MiscNCAATrendingBy John Ferensen on

Today’s lesson in “How To Piss Off A Fanbase” centers around a rather ill-advised trash talk column that was published in the days leading up to Saturday’s Pac-12 matchup between Washington State University and Arizona. The writer in question is Megan Coghlan, the sports editor for Arizona’s Daily Wildcat, who took part in a point/counterpoint game preview with Daily Evergreen (WSU) sports editor Michael-Shawn Dugar. Here are some excerpts from Ms. Coghlan’s column:

Dear Washington State fans,

The possibility of Washington State beating Arizona this weekend does not keep me up at night. In fact, the chance of the Cougars having any sort of advantage over Arizona is not something I’ll ever worry about. WSU, you should be worried.

First, I have yet to meet a legitimate Cougar fan. I may not live in Washington or spend much time there, but the Washington Husky fan base is serious business. Sorry to bring up a touchy subject, it can’t be fun living in the shadow of your “rival” Washington. Your program just won’t be as relevant as the famed Huskies. I’d like to say I understand what it’s like to be the lesser in-state rival, but I can’t relate…

…Enjoy your trip down to Tucson, it’ll be a nice little escape from the city of Pullman, which nobody knows anything about. All I know is I checked the weather this morning and it was 42 degrees and mostly cloudy. I’ll take this 77 degree, clear skied, Tucson in November day instead…

…The Cougars haven’t been to a bowl game since 2003. Allow me to stomp on your dreams right now, and tell you it’s once again just not going to happen this year. It is nice being in a bowl game, Arizona is still smiling about its New Mexico Bowl win just about a year ago.

Sorry to tell you, though, a football team that plays in a bowl game usually has a grasp on a little thing called fundamentals.

Quarterback Connor Halliday has shown me more unnecessary throws than I can believe. This Cougar team is so prone to silly fumbles and mistakes, with an intimidating Arizona crowd added to the mix (and yes, you should be intimidated if you know what’s best for you), there’s a higher risk for flubs. That’s OK with us. We’ll gladly take as many screw-up passes Halliday sends our way.

You hold a 4-5 record, which I wouldn’t go around boasting about. Sure, you had some tough opponents, but get used to it, you’re in the Pac-12. You did however, suffer a pretty embarrassing loss to Arizona State. 55-21? There’s no excuse for that. In fact, you’ve lost by an average of 26.2 points per game. I can’t even feel bad for you.

If you’re traveling out to Tucson to root on your Cougars, start your search now for places to drink your sorrows away after you increase that losing average.

Unfortunately for Coghlan, the Cougars ended up beating the Wildcats 24-17 — a win they desperately needed to keep their bowl hopes alive. Almost needless to say, the backlash on social media was swift and severe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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