Outside of Clemson and Alabama, the rest of the country hasn’t exactly had any national on-field bragging rights the last few years when it comes to college football. Ohio State and LSU have a real shot to change that this season, but that still leaves the rest of us to debate all sorts of topics that don’t actually have anything to do with the on-field product we’re all really here for. One of the greatest things about college football is that even if your team has no mathematical chance at a national championship, there are always all sorts of regional bragging rights up for grabs every season; unless you have the misfortune of cheering for Rutgers that is.
We argue about what team has the most integrable players, with the good folks in Ann Arbor usually having the loudest voices in that debate. We dispute which teams don the best looking uniforms, and any answer that’s not North Carolina or Florida State is soundly incorrect. Hell, we argue about what school has the best tailgate food; and if there’s anything that’s better than what is being served down in Mississippi and Georgia please let me know, as I’ve yet to find it.
Maybe more than anything, though, we debate which university is home to the best stadium experience in the country. Army’s Michie Stadium in West Point, NY is right off the Lusk Reservoir and surrounded by a classic up-state New York forest. Lavell Edwards Stadium at Brigham Young University, my beloved alma mater, is at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains that overshadow the stadium. Air Force’s Falcon Field and Colorado’s Folsom field offer more distant, but similarly breathtaking mountain views. UCLA somewhat lucked into playing their home games in the actual Rose Bowl, against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is home to maybe the most “proactive” fans in the country, which is an experience in and of itself.
The most unique place to watch a football game, however, is unquestionably Husky Stadium at the University of Washington. Every good thing you’ve heard about a game at Husky stadium is absolutely true. If you haven’t made your way up to Seattle for a game yet, I’m telling you it needs to be at the top of your bucket list.
Every school has their own unique take on tailgating, but Washington takes it one step further with sailgating. Husky fans still tailgate, and it’s one of the funnest tailgate settings in the country. Because the stadium is located right off of Union Bay, though, it allows for some fans to add a nautical theme to their tailgates.
About one hundred feet from the stadium is a dock where you can find, in the most literal sense, boatloads of Husky fans. While most yacht clubs strive to be as exclusionary as possible, the entire sailgate scene had a very open-invite type of vibe. The food we saw ranged from your classic tailgate burgers and brats to seafood and wine.
I don’t know if it was the wine or the rare, sunny November day in Seattle, but seemingly everyone we met was almost on a mission to make sure we enjoyed our time at the game. I don’t know what it was about us, but clearly everyone could tell we weren’t from there because everyone we talked to wanted to know where we were from and make sure we were enjoying Seattle.
That trend continued even into the stadium, which by the way is unbelievable, but more on that later. The mom and two kids I was sitting next to were fascinated that my friends and I planned our vacation solely around a football game and couldn’t stop giving us recommendations on things to do in Seattle. About four rows in front of us were a bunch of Alpha Sigma Phi’s, who from what I could deduce were the self-appointed spirit leaders of our section. By the end of the game I was pretty tight with one of them, who’s name was either Chad or Kyle but don’t remember exactly what his name was. Even the couple sitting right in front of us, who were bickering about who knows what the entire game, were super friendly to us. I was supposed to meet my friend who lives in Seattle at somewhere called “The Zone” at halftime. They heard me wondering out loud where one might find “The Zone” and, mid argument mind you, explained what it was and gave me step by step directions to find it.
Then there’s the stadium, and my goodness what a stadium it is. I’d watched countless Washington games on tv and the one thing I’d always wondered about was why the lighting always makes night games at Washington look like they’re playing in a dome. Well, it took me about three seconds in the stadium to realize that the lighting is like that because the sideline seating is more vertical than the Space Needle. The fans are basically on top of the field and all that noise gets funnelled down to the field, making the lighting unique and the field loud as hell.
The lower bowl of the towering sideline seating forms a U with one end zone, which is where the student section and band sits. The other end zone is almost completely open except for a small group of seats below the jumbotron. That gap between the sideline seating and the endzone seating creates a view of the bay that is unbelievable. Almost every seat has at least some view of the bay and surrounding islands. We were there in November so the leaves were peak red and yellow, and it was honestly so pretty it was hard to focus on the game at times.
The only word I can use to describe the whole experience is wow, which is exactly the word my friends heard me repeat the entire game. My friend Garrett still hasn’t stopped mocking me for not being as vocal of a fan as he was expecting out of me, when the reality was that I was just so blown away by the entire atmosphere.
Every aspect of game-day Washington is unique to the university and the city, almost to the point of disbelief. From the time the earliest boats carrying commuting Husky fans arrived (fans even travel by boat!), to when we all filed out of our seats as the Washington marching band played “Bow Down to Washington” after the game was just an amazing experience to be a part of. As a friend I’m imploring, nay, pleading with you to move Washington to the top of your list of must see stadiums. Washington hosts both Michigan and Stanford next season, which might make it difficult for me not to make a return trip.
As for what’s next on my bucket list, I’ll be looking for any excuse to make my way up to the Grove at Ole Miss.
-By Jake Cowden