Husky Stadium Will Never Be the Same

Wow, it's been almost 5 months since I have posted on my blog. I should get busy.

This is a letter to the editor that I sent to the Seattle Times. I don't really care if they print it or not. It is just something I felt like writing....

HUSKY STADIUM WILL NEVER BE THE SAME


In a few days, the Washington Huskies will host the Oregon Ducks in newly renovated Husky Stadium. It is going to be a Pac-12 North showdown with conference and national title implications. There will be a lot said in the coming days about how the Ducks have dominated this rivalry over the past 9 seasons and how the Huskies have finally turned the corner and are looking to announce their return to the college football conversation.

Even though I am a Duck fan, and I will obviously root for the Ducks to make this a "10-win-in-a-row" outcome, I can honestly say that I am happy that the Huskies are enjoying this long-overdue success. I know this probably sounds weird, but I really do believe that a strong Washington team, strong Oregon schools, along with the recent success of Stanford, make for a stronger Northwest football landscape not to mention making a stronger case for the Pac-12 on the national scene.

But it isn't success on the football field nor the pomp and circumstance of the new stadium that are the reasons why I am writing today.

I am not trying to stir the pot of a heated rivalry.

No pre-game predictions.

No "what-if" scenarios.
                                                                                                                                                               The real reason that I am writing today is to draw the attention of Husky nation to something that many of you probably don't know: Husky Stadium will never be the same.

Yes, you know that there are new seating options, luxury boxes, a new turf, and athletic facilities. The $280 million renovation looks great, and I for one do not begrudge the University for undertaking this endeavor. It was probably long overdue. What you are probably not aware of is that 2 long-time Husky fans will not be attending  games this season. They are not long-time financial boosters, they're not alumni, and like many fans, they likely faded into the the blur of purple and gold every Saturday, never standing out from any of the thousands of other Husky faithful.

The first of these two is Richard Richmire. I had the honor of meeting Mr. Richmire in 2008 right before the game between the Ducks and the Huskies. At that time I had known his son, Eric Richmire for about 6-7 months as I hired Eric to come and work with me at Fairchild Air Force Base earlier in the year. I ran the Youth Programs section there and at the time, Eric was splitting his time running Youth Sports and the Teen Center on base. Eric was a huge Husky fan, having grown up in Issaquah and attending many games with his Dad.  I don't know how many games in all that they attended over the years, but I do know that his Dad had season tickets and he was a regular.

My office at Fairchild was adorned with Duck paraphernalia and Eric and I had a lot of fun with good natured banter back and forth. We loved to talk about college football and a variety of other sports. The weekend of that game, Eric and I drove from Spokane to Seattle together. We stopped in Ellensburg and I introduced Eric to my Dad and Step-mom. Later that day we continued the drive to Seattle and I dropped him off at his Dad's house in Issaquah. As soon as I met his dad, I knew that this was a person that I would enjoy being around. His laughter and humor were infectious and I could easily see where Eric got his zest for life.

The next day was game day. Eric and His Dad picked me up a few hours before kick-off and we headed to a "secret" parking spot close to the stadium where we enjoyed a small tailgating party prior to heading off to the game. Keep in mind that this was a little bit of an odd site: Me decked out in my Ducks jersey with Eric, his dad, and his dad's girlfriend decked out in U-dub gear. Sharing a meal and beverages, laughing and having a good time, it's not natural! We finished our meal and headed down the sidewalk to the stadium. This was my first time in Husky Stadium and I was pretty excited. I took a few comments from die hard fans on the way to the stadium, but knew enough to just keep my mouth shut and enjoy the day. When we got closer to the stadium, Eric and I had to look for some tickets. His Dad and girlfriend were using the season tickets. It didn't take long to find some decent seats. We parted ways and headed to the stands. At half-time, Eric wanted to go check on his dad. We left our seats and stopped off at the restroom first. Little rubber ducks in the urinal!! Very funny....

Eric said that it would be best if I didn't go with him, that the section that we would go thru could be pretty rough as it was right near the student section. I thought about it for a second and decided that I would take a chance. We navigated our way to a section that was directly behind the Student Section on the North-side. See, Eric's dad was disabled and confined to a wheel chair. His season tickets were in this reserved section. A place for him, and a person who could sit in a folding chair beside them. They were awesome seats with a great view. We said hi, and talked about the fist half highlights a bit. At that point it was still a close game, the outcome could go either way. We said our goodbyes, established a post game meeting point, and Eric and I returned to our seats. In the third quarter the Ducks exploded and by the start of the 4th, the outcome was pretty much decided. After the game we headed back to the car, Eric's dad drove us to an awesome tavern/restaurant near Freemont where we had an early dinner, and watched some games on their big screens before they dropped me off at the place I was staying. The next morning I picked Eric up and we headed back to Spokane. I think it was a long ride for him, and I purposefully discussed everything else but football. That's ok. I had bragging rights for another year.

