Go 2 Guy: Bowing down getting routine

MomSeattle · DadSeattle · SPI · MySeattlePix · My account

Local

US/World

Sports

Business

A&E

Life

Comics

Photos

Opinion

Blogs

Buy Ads

Jobs

Autos

Homes

Rentals

NWsource

Jim Moore

Monday, November 24, 2003

Go 2 Guy: Bowing down getting routine

By JIM MOORE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST

I know we don't talk much, Lord, but give me the strength to bow down to Washington ... again.

Allow me to congratulate the Huskies for their sixth consecutive Apple Cup victory and second consecutive Northwest Championship.

Let me be a good loser.

And if you empower the Cougs to win this game next year, Lord, I promise to stay in better touch, maybe.

Sorry, I can't fully commit to church because there's a conflict with the golf gods on Sunday mornings.

The Go 2 Guy, as you may have read last week, guaranteed the Cougs would thump the Huskies but received a 27-19 come-uppance instead.

Before leaving for the game, I primed myself for an evening of revelry with a Jose Cuervo and orange juice. Willie the Go 2 Pup was ready too, snaring a discarded airplane bottle of Jack Daniels on our morning run.

For luck, I wore an old Ryan Leaf jersey. It made sense to me, seeing that Leaf led the Cougs to their most recent Apple Cup triumph at Husky Stadium in '97.

But the Go 2 Wife thought differently and correctly, saying: "You're jinxing them."

I don't want to rehash what happened after that because I pulled a rookie move by not smuggling anything into the stadium that would have eased the pain.

I do know this: As miserable as I was, I was happy for Cody Pickett because all these Husky fans around me were booing this kid all day.

Then they were on their feet cheering him when he threw that dagger to Corey Williams. (By the way, I had never heard of Williams, and I didn't really want to meet him like this.)

After the game, Pickett was the only player who showed up in uniform in the interview room. Undoubtedly, he loved being a Husky so much, he couldn't bring himself to take it off just yet.

In what could have been his final game, he deserved praise and thanks, not boos, no matter his level of performance on Saturday.

At any rate, I watched in dismay as the Cougs tried to lateral their way to victory on their final grovel from scrimmage and found it fitting that they were guilty of two penalties on the same play.

The best part about their regular season ending is that I don't have to watch yellow hankies flying all over the place until the Holiday Bowl, when they will be flying all over the place again.

"Daddy, we always lose," the Go 2 Girl said, and what was I to say? For once, nothing -- she was right about the Apple Cup.

(Because it's impossible to show class for an entire column, I would like to point out that I found it amusing when Husky fans stormed the field and tried to take down the goal posts. After beating the Cougars?)

Anyway, because I wrote like a big man all week, I thought I should at least show my face in the locker room, though I would have rather hidden in the nearest, darkest cocktail lounge.

I congratulated Barbara Hedges, and she flashed a courtesy smile. I'm not sure why we don't get along -- we have a lot in common; we both have a tendency to screw up at our jobs from time to time.

So that's that. I had crow for dinner last night, and I've had it so much after the Apple Cup that it's starting to taste like chicken.

Now it's your turn. For starters, everyone gets free golf and $1 beers at Trophy Lake today through Wednesday (as long as you pay $14 for a cart). Everyone also gets 2-for-1 golf and $1 beers today through Wednesday at Washington National.

Special thanks to Chris Freer at Washington National and Mark Knowles at Trophy Lake for supporting the Go 2 Guy for reasons unknown.

To finish, here's a sampling of your e-mails without the usual wise-guy comments because I'm going to shut up, for twice.

Sarah Carr: "I guess I was wrong when I said the Cougars don't have a tradition because they do have a tradition ... of losing the Apple Cup."

Steve Ruedy: "Any truth to the rumor that you and Josh Swogger will be starring in a remake of 'Dumb and Dumber'? You for your Apple Cup pick and Josh for his Apple Cup picks."

Jason, from an e-mail dated Oct. 14: "The last five years your beloved dipsticks have gone down in flames to our 'dead' team. Can't wait to raise the dead on Nov. 22."

Jason, from an e-mail dated yesterday: "Hate to say I told you so."

Mark Engebretsen: "You are a blatant fool for making such an absurd prediction."

NotAriteWingWak: "You are proof that any idiot can be a newspaper columnist. After you come out of your Schmidt beer-induced coma, you can choke down a healthy plate of crow."

Anonymous: "Your guarantee that the Cougars would beat the Huskies was like the rest of your Wazzu homerism -- a big joke. The Cougs found a way to out-Coug themselves by losing to a struggling Husky team. Once again they've grabbed themselves by the throat and choked the life out of their chances for a big finish."

From John Peoples, a supposed friend: "The game provided the perfect ending for a horrific Husky season, and you're the perfect Coug to cheap-shot. We're schizophrenic. We're inconsistent. We're terrible. But we own y'all. I think I'm going to like Bill 'Don't get too high for the Huskies' Dooby as much as I liked Mike Price."

From Rob Avery, another supposed friend: "This has got to be your biggest setback ever. Ever! EVER!"

Charles Hunt: "As I told my freshman son home from WSU, it was great training for a lifetime as a Coug."

Joe Superfisky: "You'll never learn. My dad taught me years ago that what you don't say, you don't have to answer for. Another year in the sewer for you. My sympathies to your second wife and dog."

TOMORROW: Why Idaho should hire Mike Price.

P-I columnist Jim Moore can be reached at 206-448-8013 or jimmoore@seattlepi.com. His columns appear Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Add Jim Moore headlines to