FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Another week, another visit to a city with a forecast of scattered showers and T-storms. This time, though, the city in question was Seattle, so that's pretty much the constant forecast. Despite going to Oregon, I never made the trip up north for a game. All I really knew about the game day experience at Husky Stadium is that some people tailgate on boats on Lake Washington, former Oregon safety Keith Lewis still hasn't danced on the midfield "W" like he promised he would a few years ago, and my camera guy Mike, an Oregon marching band alum, had batteries thrown at him by Husky fans. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I wound up having a fantastic time, and now that I've been to eight of ten Pac-10 tailgates, I think I can say that Washington had the best tailgate of them all. It's hard for the Duck fan in me to admit it, but you've got to hand it to Husky fans (as misled as they may be) - they know how to party on even the coldest, wettest Saturday mornings. Luckily, we were somehow spared from the rain and I was able to snap some pictures as I went:

Three weeks ago, it was the USC football team in my terminal at LAX. Friday, Harry Shearer (Spinal Tap, a million voices from The Simpsons, and all those excellent Christopher Guest mockumentaries) was six people ahead in the security line (wearing purple pants). All I know is that since I talked to John David Booty, he's had two bad games and fractured a finger. All I'm saying, is watch yourself Shearer, watch yourself.

Downtown Seattle. You can see Qwest Field on the left. The city seemed nice, but I somehow spent a weekend in Seattle without drinking coffee or talking about Soundgarden. I'm not sure if I broke some sort of law here.

The guy in the cowboy hat is a WhiskeyDog, a pioneer of a yard game called "Beer Shoes." I'm not sure what the exact rules are, but it seemed to be a cross between Beer Pong and Horseshoes. No word on whether or not his attire is NBSA-approved. 

Food at the tailgate where I was borderline-molested. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not complaining about the cuisine or the assault. 

See? Goin down easy. This was a finished slider that was briefly seen during the episode and briefly seen on my plate.

I sort of recognized this guy and I had no idea where from. Turns out he was on MTV True Life: I'm Backpacking Across Europe. GREAT episode, if you haven't seen it. This is also a sad commentary on the types of people I recognize in public. Whatever, no regrets.

This guy had a kid at both Oregon and Washington, so he decided to ruin two perfectly good shirts to best express this. My dad could technically wear this shirt and have it be correct, but he's just too busy not wearing ridiculous shirts to have time to do this.

 
This girl had a full-body Oregon pajama on. I was determined to get to the bottom of this and ask the tough questions. I can happily report to you exclusively that, no, this pajama didn't also come with the feet. Sad. 

This group of Huskies seemed, uh, confused.

I either scared this baby or left a lasting impression as somebody this baby should seek out for worldly advice and knowledge. Ok, I definitely scared this baby.

If for some insane reason you want to be on this blog or on camera in an episode, offering me fresh shrimp sitting in a garlic butter is an excellent gesture of goodwill. And deliciousness.

Obligatory oversized inflatable mascot.

Obligatory shot with top collegiate golfer also voted one of the sexiest athletes in a major city. Hm, this job isn't so bad.

And from that we go to guys playing dice on a boat. These guys seemed shady but a girl from CSTV (who happened to be on the same dock) said she won two bucks off of these guys shooting dice. Woo, half a coffee!

This guy held his weiner in fire for this blog, so be grateful.

The entrance. The worst thing about Husky Stadium is how poorly it was designed. Have fun watching a game 30 yards behind the goal posts because of the ridiculous track running around the field. Other than that, though, the place got LOUD. At least compared to other places on the west coast that I've seen, it's louder than every other major venue other than Autzen in Eugene. This is especially impressive given the product put on the field for the passionate, loyal fans.

Sign seen outside of Husky Stadium. I have no idea who Bill Bryant is (I'm guessing no relation to Kobe), but I'd vote for him. I'm telling you, I'm a sucker for a good, well-placed orca.

The view from the nosebleeds of Oregon's new white helmets. All the white made the skinnier guys look like they were out there in long johns. Jonathan Stewart, on the other hand, just sorta looked like a massive white blur for four quarters.

Speaking of which, here he is giving an interview after the game. I know people like to make fun of the Duck uniforms, but this picture is unedited, and wow does camera flash at night make the diamond plating look cool. It looks as if Optimus Prime talked to reporters after shredding the Washington run D.

After the game, we tried The Big Time, a pizza place/bar. The pizza was above average, but nonetheless, a good place to go after the game.

"Ducks Sucks." I can't blame them for being pissed, but we came back to somebody writing this on our rental. This, of course, is because Camera Guy Mike had to have his ridiculous Oregon flag on the car on the way in and we forgot to take it off. Let this be an important lesson to always think better of letting your camera guy decorate your rental car. I know this sounds specific, but someday you'll thank me.

Despite this meaningless setback, Seattle was unexpectedly fantastic and if your team ever goes to the northwest to play the Huskies, a trip up would definitely be a good time.

(If for no other reason than Washington doesn't win a whole lot of games.)

Back next week (hopefully in one piece, this weekend's gonna be a physical test).

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Links:

The College Football Tour Guide (last season's episodes)

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