In which I witness history and perhaps jinx the game

My family moved to the Puget Sound region in 1969. And yet, yesterday was the first time I’d ever been to Husky Stadium to watch the University of Washington’s football team play.

Our neighbor offered us two tickets to the Husky vs. OU game only hours before the game began. My husband absolutely wanted to go to the game and thus began the mad telephoning–first to find a friend to take with him to the game, then to find a babysitter so we could go together. At last, we took advantage found friends willing to take our youngest children for the afternoon and evening. (We left out teenagers at home. While they are 15, we are not comfortable putting them in charge of the two younger children.)

We left our house at 3 p.m. and immediately ran into legendary Seattle-area traffic. By 4:15 p.m, we were close to the Stadium, driving cautiously on side streets, trying not to snap at each other as we searched for a parking place. We managed to find a university-run lot and paid $25 for the privilege of sliding our van into a narrow parking space. Then we hurried to the stadium.

Twenty-five minutes from the time we left our car, we were perched high in the stands, only four rows from the top. (That is a lot of steps, by the way.)

And we were surrounded by Sooners fans, too.  (Our friends hail from Oklahoma and are our neighbors thanks to the military.)  The Sooner fans whooped and hollered while we shook our heads in dismay for the Huskies were no match for the number three ranked Sooners. The Huskies haven’t lost that badly at home since 1929, or so I heard. (Final score: 55 to 14.)

The stadium, though, is located on the shores of Lake Washington, so we saw boats bobbing in the blue waters of the lake to our left. To the right, the Olympic mountains lined the horizon. Not a cloud hung in the sky; only a full moon floated above Seattle. So, a lovely time was had by all, if you don’t take into account the lost football game.

(If you click it, this picture will magically enlarge. And then, you’ll be at my Flickr photostream. Don’t drown!)