Saturday, December 28, 2024
37.0°F

Cup noise falls short of landing

| November 29, 2019 12:00 AM

Apologies, gang, but we have to start with an old, old line.

Surely, you’ve heard that ageless philosophical question: “If a tree falls in the forest but nobody hears it, did it really make a noise?”

That makes you think immediately of the historic 112th Apple Cup, right?

Of course it does.

Let me phrase the philosophy puzzle another way and I think you’ll understand ...

“If Jimmy Lake spends hours and hours insulting Washington State but no one is listening, did he really speak?”

Lake is the U-Dub defensive coordinator, a guy with the zeal of a backwoods preacher, and he seems to be conducting a one-man crusade to make Washington and Wazzu hate each other.

After each UW victory over the past six years, Lake has found new and different ways to make fun of Washington State, Mike Leach, the Air Raid offense and whatever else floats into his mind.

Lake’s latest salvo, after last year’s UW victory in Pullman, was the statement that he hopes Leach stays at Wazzu forever, because any coach who does the same thing every year makes Jimmy’s job a piece of cake.

BUT THE problem with Lake’s yearly yakking is that, like that tree falling in an empty forest, nobody’s listening.

The head coaches, for instance, act as though Lake might as well have been hollering in the middle of Puget Sound.

Jimmy’s trash talk, which probably will get about 20 seconds of air time during the telecast of today’s game, doesn’t seem to reach anyone.

On either side of the rivalry.

Chris Peterson is routinely asked about Lake’s incendiary remarks, and while he stops short of telling his coordinator to just shut up, Coach Pete doesn’t like to knock other programs.

“Everyone knows how we feel about that here,” Peterson said this week when he was asked — yet again — about Lake spouting off.

Meanwhile, if Leach were any less interested in Jimmy Lake, he might fall asleep trying to address the issue.

On the other hand, that’s Leach.

For a guy who is considered immensely interesting, with his “Swing your sword!” pirate mantra and all of that, Leach handles press conferences in a monotone that would make a terrific meditation session.

Unless the subject is something that truly gets under Leach’s skin, he can do a half-hour media appearance that sounds like a soft Buddhist chant.

And Lake is not someone who concerns Mike Leach.

Period.

BUT IF Lake’s defensive schemes aren’t the reason Wazzu’s Air Raid has been grounded lately in the Apple Cup, what’s the answer?

Bigger, better and faster players, Leach suggests.

“They’ve always got the most physical and talented guys in the conference,” Leach said.

“The National Football League must think so, because they keep drafting them every year.”

When you get right down to it (and simply ignore Jimmy Lake), the Apple Cup isn’t a real rivalry — not in the sense of Ohio State-Michigan, Texas-Oklahoma, and certainly nothing like Auburn-Alabama.

You can fill a pub with uppercuts by uttering the tiniest slight over rivalries like that.

U-Dub and Wazzu?

Nah.

FOR ONE thing, they’re generally not even recruiting the same kids, or in the same areas.

The Huskies have a huge metro area to mine, and then they can add some of California’s top talent.

Washington State is fishing in different waters, and needs both this unique offense and bona fide speed on defense just to compete.

But if you want the REAL season the Apple Cup isn’t a fierce rivalry, the truth is that both the Seattle area and the Palouse are nice, pleasant places to live.

Unlike Alabama or Oklahoma, there’s a lot more to life here than football.

Even Jimmy Lake would have to agree.

The guy drives his own boat to work, for heaven’s sake.

So sure, the Apple Cup would be nice to win, but ...

Life will go on, and it’s pretty darn good.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball each Tuesday.