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Are there more WSU or UW fans where you grew up and/or now reside?

PeteTheChop

PeteTheChop

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May 25, 2005
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Got to thinking about this while I was in north Florida recently.

It seemed like just about every single person I saw had either Florida Gators or Florida State Seminoles items — T-Shirt, baseball cap, bumper sticker, etc. This apparent "50-50" split was remarkable, but I suppose it made sense as the town was about midway between Tallahassee and Gainesville.

I've been gone from the Evergreen State for a while, but for those who are still fortunate enough to live there ... what would you estimate the split of Cougar football fans vs. Husky football fans is in your particular community?

Is it simply East Side vs. West Side or do more people in rural areas and small cities everywhere also lean to the Cougs?
 
Still pretty much east or west of the cascades Unless you are a transplant from either side
 
I notice more people representing WSU on the westside of Portland and downtown Portland, Oregon, based on apparel, Washington license plates, and window decals. I throw up in my mouth just a little when I see the bad guys' logo.
 
Pretty clear east/west split in the state. I grew up in Central Washington and it was about 85% Cougs, 15% Dawgs, even with UW being quite good in football in that era and with UW closer to the area than WSU. I'm now in the Sammamish area and it's about the opposite, although I see more flags, license plates, etc. for WSU even in this area than I do for UW.
 
Observer11 said:
It's all Gonzaga, all the time.
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Wow.

Sounds like the entire Spokane area has been overcome with support of GU basketball to the detriment of everything else in sports.

Is there much interest in either WSU Football or UW Football (or maybe U of I Football) during the fall months?
 
hhm good question. The in Cheney there was a lot plus EWU and Gonzaga stuff. While I was in Pullman until about 2012 I saw a whole bunch of cougs. After that in Florida not so much but when I was out in Santa Clara for two years I did see a handful, mostly Stanford and 49ers. Now in Sacramento mostly sac st stuff.
 
PeteTheChop said:
Wow.

Sounds like the entire Spokane area has been overcome with support of GU basketball to the detriment of everything else in sports.

Is there much interest in either WSU Football or UW Football (or maybe U of I Football) during the fall months?
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I have only lived in Spokane for a few years but when it comes to football there are a ton of UW fans around here. WSU outnumbers them but not by nearly as big of a margin as I would have expected. Basically anyone who attended EWU or Gonzaga roots for UW in my experience.
 
I live on the west side, and there's a lot of band wagoners that root for the UW simply because of proximity. Probably 80/20 Huskies to Cougs. I know some folks not from here that picked up pretty quickly on the UW arrogance, and root for the Cougs for just that reason. When UW is mediocre, the purple disappears, where the Coug pride is on full display whether 10-2 or 2-10. I read somewhere there's actually more WSU license plates than UW license plates over here, which seams to be the case when you drive around.

The east side of the state is funny. Most of Spokane seams to be pretty indifferent and not a lot of widespread love for the cougs. But all the other towns in central Washington, eastern washington have a more hardcore following that I've noticed.
 
I was raised in East Bremerton and have lived on Bainbridge Island for 30+ years and both places are 90% Husky love - it makes me sick. We have a house in Palm Desert and I spend as much time there as I can - I see as much or more Cougar stuff in the desert as I do Husky crap, but at least I don’t have to put up with the Mutt or Gonzaga BS on the TV or in the newspaper. I just ignore the $C and UCLA stuff because we have beat their butts the last few years.
 
TZCoug84 said:
I notice more people representing WSU on the westside of Portland and downtown Portland, Oregon, based on apparel, Washington license plates, and window decals. I throw up in my mouth just a little when I see the bad guys' logo.
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Definitely agree. There is more WSU paraphernalia wherever you go.
 
wazzucougs96 said:
I have only lived in Spokane for a few years but when it comes to football there are a ton of UW fans around here ... Basically anyone who attended EWU or Gonzaga roots for UW in my experience.
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That's odd because it seems like there's a fair share of Cougs — even, admittedly, a few on this site — who openly pull for GU during basketball season.

