There’s a more beautiful place in the world than Seattle in the spring. And sometimes there’s no worse place if there’s a downpour of rain.
For Washington’s annual Spring Game or Spring Preview–now called “Dawgs After Dark”, sometimes it seemed like a right-of-passage to be playing in a deluge. So when Jedd Fisch decided to move the spring-ending scrimmage to nighttime kickoff it was met with a fair amount of skepticism.
https://x.com/CoachJeddFisch/status/1918336601513705648
It seemed like a gamble, but with kickoff set to happen at 6:30 and temperatures in the upper 60s with temperatures, a typical 2-hour spring game will be wrapping up around sunset which will occur at 8:23. That means the temperature will be pleasant and in the lower 60s.
Fan engagement is at an all-time high with an array of social media efforts. Tickets handed out are triple of previous springs.
Husky Legends Michael Penix and Donald Butler, the coaches of the Purple and Gold teams, has certainly helped with the hype. Penix will have starting QB Demond Williams.
“Forever the excuse for a poorly attended Spring Game was that there’s so much to do on a Saturday in Seattle,” said RealDawg.com’s Trevor Mueller. “So Coach Fisch said, ‘fine, let’s move it to Friday night’, which is actually pretty smart.”
Even after the Huskies won the National Championship in 1991 the 1992 Spring Game had an estimated 10,000 in the stands. However, for tonight’s event many who would travel from a couple of hours away might not be in attendance if it was on a Saturday.
It’s all coming together for what could shape up to be one of the better attended spring scrimmage in recent memory–but real prize may not be a full stands but a sideline full of recruits dreaming of being the next Husky Legend.
“Fisch gets the marketing side,” Mueller noted. “But he’s not just trying to woo the fans but the future Husky Legends with dozens of recruits on hand.”
The other question will be: if sophomore-to-be tight end scores, what sort of dance moves will he breakout?
