Tomorrow is going to be a big day in Seattle, for sure.

No, this has nothing to do with commercial aviation. It has to do with hometown, or at least home state, rivals. It's the big football game between the Washington State University Cougars and the University of Washington Huskies. We call it the Apple Cup. And it's happening at Husky Stadium in Seattle on Saturday.

So, why, you ask, is Randy Baseler blogging about this? Simple. Anyone who has to suffer me during football season here in the Northwest knows that I'm a die-hard WSU alum, and rabid Cougar fan.

In one way, the Cougars are finishing on top. Seattle's Space Needle is flying the WSU flag this weekend. That's because Cougars raised almost $98,000 for hurricane relief efforts in the southeastern U.S., exceeding the amount raised by Huskies. The competition raised a total of more than $164,000 to help rebuild homes.
(Photo courtesy of: Space Needle Corp., WSU)

Except, I'm the one who's had to suffer this year. Let me put it this way. After winning the first three games, the Cougars lost seven in a row, and now occupy the basement of the Pacific-10 Conference standings, without a single conference win.

Still, it warms my heart that the "Cougs" have been written up by sports writers as "the best losing team in the Pac-10." What more can you say about that?

So going against arch-rival University of Washington in our final game of the season is a shot at redemption. It's a rivalry for the ages. Reading this blog, you probably think Boeing and Airbus really go at each other. But that's nothing compared to what goes on when the Cougars and Huskies are in the same stadium.

There's always a lot of back and forth across the state of Washington this time of year. Pithy comparisons between the two teams and their fans. For example: Huskies think Rainier is a mountain. Cougars know it's a beer. It's all good clean fun. Oh, for those of you who don't live in this part of the world, Rainier is a large snow-capped volcano just south of Seattle, but it's also a local brew.

Anyway, this year I guess the most you can say about the annual Apple Cup game is it's a race for the bottom of the conference. Neither team has made much of their season.

Unfortunately, or luckily, depending on your point of view, I'll have to miss the game this year. I'm on my way to the Dubai Air Show. But missing the opportunity to watch the Apple Cup this year may not be such a bad thing since it's taking place here in Seattle in the home of the Dawgs.

In the meantime, I'll try to do some blogging from the Air Show. And beyond that, all I can say is: Go Cougs!