This weekend’s matchup with Nevada brings back memories of the first Seattle game

By the end of its run the yearly Seattle game in CenturyLink field was pretty much reviled by the Cougar faithful. Bill Moos’ decision to end the yearly game on the west side garnered near universal acclaim among the Cougar Nation. But for that first year anyway, the game looked it was really going to be terrific annual event.

A crowd of upwards of 60,000 watched the Cougars take on this week’s opponent, the Nevada Wolf Pack. It was beautiful day in Seattle and the Cougar nation pretty much taking over the SoDo area. As a young alumni at the time, it was so much fun to see old friends again as well older alumni and family friends. It really felt the like the spirit of Pullman would transported to the Seattle area for one fall Saturday a year.

The Cougars won a 31-7 decision punctuated by linebacker Will Derting’s three interceptions, but the real story was the Cougar takeover of the home city of the Huskies. The program was at its zenith under Mike Price and the future seemed brighter than ever. Of course Price would leave and things went downhill. Bad losses to Colorado, Oklahoma State and Hawaii would dampen fan enthusiasm and other than a brief uptick for the Oregon game the spirit of the original game slowly faded away.

It’s great to see the team back in Pullman for a full home schedule where it belongs, but I will always remember that first game where the Cougar Nation looked like an unstoppable force and the horizon seemed endless.

Do any of you guys have some good memories of the Seattle games? Or would you rather just forget they existed?

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