The Day Husky Stadium Stood Still When It Was Supposed to be Rollicking
The irony of the sign above the Dawg Pack entrance at Husky Stadium read "All In," which stood in stark contrast to the empty seats inside for what was supposed to have been Washington's football season opener.
While college football returned to some corners of the country, the picturesque setting remained silent.
The eerie feeling was not lost on UW seniors Austin Wen, Julie Grimm, Julio Enriquez, Josue Barajas and Rebekah Hawthorne, all who wandered outside Husky Stadium at the time of the opening kickoff. Instead of a cup of their favorite beverage being refilled at a tailgate, their game-day containers went unused.
"We wanted to see the Huskies play out the season but unfortunately COVID struck," Wen said.
Enriquez said instead of tailgating he and his friends spent the early part of the day watching televised past games, like the Huskies beating Oregon 70-21 in Eugene in 2016, to rekindle memories.
"We wanted to live up that school spirt," Enriquez said. "Go Dawgs, forever."
Their spirit wasn't lost on a couple of Husky fans in their 70s who asked that their names not be used.
"It's because of fans like them that make this the greatest setting in college football, and not just a great place to watch a football game," one of the senior citizens said.
Jana Hatchett had been looking forward to watching her son, freshman offensive lineman Geirean Hatchett, exit the famed tunnel for the first time.
Game-day operations were noticeably different for Waine Mortenson, who has been working at Husky Stadium for several decades.
"Right now, the team would be down in the tunnel and we'd be just above them," Morrison said. "As soon as the team would head out onto the field, we'd rush to the locker room and clean it up and reset it for halftime."
These duties have given way to a daily deep cleaning of affected areas where players, coaches or support staff visit, he said.
Fans and families would have flown in for the renewal of the non-conference series with Michigan, a common bowl game opponent for the Huskies under coach Don James.
Patrick Harris, a Yakima native and now a Las Vegas resident, and his girlfriend bought airlines tickets to attend the Michigan game and come to Seattle anyway after it was canceled.
"I've been coming to Husky games since I was eight years old," he said. "I was looking forward to seeing Jimmy Lake take over, but that has been put on the back burner."
The Huskies mascot Dubs wasn't thrilled about being sidelined either.
Since 1963, UW fans have been visiting Dick's Drive-in in Lake City on their way home after games, some 15-20 minutes from Husky stadium. This routine was altered, as well.
"Since I was nine years old I've come to Dick's after every home game, even after the spring game," a Husky fan named Nick said.
He and his friends typically gather in the parking lot to talk about the game, watch ESPN's SportsCenter or eyeball another game on a friend's phone. Not on Saturday, though.
This lifelong Husky fan said he still had to get his game-day fix on and walked up to the counter. He didn't have to wait in a line that was 15 people deep. He couldn't get a burger in a purple wrapper.
It just wasn't the same.
