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“I think there’s something special about that game,” Nichols said. “You really don’t find it anywhere else.”
Nichols, the former longtime local sports play-by-play voice of KGY 1240-AM, has never missed a Spaghetti Bowl radio broadcast dating back to the inaugural game in 1977. While Capital and Olympia haven’t been in the same classification and league since 2005-06 as members of the 4A Narrows Bay Division, the intensity of the game hasn’t changed. Ingersoll Stadium is still jam-packed with 7,000 fans and the Spaghetti Bowl trophy is the one each players wants to see in their school’s hallway.
Nichols won’t be on the traditional radio airwaves for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game, but he’ll still be at Ingersoll Stadium. He, and former longtime color commentator Larry McMillan, will be honored by Capital and Olympia in a pregame ceremony honoring their longstanding commitment to high school sports. Nichols announced his retirement from KGY in July after five decades at the station, but he and McMillan will do a special online webcast of the game for roxysports.com, owned by ROXY 94.5-FM.
Olympia coach Bill Beattie, a former Tumwater High School football player in the 1970s, said he still has an old cassette tape of Nichols when he broadcast a playoff game between Tumwater and Capital his senior season in 1977.
“His voice has never changed,” Beattie said of Nichols. “His enthusiasm has never changed. Dick is such an icon for radio and media around here for so many years. He’s truly going to be missed.”
Capital leads the all-time Spaghetti Bowl series, 19-16, but Olympia has won six of the past seven games, including last year’s 10-7 victory. Nichols said he can’t pick out the most memorable Spaghetti Bowl game because they all are memorable in some fashion. The ones with the league title on the line or a game-winning touchdown with seconds left on the clock. An underdog has prevailed or a fluke plays wins it.
“The two teams have really behaved themselves,” Nichols said. “It’s a tribute to this community and to the two high schools. They understand how important the game is. It’s really special.”
