WSU Cougars vs. Washington Huskies (25), 9/6/2026, 1:05pm

Huskies 24 – Cougars 10, Attendance: 71,056

Weather: Sunny, 71; Ticket: $132 UW, Sailgate ride $75

“UW – Worth the trip” by Tree

The University of Washington is in Seattle. The campus is beautifully laid out and on a clear day your can see Mount Rainier. It was not clear for our trip and I never saw Mount Rainier. (No worries, I had seen it before). I flew in SeaTac airport which is what I imagine most visitors do. We were staying in a Bellevue Airbnb. There is light rail that runs through the city and it does stop in Bellevue, but my spot was not walk-able from there.

The light rail system is a big plus because it has a stop right in front of Husky stadium. Therefore, you can easily stay anywhere near the line and have an easy trip to the stadium. I rented a car because I thought we might go further afield, but I did take the rail to a Mariners game. Staying near the line and not renting a car makes a lot of sense if you are Sailgating (more on that later).

I like Seattle quite a bit and as I took a morning walk deep in the woods, I wondered why we hadn’t considered it as a retirement spot with its mild temps and bucolic mix of trees and ocean. Then, someone reminded me that the rainy season starts October 1. (Oh yeah, that’s why) Nonetheless, the city has much to offer on a visit, from outdoor activities (hiking and kayaking) to museums, tours and major sporting events. The seafood is fresh, which is what it should always be.

Husky Stadium is located on the shores of Union Bay, an arm of Lake Washington. For that reason, it is considered to be one of the best venues to see a game in. Shockingly, the 300 section on the visitors side has the best view – a sweeping panorama of the boats in the bay waiting to take fans back home. I generally find that stadium appearances tend to be overhyped, but in this case, the praise is well deserved.

Tailgating can be challenging though. There are no cash lots close, and the good ones were exorbitantly high at $200+. I was monitoring right up until the morning of the game, and they didn’t move a lot. We have paid more than that for a tailgate spot in the past, but it is definitely on the high end.

The original plan was to tailgate in one of those spots with a friend of mine who was a lifelong fan, having grown up near Seattle. However, familial logistics and the steep price tag had them switch to a Sailgate. In a nutshell, it is taking a picturesque boat ride across the lake with about 100 other people, drinking and laughing all the way. I was a bit wary of missing the tailgating, but the experience was well worth it. There were plenty of both Cougs and Dawgs on the boat. Lots of good-natured ribbing, but really just a good time.

Of course, the upper crust of Seattle comes in their own boats. We saw several take the Ballard Locks on Friday and then watched a flotilla of ships on Saturday making the trip to the stadium. I did have a little bit of sailgate envy. If you have the money and/or seamanship, chartering / piloting your yacht to the stadium would be the optimal way to go.

The only drawback to the boat was that it was scheduled to arrive at noon for a one pm kickoff. Maybe it was excessive Apple Cup traffic, but we didn’t get to the dock until 12:40pm. It was problematic for a couple of reasons – no tailgating and no time to collect our pregame sideline passes. Getting in the stadium was also a challenge. They were initiating a new ticket validation process, and the gates were all backed up. (A quick post-game review of Reddit confirmed it was a stadium wide process failure)

As noted, Husky Stadium sits on the edge of campus, and I had spent a fair time walking it. The famous “Boys on the Boat” boathouse was being renovated. The campus was eerily quiet. That is because UW runs on a quarters calendar. The kids don’t arrive until the beginning of October. It did not feel like the students were missing on game day, but there did also seem to be a larger majority of alums and fans.

Once inside the stadium, I made a beeline for the concessions since I had not eaten all day. It was a mix of conventional and local offerings. I settled on a bowl of piping hot clam chowder. It was certainly one of the more eclectic foods I had at a game. It was a lovely rich and creamy soup. Thankfully it was a mild day. I asked for a souvenir cup soda but was told there were none in the stadium (more on that later). Beer and wine are served at most concessions with mixed drinks available at the club level.

