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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Apple Cup takes backseat to much bigger goals for Price, Cougars There is, even for those of us who are not partisan, sweet irony here. For years and years, coach Mike Price has been forced to sell his Washington State football team on the dubious notion that no matter what precedes it, no matter how many disappointments may have befallen his team, a win in the annual Apple Cup can salvage a season. Now, the very argument Price has become so very adept at presenting could be used against him. In a stark reversal of roles, it's Washington that can salvage some dignity from a disappointing season (not to mention earn a big payday that goes along with a decent bowl game) with an Apple Cup win. It's Washington State, this time, that has everything to lose - even, dare we even consider it, a chance at a national championship. Not that Price's typical pre-game save-the-season speech has done much good over the years. In his 13 bites at the Apple Cup, WSU has won only three times with Price as the head coach. Of course, one of those wins was in 1997 when the Cougars stepped over the Huskies and 67 years of futility to earn a trip to the Rose Bowl. That could happen again on Saturday, the second time in five years that WSU can use a win in the game for a trip to Pasadena. Forget the bowl game ramifications and even all the national title chatter, the thing that makes this rivalry so compelling is the stark differences between the two sides. Washington vs. Washington State conjures up images of haves vs. have-nots, city vs. country, urban sophistication vs. rural work ethic. In this rivalry, Washington is always the one with the most to lose. UW is the only Division I school in Seattle and traditionally draws 72,000 to every home game at Husky Stadium. To lose to WSU, which has difficulty giving away enough tickets to entice 30,000 into Martin Stadium on a regular basis, is completely unacceptable. Given all their advantages, there is nothing more distasteful for those who wear purple pajamas to bed than to lose to the hicks at WSU. Again, for those of us more neutral and more sane on such issues, it is hilarious to watch how unacceptable it is for UW to even be one the same field, not to mention in the same state, with WSU. It's the urbane conceit of people such as smooth-talking, style-over-substance coach Rick Neuheisel and his ilk that makes it so much fun to root for the more down-to-earth folk such as Price. It's the nauseating swagger of the self-appointed football elite at UW that makes it so enjoyable to watch when they develop a limp. It's the possibility of watching the hot air escape from the puffed-up egos at UW, especially after they are pricked by their unwashed brethren in the hinterlands, that makes this a game that's always interesting. Of course, this is not really the clash of lifestyles it is always made out to be. Once you get past the geographic location of the two schools, this is really something of a battle between the Seattle Californians against the Pullman Californians. There are 68 players from the Golden State on the rosters of the two teams, with WSU inviting 40 to enjoy the benefits of a free education up north. Of the players actually from the state, WSU has 36 from the west side and 17 from the east. Washington, meanwhile, has 46 from the west and only five from the east. What it comes down to is that this is simply a football game and, despite what people might try to make it, nothing more. A win won't salvage a poor season by Washington and for Washington State the rivalry takes a backseat because going to another Rose Bowl, or getting a chance to play for a national title, is much more important. | ||||||||||
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