Washington State Football: Traditions at Home Games Need Augmenting

Run Like Hell, Bitter Sweet Symphony, Enter Sandman. These songs conjure images for Washingtonians of a certain age.

Sept. 22, 2012; Pullman, WA, USA; Washington State Cougars football team runs out before a game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Green and gold emerging amongst spotlights, a regional icon raising a silver and blue ensign, a giant clad in a mullet. Let’s be honest Coug faithful: Butch straddling a four wheeler is not the standard we should aspire to. We, the Children of the Palouse are of more creative stock than that. Mel Hein, Timothy Leary, and Teddy Murrow would be appalled with our lack of singular excellence upon introducing ourselves to the Nation.

The general public (ACU being among that cadre), has no idea how we are going to be greeting Southern Utah on the Fourteenth. Fear not Cougs, for rest assured, there will be no national interest this year unless the Land Grant college to the direct South gets their act together by mid-October. We have a full year to discuss this problem.

My first game in Pullman was against our geographic rivals in 2005, on a bloody hot Thursday Night. I enjoyed an introduction mimicking the Sopranos, sans lyrics, following a car ride from the Mt. Baker Tunnel, through the Pass, crossing the Gorge, glancing at the potato shed in Othello, and the Meyer’s Barn before the turning into Pullman. I’m sure the video made sense, and was created when Price was coach, but under Doba, it was uninspiring. Followed by smoke ripped off from Miami and the rest of the bunk that Martin Stadium drums out of their speakers, we do not stand out amongst the rest of football.

WSU has its standard bearers. The recently obvious being our weekly appearance of the Coug Head on ESPN every Saturday morning (I can’t be the only one who sits down at watches College Game Day until I see the flag before I continue).

We have our strengths, but now is time to bring a statement to Gameday from Pullman proper, not just from our proxy. Boulder stampedes onto the turf following Ralphie, Troy is escorted onto the field by a white horse, Stanford . . . well, there’s a dude in what appears to be an ideal umbrella for Cheerleaders.

You get my drift. We have no War Eagle, and I’m fairly certain the state will not allow us another live cougar. Give ACU your ideas, can we appropriate any Steve Miller band into an entrance while still keeping recruits interested? Can the team march down the aisles as an emo band rips off someone from the British invasion utilizing classical music?

Let’s discuss!