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The elders often speak of it: The Before-Time. When Cougar football discussion was limited to message boards that did not automatically update. When game threads could only occur in person, and were not nearly as witty. When all-world punters were ignored, with no platform to promote their Heisman campaigns. When WSU football was actually competitive.
Now, these are often dismissed as myths. A coach named Price. A place named the Rose Bowl. These are all just tales. Paul Wulff and WSU football began in 2008 at the same time as CougCenter. The Before-Time is subject to hearsay and stories, many of which are completely unverifiable.
But CougCenter has uncovered evidence of a Before-Time which prophecised the community's most sacred of memes: The Buffalo! Wild! Wings! rally cry.
There exists today a bowl that bears the name of this cry: The Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl played in Arizona.
But this game did not always hold the holy B-Dubs moniker. No, it was once known as the 1992 Copper Bowl, and newly discovered scrolls indicate the Washington State football team not only competed in this sacred game, but also came away victorious.
The stars of this Before-Time contest should be familiar to those who have heard the Stories of the Elders: Drew Bledsoe, Philip Bobo, Shaumbe Wright-Fair, and more. The Great Bledsoe threw for 476 yards in what tradition says was his last game before becoming the most coveted player in the NFL Draft.
The ancient scrolls indicate that the game featured the very same score as the 2012 Apple Cup, 31-28. Another indication that CougCenter holds more connection to the Before-Time than once thought.
These prophecies are far too strong to ignore: WSU wins a contest which eventually became synonymous with CougCenter's most holy phrase, by the same score of the most celebrated victory in the CougCenter era.
This was a sign from those in the Before-Time. It's as if they knew the struggles that would lie ahead. We may look at these great prophecies and know that things can and will be better. WSU may not always be the doormat it has been since the reign of Wulff.
Celebrate with me friends. The Before-Time has sent us a message. And that message is hope! May the joy of the Stories of the Elders return to our great people!