Apple Cup apathy: Non-conference vibe takes a bite out of the rivalry

The 2024 Apple Cup by all accounts appeared to be one of the more anticipated matchups of the season. The rivalry game between Washington and Washington State that at one point was in danger of being another realignment casualty, was salvaged among the scraps from the wrecking ball that destroyed the Pac-12, sending UW to the Big Ten and its in-state foe with only Oregon State as a conference partner.

But as UW football season ticket holders this past week were invited to an “exclusive pre-sale” of tickets for the Sept. 14 game at neutral-site, Luman Field, the response has been tepid at best.

Dawgman.com, a website for the most rabid of Husky fans, published results of a poll that asked its readers if they were planning to attend the Apple Cup. Only half of the responders said they were going. For a game played in Seattle, that is almost unheard of in the 115-year history of the rivalry, one of the oldest in college athletics.

The Apple Cup may be running out of juice.

Much of the sentiment seems to be that since UW and WSU are no longer in the same conference, the rivalry no longer means as much. The Apple Cup has traditionally been the last game of the regular season, where in many years there was much on the line.

But there’s also the ticket prices. I am one of those season-ticket holders, and I’m still recovering from sticker shock. The cheapest ticket is $94, which gets you in the corners of the 300 level. Most of the seats in the 69,000-seat stadium are more than $200 apiece, and top out at $424.

Because the game will not be played in Husky Stadium, it is not a part of our seven-game, season-ticket package, which is expensive enough. Vicki and I are retired. We had a discussion the other day about the Apple Cup. It was short. We’re gonna pass.

I’m also not sure Cougar fans are chomping at the Apple Cup. The neighbor at our lake cabin is a resident of Sammamish and a longtime Wazzu season-ticket holder. The trip to Luman Field is a 30-minute drive. But he told me the other day that he and his wife aren’t going.

Ticket prices and a less-important, non-conference matchup may have something to do with that. More likely, however, the core of Apple Cup apathy for WSU is hard feelings. Not sure Cougar fans will ever forgive UW for jumping ship to a more lucrative future in the Big Ten, leaving the Cougs to fend for themselves with a conference-replacement schedule of Mountain West schools for at least the next two seasons.

And in this new era of college sports, where geography and tradition no longer seem to matter, that is a darn shame.