Win or lose, Cougs fans just savor the experience

For a few cold, hearty students, the Apple Cup was more than an evening game – it was a 16-hour experience.

Freshman Andy Hardman has been to every Cougar home matchup since the 74-degree Sept. 9 Idaho game. And to secure a prized position right above the 50-yard line, Hardman and his friends threw out blankets at 4 a.m. Saturday and camped outside the entrance gate.

What would drive a man to sleep in sub-freezing temperatures just for a good seat?

“It’s all for the experience,” Hardman said. And, yes, he’d do it again.

There were experiences in abundance for the 35,000-plus fans at Saturday’s game. Couples dressed in opposing team’s garb held hands, protecting each other. A child dragged around a noose-bound Husky. And somebody, intentionally or not, vomited from the upper deck of Martin Stadium and hit a Pullman police cruiser square on the top.

Before the game and situated inside the sea of motor homes near Martin Stadium, a small crowd gathered around a burning purple Husky T-shirt before the game. They sipped Jerry Cutler’s homemade Apple Cup Brew, warmed by the flames and by a mutual hatred of the Huskies.

“They just cheat,” said Mike E. Clift, a Cougar alum bedecked in a wool crimson and gray sweater. “They don’t have a clean program.”

Gathered around the fire, friends shared memories of colder Apple Cups, travels to distant away games and plans for next summer’s alumni clambake in Shelton.

In a land of RVs chosen specifically for their crimson trim colors, fans may travel in groups but everyone becomes part of the same family when parked in the Beasley Coliseum lot.

“The circles are all intertwined,” Cutler said, then joking, “It’s kind of like incest.”

Wearing a Cougar ballcap and standing in the midst of the Husky student section was no problem for Mark Steele and his son Ben. Though he heard a few good-natured jokes, he emerged mostly unscathed.

“I’m kind of surprised at how sober everyone is,” he said.

And amongst the Cougar season ticket holders, Nate Miles wore a Husky cap and said people had mostly left him alone.

“It’s just a good, classic rivalry,” he said. “When you’re my age you don’t get too riled up, because we know it can change from year to year.”

A walk through the student section was a lesson in crowd dynamics. Pathways were jam-packed, making forward motion nearly impossible. Some fans spent nearly the entire first quarter moving from one side of the field to the other.

At a stadium-side souvenir store, a worker held a cup of coffee to keep her hands warm and dealt out record numbers of gloves, scarves and hats.

“Anything that’ll keep you warm,” said Leslie Martin. Blankets and seat cushions were also hot items on a chilly evening that saw temperatures in the 30s.

Heat was not a problem for Gov. Chris Gregoire, lounging with various dignitaries and officials in the President’s Box situated high above the stands

“As governor, I’m neutral,” the UW graduate said, refusing to name a favorite. She said she remembered as a student going to Apple Cup games in the cold, but she didn’t seem to mind the relative comforts of the luxury box. This was her first Apple Cup in Pullman.

“It’s amazing, everyone is so enthusiastic,” she said.

The governor’s view included the raucous student section, buried beneath the concrete of which was a “temporary processing facility” for the game’s troublemakers.

“Too much alcohol,” said WSU Police Sgt. George McGinty. Three people had been taken to jail in Colfax by thethird quarter, and dozens more had been kicked out for being too drunk, starting fights or getting pushy.

“It’s like anything, a few people can spoil it for everyone else,” he said. Suspects sat in plastic chairs and a secretary used a laptop computer to write citations. The game played on a small TV on a shelf.

The minutes wound down and Washington won the game, causing its entire student section to come ecstatically spilling onto the field.

But for Andy Hardman and his crew, up since 4 a.m., it was just the end of a long day.

“We’re going right to bed,” he said.