Clear Eyes! Full Hearts! Sometimes Win!

It has been a fun couple of weeks in old apt #104. The Huskies football team has finally shown signs of life and the results are contagious. Mandy and I (yes, she has caught the fever as well, or at least pretends to) have had a blast watching the last two UW games. It was apparent while watching the season opener against LSU that this was a team with new purpose. Towards the end when it became apparent that the Dogs ( I refuse to use the"W") were not going to win, there was a shot on the tele of five or six Huskies on the sideline with their arms linked swaying back on forth. What is this... a rally? Wow, these guys seem to have a pulse! See, my school had not won a football game since November of 2007 (think of it as the opposite of my other team, Utah, who haven't lost since October 2007...knock on wood) and the affect of that losing streak was wearing on the team as well as the fans. Last year during our perfect (losing) season I had a few classes with some of the players and every Monday I would notice that they would slouch lower in their chairs, trying to distance their association with the jinxed team. Now they are rallying? Bring it on! I have never been so excited about a loss than I was with that LSU game. The next week brought on Idaho and the possibility of our first win.
The game wasn't a blow out but it sure was fulfilling to see that W. I felt so proud of the team and their leader Locker (I'm trying to coin the nickname "The Hurt Locker", pass it on). My schools football program has seen some dark days (weeks, months...) in the past. Thankfully those days seem to be behind us and a new era has begun.
One of my favorite people is our new head coach/wunderkind Steve Sarkisian. At the end of his first game as a head coach I noticed a giant smile on his face as he was leaving the field. I think he was feeling what we were all feeling, change!

Possibly one of the reasons I seem to be so quickly taken by coach Sark is his uncanny resemblance to one of the best coach/dad/friend/husband of all time...

...coach Eric Taylor formerly head of the Dillon Panthers and now the new head coach of the (spoiler alert!) East Dillon Lions.

Good luck today guys, you're gonna need it!