1. Student Section
The student section at any college football game is unmatched for the bigger universities across the country and WSU is no different. The student section has always been the best place to be when you want to be as involved as you can. The student section at WSU extends from section 26 through section 37, which takes up over a quarter of the stadium. At kickoff, nearly every seat is taken in Martin Stadium, and the student section is wild. During the Eastern Washington vs. WSU game, I had the chance to sit third row at the 45 yard line, and looking behind me, I could only see students. The student section at WSU gives a sense of unity between everyone in attendance. Not gonna lie, the student section at these games is a big reason why I chose WSU.
During the game against Eastern Washington, my friends and I got in line at 2:30 in order to get great seats. They don’t start letting people in until two hours prior to kickoff so we got into the stadium at 3:00 and we were able to grab seats on the 45 yard line, three rows up from the field. We sat for two hours until kickoff at 5 PM and was it worth it???
Ummm YES!
My parents (alumni of WSU) were streaming the game online and actually were able to see me in the crowd because of how close I was.
2. Cheers
With the student section in mind, I neeeeeed to mention the cheers during the game. A really cool thing is that the cheers aren’t just for students, everyone watching the game gets into the cheers and a big reason for that is because they’re alumni, family or friends of cougs, or live in the area.
There are a couple that are taught by the school and the others are started by the students; those are the ones that get bad real quick but oh well! Every Cougar first down, the announcer says “And that’s another…” and then the entire stadium says “Cougar First Down” while motioning with their arms. The defensive third down cheer consists of the band playing Jaws while everyone imitates a shark with their hands. This is another well-known cheer because while watching games on TV, it’s really easy to see students (and the rest of the stadium) do this. The fight song is pretty self-explanatory because it’s another thing that unites the entire crowd. During kickoffs, it’s also a common thing to see people rattling keys which is really cool, even if you’re a freshman like me with my single dorm key that makes no noise but…. whateverrrr
Obviously there are other cheers created by the students that are not the most “appropriate” but hey, it’s college! Some of those cheers include the famous “F*** the (whatever the mascot of the other team is)” and typically the Huskies (ewww) make an appearance in the cheer every game, but that’s just rivalry for you!
3. What it Means to Be a WSU Coug
I want to specifically mention the alumni of WSU too. There are so many people who graduated from WSU who live within reasonable driving distance and therefore have season tickets. For example, my godparents live 2 hours away from Pullman and have season tickets. I’ve definitely gotten my Cougar spirit from them and my parents because they all went here. I have always been a Coug, I was born here when my dad was working on his masters and I lived on campus for the first two years of my life. Hearing their experience at WSU was the reason I came here. I knew that if I didn’t come up to Pullman, I would regret it. I chose it based on the personal connection I had to the university and the “Once a Coug, Always a Coug” was super important to me.
4. Traditions
The alumni and local population who come to games encompass the whole family mentality at WSU. While students take up about 30% of the stadium, there are a lot of other people there who are graduates of WSU or just people that live in Pullman who come to support the Cougars on game day. For a lot of games, the stadium is packed and it’s amazing to look across the field and see so many people who come to support the team. Students, and supporters of WSU, are the most loyal fans a college football team could ask for. Traditions are important to wazzu and are constantly passed down from one Coug to another.
5. Game Day Outfits
When it comes to CFS (Cougar Football Saturdays), everyone gets really into the event! There are always pregame activities around campus and Pullman. At WSU, game days feel like holidays. Everyone looks forward to it and prepare days ahead. For these occasions, it’s almost crazy to not dress up. No matter your style, there is something for everyone! Personally, I enjoy trying to cut up t-shirts (emphasis on the trying). I successfully cut one for the season and I am working on another. It’s fun to use shirts that a lot of people have and then turn them into something super unique! I also love doing my makeup for games (even though I am not great at makeup) and thankfully, our school colors (crimson and grey) go great with my eye color so that worked out really well! Even if you’re not the most creative, there’s always some sort of Coug gear you can rep while watching the game!
6. Pac 12 Football
It doesn’t matter the school, any Pac 12 football game is super high energy. I don’t know if it’s the students, the universities, the alumni or what, but it is definitely a different experience when you go to a Pac 12 game. Students, faculty, and alumni get really into the game and are able to celebrate a win together. Pac 12 schools have similar views where they all support their alma mater and get involved in the sports teams when they can!
7. Band
Whether they’re playing the fight song or doing the Jaws theme, the band is always having fun. Their energy is a huge factor into the energy of the crowd. I always love listening to the band because it boosts the energy of the crowd. My favorite part is before kickoff when they’re on the field. They run onto the field before the football players and start energizing the crowd. You are struck by the Cougar spirit as soon as that band runs out and the crowd goes wild.