Winless in Washington

State's major men's teams accumulate losses, disappoint fans

By Gail Wood | The Olympian • Published September 20, 2008

Maybe it would be best if they just all left town.

Just packed up and left like the Seattle SuperSonics.

Because the heartache, the frustration and the disappointment that the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars and Seattle Mariners are bringing fans here has never been worse.

Combined, the Seahawks, Huskies and Cougars are 0-8 on the football field for the first time ever. Add Eastern Washington's football team and that cumulative record slips to 0-10. The Mariners are on the verge of becoming the first team with a payroll of more than $100 million to lose 100 games.

Effect on personal life

"These are very tough time for sports fans around here," said Ron Smith, a professor of psychology at the University of Washington. "Fans identify with their teams. They live in some significant ways the success and failures of the teams they identify with."

And when their teams lose, it spills over into a fan's personal life.

"Some guys really get depressed," said Gerry Rich, a Seahawks season-ticket holder for 18 years and a Lacey resident. "I like to go and root for the team. A loss stings for a little and then it's over."

Not every fan is as resilient.

Psychologists have a name for a mood disorder spurred by overcast days, a common occurrence in South Sound. The acronym is SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Sports fans here are suffering from FUN, or Fed Up Now.

"I don't like to pay that kind of money to go up there and watch them play crappy," said Ron Sheets, a longtime Seahawks fan and Tumwater resident. "If the Seahawks lose 9, 10, 11 games, not as many people show up. That's because nobody likes to watch losers."

UW and WSU are both 0-3 and coming off blowout losses. Two weeks ago, in a 66-3 loss in Pullman to California, fans started heading for home by halftime. Only a few thousand stayed until the end.

"It was really strange," said Steve Smedley, a WSU grad and season-ticket holder. "It was like there was no one there."

The Cougars have been outscored 150-33.