So much for a two-way street ...
 
wazzucougs96 said:
I have only lived in Spokane for a few years but when it comes to football there are a ton of UW fans around here. WSU outnumbers them but not by nearly as big of a margin as I would have expected. Basically anyone who attended EWU or Gonzaga roots for UW in my experience.
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That’s not my perception. 4 or 5 to 1 wearing Coug gear to uw gear in Spokane if I had to guess. License plates are 20-1.
 
wazzucougs96 said:
I have only lived in Spokane for a few years but when it comes to football there are a ton of UW fans around here. WSU outnumbers them but not by nearly as big of a margin as I would have expected. Basically anyone who attended EWU or Gonzaga roots for UW in my experience.
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Q: What do a hardcore uw fan and a hardcore WSU fan have in common?
A: Neither one went to the uw.

I tell this joke all the time. Half the time they or their son/daughter or dad or gramma went to the uw. The other half of the time they get kind of mad and kind of want to talk s#1t about the Cougs or fight.

Not that you have to have attended a school to be a fan. It's just kind of funny how the most adamant ones have no connection to the place.
 
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BraindeadCoug said:
I was raised in East Bremerton and have lived on Braindamage Island for 30+ years and both places are 90% Husky love - it makes me sick. We have a house in Palm Desert and I spend as much time there as I can - I see as much or more Cougar stuff in the desert as I do Husky crap, but at least I don’t have to put up with the Mutt or Gonzaga BS on the TV or in the newspaper. I just ignore the $C and UCLA stuff because we have beat their butts the last few years.
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That explains your handle....o_O
 
In greater LA you don't see a lot of either WSU or UW. When you run into a Coug, you say something. Based solely upon my observations over the past 30 years, Cougs almost always have some Coug-related item in their office area. It is therefore easy to spot them when visiting. Huskies, not so much.
 
cr8zyncalif said:
In greater LA you don't see a lot of either WSU or UW. When you run into a Coug, you say something that sounds a lot like Go Cougs!. When you see some mutt-gear wearing fool, you say something that sounds a lot like Go Cougs! Based solely upon my observations over the past 30 years, Cougs almost always have some Coug-related item in their office area. It is therefore easy to spot them when visiting. Huskies, not so much.
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Fixed your post ;)
 
Actually, Loyal, if I toss out the family members of Husky athletes, I've never (in almost 30 years) seen anyone wearing husky gear down here. Even my partner that is a Husky does not visually identify with the school. I've never had a chance to say "Go Cougs" to any of them.

However, I'm old (graduated '80). Back then, we did not say, "Go Cougs". When you saw someone in an airport with Coug stuff on, or were in a conference when their school affiliation arose, you just said, "Cougs!". Often you elongated the vowel...."Couuuugs". A full overhead hand slap was almost obligatory. I lived in the southwest for most of the '80's, and that was pretty routine in airports when traveling. I was not aware of the "Go Cougs" phrase until the '90's.
 
I grew up in Eastern Oregon... Waaaay before the Donkey's were ever on anyones radar. Land Grant ruled, even back then. OSU was it.

I've got to say, from everything I've ever experienced, rural living (now) to urban (way too much of my past) it truly does become about what fits someones life. Rural connects to WSU. They enjoy the fact you can walk, literally across TOWN and when you do, you land in a field within an hour. When you're urban, WSU just doesn't make sense.

So as that as a starting block, so many of us become transplants to other areas. So many people love Pullman but they "get to" move to a more urban area. They find ways to balance their lives, suburbia or other places. Or just hate where they live but the money is worthy to them. It all becomes personal.

But that's a very significant line, I've found. What are you most comfortable with? Open space? Going somewhere that may not be the most populace and still being OK with it, and not not just between WSU and UW but in life?

Anyways, waxing poetic tonight. WSU's open spaces, even the drives to and from "home", become light in my life. Remembering what it was, the impact it made and how "space in life" has become a real driver in my life. I think we can all agree, WSU hits home, in some fashion. It's personal.

So to get back to the OP... I grew up with Orange and Black all around me. But WSU was a close second. There was always a kinship. My whole town was watching the Snow Bowl, for instance. But Purple and Pee was never in sight.

Now Spokane is stuck in the middle. Kinda rural, kinda not. But it's still pretty strong hold for WSU. But I'll say, it also depends on the "silo" you choose to be around. Spokane is WSU ground. But Ewe is making some ground. But only "in town".
 
