Good morning Ducks of Good Will and Hearty Spirit. Today marks the beginning of a three part series focusing on the fall practices of the other teams in the so-called Northwest Championship…and may God strike me dead if I validate another Rick Neuheisel invention.
Honestly, has anyone ever looked more like they need to be slapped?
Today we look at the hopes and dreams of those Palouse Powerhouses, the Cougars of Washington State University. As their most well-known alum was heard to say, WHOA NELLIE! The Cougars are coming off of the most successful football campaign in recent history. Sure they only won a couple of games but their victory over Washington in the 2012 Apple Cup made me happy and what’s more successful than that?
Tracy Clark #27 and Teondray Caldwell #34 celebrate making me happy at Martin Stadium on Nov. 23, 2012 in Pullman.
But the new season brings higher aspirations and an increased sense of Cougar Pride to Pullman (also called the Gateway to Moscow. No not that one. Sit down Mr. Snowden!). In support of WSU’s future and in recognition of its glorious past Washington State is instituting a new award for the members of their football team to strive for beginning this fall. Known as the Ryan Leaf Citizenship Award, the new trophy recognizes WSU student-athletes who achieve unprecedented heights in their chosen field of endeavor.
Life size trophy awarded to the winner of the award
Cougar Head Coach Mike Leach is adopting a “whole campus” approach to making the Cougars better. Coach Leach seems particularly concerned about the health and welfare of the college’s coeducational community. This is a cause that he brings to Washington State from his previous post in Lubbock, Texas.
All in all it looks like a great season ahead for Washington State University. Sure, the waving wheat on the rolling hills of eastern Washington will remind Cougar fans that they can wave goodbye to their Rose Bowl plans by the end of September. But at least life’s choices took them to Pullman. They could have ended up in Corvallis. We will look at Oregon State’s bleak prospects next week.
Featured image courtesy of walltrue.com
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Kim Hastings is a 1984 graduate of Northwest Christian College. He cut his journalistic teeth as sports editor of a paper in his home town of Fortuna, CA, and, later as a columnist for the Longview Daily News in Longview, WA.
He saw his first Oregon game in 1977 and never missed a home game from 1981 until a bout with pneumonia cut his streak short in 1997. He was one of the proud 3200 on a bitterly cold night in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1989 for the Independence Bowl, and continues to be big supporter of Oregon sports. He is an active participant on the various Oregon Ducks messageboards as “TacomaDuck.”