, namely the seniors, to come to the camp out on Friday night before the game to talk and hang out with us. It would be a great experience as not only would it be the seniors last game at home and a great opportunity for us, the fans, to thank the seniors for their hard work, but a chance for the senior Dawg Pack members to interact closely, one last time, with the basketball squad. Justin managed to wrangled in Darnell Gant and asked if that would be OK. She of course said yes and so we waited a few hours. Around 11pm Justin and Darnell roll in with about 20 other people who turned out to be their family and friends. Amongst those 20 people was also Abdul Gaddy, who snuck his way in like a ninja somehow on his bum knee. I did a double take because he was so quiet and unassuming. Now, I consider myself a fairly tall guy at 6-2 to 6-3, but Abdul Gaddy, who is listed at 6-4, was several inches taller than myself. Justin and Darnell might as well have been giants. So the players came into our little Romarville and signed our posters, hung out, talked, shook hands, and gave out hugs for 15 or 20 minutes. Then one of them got a hold of my iPod docking station and an impromptu dance party broke out once more, though this one was a bit more sober and involved a lot more dancing talent. Darnell, Justin, and their families danced and sang with us for another 20 or 30 minutes before they started to head out. Abdul was forced to watch as he had just had his ACL repaired a few months before and was in no condition to be doing anything besides the Dougie head rub. Before they left, Justin and Darnell made sure to shake every guy's hand and gave every girl a hug. Justin asked to make sure they had interacted with everyone and they thanked us all one last time before heading home for some rest. It was the most humble and honest I had seen a group of athletes behave since...ever, really. Out of the 11 active players (13 if you count Desmond Simmons and Tyreese Breshers) on the UW roster, only those 3 opted to come out and mingle with the fans. It is an act of kindness I will never forget and it made the night truly memorable, even if they did go on to lose to USC the next day. I had a Darnell sign one of my posters and pinned it up on my wall the rest of the year. I've been meaning to dig it out of the box to put on my wall at home while I'm away for the summer. I am not one to try and get things signed, but I wanted something from this night because I knew it would mean more than an average signature. The player was there. I talked with him. Shook hands with him. Sat down next to him and listened to his stories. That signature tells a story to me and it's one I'll cherish for a long time.
The final night of the season is one I'm sure every Husky fan remembers as if it was yesterday. The Pac-10 tournament championship game against regular season title holder, Arizona. After splitting the series due to a questionable block/goaltend call in Arizona, UW and its fans were looking for not only a guaranteed trip to the big dance, but vengeance as well. About 10 people came over for what was sure to be a thrill ride. Boy, what a game. UW got up early, only to relinquish the lead in the last few minutes. UW was down by 4 points with a minute a some change to go. MBA rebounded the ball with a minute to go. Isaiah brought the ball up. It worked its way around to C.J. Wilcox who bricked one without hitting the rim. I.T. rebounded near half court. Took a few dribbles in and pulled up to drain the first of two in 'Momo' Jones' face to put UW within 1. Sadness was quickly being replaced with hope as my apartment erupted as the shot swished on through. This joy was quickly killed as Derrick Williams dropped an AND1 with 27 on the clock. Isaiah brought the ball up once more, drove the lane, and kicked it out to an open Terrance Ross who drilled one from range to put UW within 1 point once more. More cheers, more hope, more anxiety, more adrenaline, more Husky Basketball. I.T. fouled Momo with 14 on the clock. At this point, I.T. now has 4 fouls and has played all but a minute in the tournament. Clearly out of breath he heads towards half court while Momo sinks a pair of free throws without a single Arizona player under the basket in case of a miss. Arizona up 3 with 14 seconds to go. Our apartment is quiet, we whisper to one another about how we can pull this off. Do we drive for two and hope for a foul? Do we try another three? 14 seconds is a lot. Time enough for a 2 pointer and foul Arizona one more time before a last second shot, but we have no timeouts. Instead, I.T. drives the lane again, kicks it out to the left wing this time. C.J. Wilcox is waiting and open. He shoots with 7 to go. Momo tries to stretch out for it, but to no avail. Boom! He drains it with 5.7 remaining. The apartment is hysteric, but we know there is time for Arizona to get off one last shot. Arizona uses its final time out. I start to pace back and forth. I stood on the couch. Crouched on the floor. Said a prayer to whoever would answer it. Momo came out of the time out, dribble down court and threw up a runner that rattled out as time expired. Overtime. For the first time in tournament history. Dear God. I have to endure 5 more minutes of insanity. Screw the 2010 championship game, this is the game for the ages. MBA and Aziz both have 4 fouls. Arizona is clear of foul trouble coming into overtime. Terrence Ross hits a fade away Ala Brandon Roy early on. Wilcox double clutches a shot less than a minute later. MBA fouls on a weak call that causes Romar to nearly takes his jacket off. A great time spending possession happens for UW, two rebounds means three opportunities, but not fall through the nets. Wilcox gets called for an offensive foul with a minute to go and UW up only 1. Parrom misses, Holiday rebounds to I.T., I.T. sees C.J. open down court and throws a chest pass over half the length of the court (try it, its hard as hell). C.J. Throws down a HUGE jam to put UW up 3. Hopes are high until Arizona tries to one-up UW as Parrom drains a monster 3 pointer to tie the game. Then began Gus Johnson's call. Shot clock turned off! Game clock at 8! He's guna do it himself! Thomas! Shake! Cross Over! Step Baaack! ......................................................GGGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! AT THE BUZZER! YUNG ZEKE! AND WASHINGTON! WINS IT! ON A LAST SECOND J! COLLLLLDDDD BLOOOODED!
We didn't even hear the last part of the call until 10 minutes later after we stopped yelling, screaming, cheering, hugging, celebrating, and disbelieving what just happened. That was the single greatest shot ever in the history of the program. The backboard literally lit up as the ball went through the net. Could you plan it any better? No, you couldn't.
And this, my friends, is why I love this team. It is because of my friends, the players, and the sport that I stress out months at a time, wait for hours and even days in line, all for 40 measly minutes of game time.
The Dawg Pack and Husky Basketball have turned a good time in college into a great time. My favorite memories have occurred during the season and the off season has included many hours debated and discussing the team with fellow enthusiasts.
Its 5:30 am. I have to wake up in a few hours to get ready for a full shift at work. I was planning on getting up at 10, but noon is much more likely now. This means I'll miss the sunshine, but it's worth it because Husky Basketball is what I live for.
Go Dawgs
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