I'll get a Go Cougs! now and then when sporting a cap or shirt - got one from Harlan Svare at the Post Office once which was pretty cool and got to chat with him a bit

one time I was walking with my wife and a guy coming toward us was wearing purple mutt shirt - when we approached each other my wife said "ugly shirt!" to his face then a "Go Cougs!"

pretty funny because that was totally against her nature - this was some time ago when they were here for Holiday Bowl and the area was crawling with purple mutt gear in town and I think she'd seen one too many
 
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PeteTheChop said:
Got to thinking about this while I was in north Florida recently.

It seemed like just about every single person I saw had either Florida Gators or Florida State Seminoles items — T-Shirt, baseball cap, bumper sticker, etc. This apparent "50-50" split was remarkable, but I suppose it made sense as the town was about midway between Tallahassee and Gainesville.

I've been gone from the Evergreen State for a while, but for those who are still fortunate enough to live there ... what would you estimate the split of Cougar football fans vs. Husky football fans is in your particular community?

Is it simply East Side vs. West Side or do more people in rural areas and small cities everywhere also lean to the Cougs?
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Tri Cities ......... Cougar Country
 
From my perspective, Spokane is a strong Coug football stronghold and overall Coug dressing town. Yes, of course there are plenty of GU folks wearing gear..... C'mon, GU is IN Spokane, that's normal. But for every 100 Coug shirts/hats I see in town, you only see 1 ugly purple shirt. Which to many of us is too darn many!
 
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I live in East King County, and the emergence of the Seahawks has really cut into their casual fan base. Most people are all-in with the Seahawks now.
 
PeteTheChop said:
Wow.

Sounds like the entire Spokane area has been overcome with support of GU basketball to the detriment of everything else in sports.

Is there much interest in either WSU Football or UW Football (or maybe U of I Football) during the fall months?
Click to expand...

Between October and April, Spokanites are inundated with Gonzaga propaganda. After every game there is 4+ pages of coverage in the Spokesman-Review analyzing the sensational, amazing, dramatic turning point in the latest 50+ victory over the WCC rival.
 
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Grew up in Wenatchee. Recently moved back after a 35-year absence. When I left it was mainly Coug country with maybe 25% being mutts. Now it's darn near 50/50. Obviously it has something to do with the growth of the city with a lot of 206ers relocating here. But the most loyal fans have always been and always will be Cougs.
 
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Tri-Cities is firmly in the WSU camp, but in a fairly passive way. What's disappointing is the number of yellow cheerios I see on shirts, hats, and bumpers.
 
79COUG said:
Grew up in Wenatchee. Recently moved back after a 35-year absence. When I left it was mainly Coug country with maybe 25% being mutts. Now it's darn near 50/50. Obviously it has something to do with the growth of the city with a lot of 206ers relocating here. But the most loyal fans have always been and always will be Cougs.
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That purple W on the Wenatchee High hats can be confusing as well.
 
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79COUG said:
Grew up in Wenatchee. Recently moved back after a 35-year absence. When I left it was mainly Coug country with maybe 25% being mutts. Now it's darn near 50/50. Obviously it has something to do with the growth of the city with a lot of 206ers relocating here. But the most loyal fans have always been and always will be Cougs.
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Yeah, don't forget there's plenty of baby boomer/tyee types retiring and moving to places like that. My UW parents and my obnoxious almost flunked out of school Husky brother just bought a vacation house together out in Orondo. Unfortunately they are negatively contributing to the purple pollution you are experiencing in the Wenatchee area.
 
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Coug90 said:
Yeah, don't forget there's plenty of baby boomer/tyee types retiring and moving to places like that. My UW parents and my obnoxious almost flunked out of school Husky brother just bought a vacation house together out in Orondo. Unfortunately they are negatively contributing to the purple pollution you are experiencing in the Wenatchee area.
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Yea I see those vacation home owners out at Desert Canyon all the time. They remind me of the douche bags from Caddyshack...lol.
 
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79, I have to thank you for that Caddyshack reference. Post of the Day! I needed that laugh.

The kernel of truth in the comment just makes it all the more funny....
 
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