My Husky Fan Friend Picked a Bad Day For His Wedding

For 99.99999% of the world, "Niagara Falls" conjures up the mental image of one of the natural wonders of the world. For me it will always mean one thing: "Washington 16, USC 13." You see, my childhood friend Jason picked Saturday, September 19 for his wedding in Western New York. My season tickets for the game went to some random woman on StubHub. But I'm not bitter. After a win this wonderful, how could I be? Moments like this is why I bother to watch sports in the first place.

The father of the groom celebrates

I wasn't too worried about being at a wedding during this game. As I wrote on this site, I didn't like the Huskies' chances. ("Expecting a USC Blowout"--great work, Kolloen.) Then, Dawgs fell behind 10-0 early, confirming my fears. I stopped my obsessive Blackberry checking to focus on more wedding reception appropriate activities, like business networking and flirting.

Soon, though, the infreqent Blackberry checks began to show a different story. While I was talking up my writing to a guy who owns an internet retail site, Jake Locker completed three long passes and ran into the end zone for the Dawgs' first score. While I was attempting to charm a sassy, hazel-eyed beauty, the defense forced a key fumble.

As Jason's friend Shuyler put it: "Who are these guys?"

Is that Eric Folk, the guy who missed two PATs in the Spring game? Nailing a clutch 46-yarder?

Is that the Husky defense, the one that was worst in the country last year? Forcing USC to go 0-10 on third-downs?

What new Jake Locker is this? The run-first quarterback? Leading the offense with his arm?

The post-ceremony drinks wound down just as the game heated up. As part of the ritual tagging of the newlyweds' car, we added: "Beat USC!"

Then just after they left, we drove like hell through Western New York to reach a sports bar across from the reception site in Niagara Falls before the game ended.

Driving like hell through Western New York is impossible. Apparently the area's founders felt that instead of congregating into a few large towns, they should have one tiny town every few feet, each with its very own stoplight, it's own small-town-cop-enforced 20 mph speed limit. We seethed down each Main St., as I conducted dramatic readings of the incredible events that were unfolding on my BlackBerry gamecast.

"Third and eleven. Jake Locker pass (pause) complete to James Johnson for TWELVE YARDS (pause for ecstatic "YESes" from my carmates) and a first down at the USC 17."

We hit Niagara Falls with barely a minute left, as the Huskies attempted a final drive to win the game. Schuyler pulled the clutchest parallel-parking-job in history, squeezing into a tiny space across from the hotel. We sprinted towards the hotel. At curbside, the groom, my friend, a rabid UW fan, who'd attended the Idaho game with me the week before, was getting out of his car.

I explained the situation to him as calmly as I could: "Huskies! Game! Tied! Minute to go! Driving!"

We piled into the sports bar, where a few patrons were enjoying a quiet lunch. It would not be quiet for long.

Why do I watch sports? Joy like this.

The Husky game was on a huge projection screen. Under a minute to go, Huskies near midfield. A two-foot high Jake Locker scrambled right, and lofted a pass down the sideline, where Jermaine Kearse leapt across the massive screen to grab it. We screamed and hugged. We saw the word "FLAG" in eight-inch-high letters on the screen. We sighed. We saw the ref, filling half of the 12-foot-high wall, signal roughing the passer. We screamed and hugged again. The Huskies were in field goal range.

The groom's parents--Dad a former UW yellleader, Mom a UW cheerleader--walked in. We pointed to the screen. They understood immediately. "This is amazing," said mom.

Erik Folk lined up for the game-winning field goal. He hit it true. We screamed and hugged. And hugged and screamed. And screamed and screamed.

With insane smiles on our faces, we marched to the reception. The game was the talk of the party, at least among the 10 percent of us who'd come from Seattle. One guest, a former UW basketball player, demanded my room key so that she could get on my laptop and change her Facebook status. We tried to determine where this ranked in recent Husky victories. Best since the 2000 win over Miami, we concluded. The groom's father started a "Whose House? / Dawgs House!" chant.

Soon it was back to some semblance of reality. I had a wedding speech to write. I had an open bar to enjoy. And the hazel-eyed beauty was so alluring, even a historic Husky win didn't push her off my radar.

Add what's being called "The Bark Heard 'Round the World" (you can already get a commemorative t-shirt) to the list of seminal Seattle sporting events I've missed. Life goes on--there's another game Saturday, vs. Stanford.