The Huskies' Five Mile Road Trip
The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NAMBLA, is the oversight body for college sports. Run by college presidents, it tries to ensure the integrity of the student/athlete experience. Towards this end, it has instituted many stupid rules.
For example: say you are a college football player, and Seattlest is a college coach. If we see you on the side of the road with your car out of gas, we couldn't give you a ride to the gas station--that would be giving you an extra benefit that normal students don't get, in the same category as a cushy job or a no-interest loan.
One of the NCAA's stupidest rules is in evidence this week. To wit: The University of Washington Huskies play their home football games at Husky Stadium. They are permitted only six "home" games per season. If they play a game anywhere else, it is considered a "road" game--even if they play, as they will this weekend, at Qwest Field, five miles from the UW campus.
Technically, this Saturday's game against Air Force is an Air Force home game. (Giving the Huskies seven Seattle games this season) Normally, Air Force might be facing an extremely partisan crowd...but not this year, with the Huskies coming off of a 1-10 disaster of a season. Less than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the 12:30 game, which will be televised on KOMO. Barring a walk-up of tidal proportions, Qwest Field will be less than half-full, and the crowd will be the lowest to watch the Huskies play since 1977.
Seattlest will attend the game for one reason: Air Force flyovers.
