I have been appalled by the behaviors of Husky fans over the many decades of my life, and in my personal experiences with them. Note that this article is not about the UW football team or the Washington coaching staff, but the Husky fans, which are simply the worst ever I have ever witnessed. Let’s look at why….
A fascinating aspect of talking to the fans around Seattle and listening to the local sportscasters in Montlake is how bat-sh*t delusional they are about Washington athletics, and in particular, football. Oregon fans who reside in Washington have regaled me with many of the crazed, exaggerated utterings that have come from Huskies, (These buffoonish banalities have been a great source of humor to me over the years) when these purple pronouncements of self-grandeur bear little relationship to reality.
Winning or losing–they are either the best ever, or will be next week! Now I, of all people, understand loving your team, (as a fan who has devoted most of his spare time to a volunteer site) but this silly over-inflated hyperbolic attitude that has prevailed through so many years is a mystery to me when looking at actual performance.
WAY too many like this guy…
If you look at Washington’s football winning percentage over their entire 101 year football program, it is only at .579, and I am not counting ties as a win–it is only the winning percentage (adjusted) over time. Yuck, a .579 winning percentage? All the preening over that?
Arrogance, in the absence of performance, is pathetic.
Based upon their boasting, you would think the Huskies were actually an elite team historically. But Washington’s winning percentage–when applied to a 12 game schedule–is equivalent to a seven wins per season average. Good grief; who gets arrogant over a seven win average per season?
Only the Huskies.
Oh they will bluster about their mythical football National Championship, but let’s ask an important question pertaining to their “magical” 1991 season. When did all the seamy, dirty, stories begin to emerge about Husky boosters violating NCAA regulations in areas such as phony jobs and phony loans for players, in addition to recruiting inducements given by these boosters? It was 1992….
That means that the so-called “championship” achieved in 1991 was accomplished by cheating on a massive scale, hence the significant Pac-10 penalties imposed later.
Yet last year at the halftime of a Washington game, Husky fans, players and the administration of Washington athletics celebrated this horrendously tainted season. In a garish and vulgar display of ill-begotten gains, they actually trotted out their “National Championship” trophy on national television.
My gosh … who celebrates winning by cheating?
Only the Huskies.
Yes I know how the Husky fans will chortle about last year’s win with 70 points put on the Ducks, and this year they will get some more licks in as Oregon rebuilds. I can actually empathize with them wanting revenge so badly as 12 years of dominance must have been unbelievably frustrating. I realize that these win streaks don’t go on forever, although for Husky fans, a dozen years must have felt like it.
Help us, Obi-Wan Chris-Kenobi … you’re the Huskies only hope!
Chris Petersen is a great coach and has assembled superb recruiting classes to Seattle. So for now, the Huskies are back, and I certainly concede that. Yet it is evident that Willie Taggart has something special going on in Eugene with the improvements on defense, and with recruiting one of the nation’s top classes for 2018. I see both programs being top-ten programs in the future, and our football games will be epic battles for the ages.
I think about all the coaches at Washington that gradually put the football program into the dumpster after Don James. I recall Jim Lambright, Rick Neuheisel, Keith Gilbertson, Tyrone Willingham and Steve Sarkisian. I also remember how it was Oregon that gave Chris Petersen his opportunity to break into coaching (under Mike Bellotti) and helped mold him into the coach that he is today. Isn’t it ironic that after all those failing Washington coaches–it takes a Duck to rescue the Huskies?
Poor sportsmanship is not confined to just the Husky fans as I noticed the University of Washington Band playing six notes from their fight song that delivers a repugnant, “nyah-nyah” effect whenever an opponent makes a mistake or the Huskies do something well. The band actually taunts other collegiate opponents!
After noting this over the last 30 years–I could hardly believe my ears when last year Oregon was obliterating the Huskies in basketball on their home floor and when an Duck player missed two free throws? In the background on television I could hear the band play the taunt! My gosh–what athletic department actually lets their band represent the values of the university this way–of endorsing the epitome of poor sportsmanship, by condoning their band to be so infantile? I mean really … who would have their band taunting opponents?
Only the Huskies.
Perhaps I’ve misunderstood all this, and the Huskies are blustering about their overall athletic program. Checking with the Washington Sports Information department will tell you that the Huskies have won eight National Championships, and all are in Womens’ sports (half are rowing, as Womens’ Rowing began in 1997 as an NCAA sport). So, at Washington … I guess men don’t compete very well at Championship levels.
Coach Robert Johnson has created more National Championships at Oregon in three years, than the Huskies have achieved in 128.
When you do your homework on Oregon you’ll find that the Ducks have 33 National Championships, with an incredible 11 National Championships achieved in the period between winter of 2014 and spring of 2017. So the ‘tude by the Huskies cannot be about their overall athletic success, as they are not even in Oregon’s league.
Oregon does not waste time even giving a derisive glance downward at the Huskies, as our eyes are looking above at the teams in the conference who achieve amazing success–such as UCLA, which was the first school to win 100 National Championships. Every year more ‘Nattys are being added to the Conference of Champions by the Bruins, Stanford, Oregon, USC, and Cal. The natural question becomes….
When is Washington going to do their part?
Now, many Huskies will howl that Mens’ and Womens’ Rowing at Washington has a proud winning tradition with scores of championships. But, we only count official NCAA sports. Otherwise I will tally up all of Oregon’s National Championships in non-NCAA sports such as Tumbling, Frisbee-Golf, and Bass Fishing.
Over the years I noted and enjoyed the delusional behaviors of Husky fans. I didn’t really have anything to compare it to since it was so inordinately silly, and because it just them acting liking they do.
Then a nagging thought started coming to me off and on during the past year … a resemblance of their behaviors to something else out there in the world. I just could not put my finger on it until now.
What major figure out there has such bizarre behavior, that it defies explanation or reason? Who else blusters about victories that don’t exist, or even brags about cheating to achieve them? Who else actually taunts honorable opponents in the public sphere and justifies it with ridiculous rationale?
“I don’t blame the Huskies for wanting to be ME.”
Yes, I am referring to President Donald Trump. In the thirty-plus years that I’ve followed sports in the Northwest, he is the first example I’ve seen of anyone in the local or national spotlight who behaves in the same irrational manner.
Husky fans and Donald Trump are two behavioral peas-in-a-pod, and I was stunned at the similarities and the redundant conduct among them. Yes Trump,…you are one of them, you are a Husky.
Who created who? I’ve noted that Trump had his formative years in the early 1990s, and at the same time the Washington Husky fans were justifying their cheating and delighted at taunting others.
So I have concluded that it was they, the Husky fans–who spawned what we now see on television and Twitter every day. Truly, Huskies and Trump are one and the same…
Going to Comment about Politics? DON’T
This is not about politics; this is about the behaviors of Trump and Husky fans. If you are a fellow conservative, don’t bother commenting as we have to condemn so many of the abhorrent behaviors of our party leader, as I do. If you are liberal, don’t waste our time commenting about politics either, as you are gleefully seeing Trump recognized as being the worst example of behavior.
And if you are a Husky fan? That is who you are; own it.
Charles Fischer (FishDuck)
Eugene, Oregon
Top Photo Credit: Kevin Cline
If you wish to comment? No profanity, no name-calling, and no insults. Follow our rules of commenting, or I will delete your comment immediately. Check the comments on other articles on this site and you’ll see we are a temperate group.
Reasoned disagreement is fine, … and I would want to read how Huskies can rationally refute what is presented above. Ducks–what are your reactions? What have your experiences been with Husky fans? Pass this article along!
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…