First came the shock that the school on Montlake had announced its plans to join a conference in the Midwest.
Then came the sadness of knowing a 108-year-old league was on the brink of evaporation.
But amid all the surprise and sorrow was a question about a tradition that began in 1900: Would the 122-year-old Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State continue?
Or better yet — should it?
There are myriad factors to consider when responding to this query, and those will be addressed below. But the answer, for now, is a resounding yes. Keep this rivalry intact.
Factor No. 1: The Cougars are ticked that the Huskies left for the Big Ten and should want nothing to do with them going forward.
Washington State athletic director Pat Chun wasn’t coy about his frustration with the Dawgs ditching the Pac-12. He said earlier in the week that he understood why Coug fans are upset with Washington, believes such anger is justified and can see why they wouldn’t want the Apple Cup to continue. But he added that he was not going to let emotions determine whether the game continues, which is the right call.
Business — and that’s still what this is, to a large degree — shouldn’t be squandered by emotions. More pertinently, though: You’re not supposed to like your rival!
Ohio State students famously used tape to cover the letter “M” across campus in the week building up to the game against Michigan. UCLA’s Bruin statue has been spray-painted by USC supporters twice in the past 15 years, acts that join a number of not-so-harmless pranks the two fan bases have pulled on each other over the past century.
If there is bad blood because of UW’s Pac-12 departure, that should only enhance the appeal of the Apple Cup. Don’t like what the Huskies did? Make them pay between the lines.
Factor No. 2: The Huskies don’t have an incentive to play the Cougars — particularly in Pullman.
I think we can all acknowledge that Oregon, not Washington State, is Washington’s chief rival right now. The Apple Cup has been too lopsided of late for the Cougs to outrank the Ducks as UW fans’ greatest annual source of angst, and that’s unlikely to change. Still, this game has meaning to Washington fans and players.
Just take former Huskies quarterback Jake Browning’s quote in 2018 after his fourth straight Apple Cup win: “I heard it sucks to lose to the Cougs, and I’m glad I’ve never had to experience that.”
There is also the idea that, with the Huskies going to the Big Ten, their weekly competition level is going to increase. Do they need to schedule a nonconference opponent that has the potential to upset them? The answer: Sure, why not?
Several in-state rivalry games persist despite teams being in different conferences. Clemson-South Carolina (former ACC brethren) comes to mind, as does Florida-Florida State. And given that most Big Ten teams schedule a (relatively) formidable nonconference opponent each year anyway, there is little reason for the Apple Cup to dissolve.
As for the notion that Washington should decline playing in Pullman and make it a Seattle-only game? Come on. Heading to Eastern Washington is among the least taxing road trip of the season for UW, which hasn’t lost in Pullman since 2012. The Cougs need the Huskies more than they Huskies need them, but the matchup certainly doesn’t hurt Washington.
Factor No. 3: $$$
Lopsided or not, this is still a rivalry that could draw national interest. And as Chun noted earlier in the week, such interest could be alluring to a potential television partner.
This would be beneficial to the Huskies and the Cougs. Washington essentially left the Pac-12 to obtain financial security in the future, and both athletic departments have been operating in a deficit. They need more money and an annual Apple Cup would help.
Also, if Washington is feeling any guilt for leaving the Pac-12 — something that was likely necessary but also costly to the Cougs — perhaps keeping this game would help assuage that.
It’s understandable that emotions are amplified right now. What has transpired in the Pac-12 over the past two summers was inconceivable at the start of the decade, but here we are.
Some things had to change at the expense of tradition. Not everything has to, though.
The Pac-12 will all but disappear soon. The Apple Cup should not.
