After an undergrad/grad/postdoc career in Division III, Washington Husky football was a strong attractor when I arrived at UW in 1981. I miss perhaps one home game a year. I’ve seen great stretches…I still wear my “ThreePeat” sweatshirt vintage 1993 Rose Bowl…but more recently seasons of frustration, capped with the 0-12 record in 2008.
Like many fans, I was not expecting the coaching change to yield the dividends we’ve seen. It was reasonable to wonder whether we would win 3 games this year, much less be 3-3. But the great effort in the loss to LSU to launch the season and the stunning upset of USC brought optimism, tempered by being run over by Stanford, not executing in South Bend, and reinforced by the first 56 minutes of Saturday night’s game with Arizona.
Many amazing things on the road, but what followed Saturday ranks as my most memorable home Husky moment. Down 33-21, some fans had seen enough. Only this close because of two remarkable goal line stands…did we learn something from ND? An efficient drive to make it 33-28. And then on the first play of the Arizona possession after the kickoff, right in front of me, “the play”. Arizona receiver falls, pass bounces off his foot, caught by Husky linebacker Mason Foster and returned for a touchdown, two point conversion, 36-33. A few plays later game sealed with a fourth down interception.
Worth watching on YouTube. In this set of fourth quarter highlights, “the play” begins at 2:44.
Stance and Balance 
Nice. Wish my Bruins could have done that against Stanford a week ago when I was at the game…