Our seats were on the 10-yard line on the lower level. As with all seats on that level, there were backrests. However, even the upper-level bleacher seats had backrests. The stadium has three video boards. A large one sits above the east end zone, with two smaller video boards in the corners of the west end zone. There are video ribbons as well, providing the score, down and distance, etc.

We could see the field well, but obviously the view of our end zone was when it was best. Despite the famed Section 300 seats being completely on the other end of the stadium, we checked those seats out in the second half. You can see the field well, but you are high up. The real reward is looking the other way out onto the lake. It opens to a picturesque view of the lake with a bonus of being under cover. Something that comes in very handy once the rainy season starts.

The Huskies have a unique stadium, their traditions, however, are not. There’s no real signature cheer and they do a motion that looks a lot like tomahawk chop. That is not to say the fans aren’t involved. I was struck by how loud the stadium was. Additionally, the fans stood for most of the game and were keenly involved.

The band is good, but not notably special. There are two Husky mascots. Dubs is an actual husky while Harry is your prototypical furry who runs around the stadium during the game. The fan attire for the game is very much t-shirts and jeans/shorts. No one is putting on airs in this crowd. They are all friendly and welcoming to visitors, even to the rival Cougar fans of WSU.

The Huskies came into this game as 23.5-point favorites. It was a big line for a rivalry game, but WSU had fallen on hard times. UW won the game 24-10, but it was a lot closer than what the score indicates. The Huskies could never quite put the Cougars away. As UW continued to miss field goals throughout the game, you got the feeling that they were playing with fire, letting the Cougars hang around.

Indeed, while the 10-0 Husky lead held in the second half, it felt about as strong as a wall of Kleenex. With four minutes to go, it was a one-score game at 17-10. At that point the UW offense finally seemed to wake up and had their best drive of the game. The score of 24-10 at the two-minute warning was a bridge too far for the Cougars who ended their next drive with an interception.

It was a telling play because it was one of three turnovers lost by the Cougars that day. If WSU players had stickier fingers, they might have been able to go home with the silver apple. As it was, the Huskies secured another win in a series they dominate with a more than 2-1 win loss ratio.

As we were shoving off the dock after the game, I saw what looked suspiciously like a souvenir cup in someone’s plastic see-through purse. My stomach sank and I asked where she had bought it. Apparently, there were several vendors offering the cup, just not the one selling fish and chips. The women saw my angst and immediately offered the cup to me, saying she could get another one next week. It was a clear example of the Husky generosity we saw all weekend.

My traveling companion, Doug, (who has an impressive SMS list – Iowa, Iowa State, Arkansas, WSU, Idaho, Kansas, Kansas State, Minnesota and Wisconsin) had lived in Seattle before. He was the unofficial tour guide for my second visit to The Emerald City and it paid dividends. We had some great meals, saw the sights, and generally had a blast.

The UW campus is an interesting mix of modern and classic architecture. The campus would have been better if there were some actual students there. If you have ever walked a college campus on a Sunday morning, you know what I mean. It’s a lot like waking up “28 Days Later” and finding the world empty. The only other shortcoming of my visit was the glaring lack of Wi-Fi in Husky Stadium. Seattle is one of the high-tech corridors in the U.S. and T-Mobile HQ is right down the street. There should be free 5G Wi-Fi throughout the stadium. And, of course, our weather was sublime. But from October 1 on, it could be a bit dicey.

We weren’t sure if we’d like the sailgating experience. It turned out to be a lot of fun. However, I would not want to do it for every game unless I had my own boat. As for the standard tailgating, I will assume, based on the aftermarket prices for lots, that it is solid. The Washington fans are great. As nice as any set of fans we have met. The football team has a winning tradition and tends to put a high-quality product on the field

Given all that, it was already in the top tier. Add in the overall ambiance and it is clearly a must-see stadium. Catch a boat ride, get some fresh seafood at the concessions, and then soak in the scenery. Even if you must fly all the way across the country, you won’t regret a day at Husky Stadium.