Over the course of the next couple years, Eric's Dad developed a very aggressive case of brain cancer. Richard had battled cancer earlier in his life and it had gone into remission. Now it was back with a vengeance. The tumors were many, and the options were few. Over the course of several months, Eric assisted his dad with doctor's appointments, treatments, dealing with some doctors in the Seattle area that were simply amazing, and others that seemed not to have a clue. From my understanding, some of what they (the doctors) were seeing and dealing with was new and could possibly be used as case study. At one point, in the early fall of 2011, it seemed like there had been significant progress. The treatments appeared to slow the progress of the tumors, Richard was stronger than ever, and the outlook for the immediate future looked bright.

That fall, the Ducks were back in Husky Stadium to play UW. Eric was planning on attending with his Dad and I picked up 2 tickets from Stub Hub. This year I purposefully got seats in the visitor's section. Not nearly as good a view of the field, but I did feel a little safer in the company of my feathered friends. My wife Tonya attended the  game with me and we enjoyed the evening (other than the bus fiasco trying to get back to our parking lot). Prior to the game, I had texted Eric a couple of times and we made arrangements to meet at halftime. I asked my wife if she wanted to go, and she declined, not wanting to battle the crowds. I made my way down to the student section, braved a couple hecklers, but finally made my way to their seats. I think that being in the company of purple clad fans helped my cause. Richard looked good, his face full of color and enjoying the evening. This was the last game that was being played in Husky stadium this year, and construction would get underway immediately. Eric thanked me for coming down to see his dad. He said that it had meant a lot to both of them. I told him I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

In hind-sight, I wish I would have convinced Tonya to come with me to meet Eric's Dad. I know she would have liked him as much as I did. To the best of my knowledge, that was the last game that Richard attended. In the Spring of 2012 he succumbed to the cancer that literally ate away at his spinal cord and his brain stem.

I only had the pleasure of being in his company on 2 occasions, both of them at Husky stadium. But as I mentioned earlier, I was honored to get the chance to meet him. His outlook on life was always positive and I know he was fighting until the end. I prayed for Richard a lot during that time frame. I don't know if he believed in God, or Heaven. I am not going to sit here and offer up a non-comforting cliche  like "he's in a better place." I just don't know. What I do know though, is that he isn't in any more pain from that crap.

In September of 2012 I left Fairchild AFB and took a job at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. I left the Youth Program at Fairchild in the very capable hans of Eric, as the program began a search for the next director. Eric inherited his Dad's season tickets, and although he had to be relocated to a different area of the stadium, I know that he and his new fiancé planned to make it to a few games during the season. In 2012, the Huskies played their home games at Century Link field while Husky Stadium renovations continued. Eric and I shared a few emails back and forth over the next few months. Some were about work, but most were about football.

I came back to Spokane for Christmas and stayed through the new year. I stopped into the Youth Center to visit with Eric and my former staff. They all seemed to be doing great. I was home long enough to see all the bowl games, including the Huskies playing Boise State in Las Vegas, and the Ducks play in the Fiesta Bowl (both on T.V. of course). I shared a couple of texts with Eric during the UW bowl game. Even though he was frustrated at the outcome, I could tell that he was more optimistic about the Huskies future than he had been in recent years.

My vacation time over, I headed back to Germany in early January. A few months went by and in March, my wife came to visit me for a couple weeks. I surprised her with an impromptu visit to Venice. While there, we were staying in contact with our daughter, Ana who was back in Spokane. One day we received a facebook message from her. She said that some woman had called her and said that Mr. Eric had passed away. At first, I thought someone had  made a mistake. My wife thought that it might have been someone from her side of the family, because she has a cousin named Eric. As it turned out, it was Eric Richmire that had passed away.

Needless to say, like many people I was in shock and disbelief. Eric was a very healthy young man, married less than two weeks earlier, and like his father before him, full of life and vigor. I don't know the official cause of death, but I was told that he died from an enlarged heart. Regardless of what it was, it was unfair and it is still hard to believe. I have known people over the years that have passed away, but for many reasons, this one is hard to accept. I still can't seem to grasp the fact that it has happened. I think that as this year's football season is getting underway, it is finally hitting me that there is an emptiness to it all. Eric wasn't a philanthropist, he wasn't some crusader of a cause, I can't even tell you that he was even my best friend. That would be a lie. What I can tell you is that he was a great guy, a good friend, and he enjoyed life to the fullest. He did have a BIG heart and I will miss him.

Husky fans: Your new stadium looks great, your team has started off very well and I wish you luck for the 2013 season. All except one game of course. But keep in mind, this stadium lost two huge supports. It doesn't matter how flashy it looks, how many padded leather chairs there are or how many 4-star recruits the new digs will help attract. The simple truth is that this place will never be the same. Please do me a favor: Don't let those fellow die hards just fade into obscurity and into another blur of purple and gold. That person to your left or right is someone's brother, someone's father, someone's son...and you never know when they'll be seeing their last game.