I am 32 years old and I don't have a recollection of UW ever being very good. There was 2000, but I watched the Ducks beat the Huskies that year at Autzen. Same as it ever was.
I was at "The Pick." It was cool, but I was still really young and didn't realize how important that Rose Bowl trip was.
What did it for me was Husky Stadium in 1997. What a bunch of smug asshole fans UW had back in those days. It was three 14 year old kids and one of our mom's. The shit that grown ass men said to us was ridiculous. Now having spent a lot of time on message boards with the people who would have made up that caring fan base in those days I totally get it.
Anyway, UW had those $75k purple helmets and yellow pants. So, so many empty seats. Just a complete shit show in contrast to the mighty Husky football program we were all supposed to witness. Akili floats that pass up, Pat catches it, and what little pride Husky fans had left was gone. UW has maybe beaten Oregon three times since then.
That is what did it for me. UW turned into absolute shit and still completely is while Oregon is one of the elite programs in the country. Sure, Don James quitting started the bleeding but to actually be there when Husky football died was something truly special.
I went back in 2007 and most Husky fans wouldn't even look me in the eye. Many were complimentary of Oregon. Empathy and battered wife syndrome had set in. Fast forward to last season with UW's new "gem" of a coach with his All-American littered defense that would turn the tide. Oregon has to start coasting early in the 3rd quarter as their 19 year old running back was starting to run up the score on his own. Same as it ever was.