Destiny Vaeao: Polynesian pipeline leads to Super Bowl
Sunday
Journey began more than 6,300 miles away
By COUGFANcom
WHEN FORMER COUGAR defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao takes the
field for Philadelphia at the Super Bowl, it will be the crowning moment of a
journey that began more than 6,300 miles away
According to a survey by CBS television's 60 Minutes, a boy
born to Samoan parents is 56 times more likely to reach the NFL than any other
child in America, writes Rob Woolard of Agence France Press. For the full article, click here.
Vaeao, who signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent
in 2016, was a three-year starter for Washington State who never redshirted. He
earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors as a senior in 2015. A furious second half
of that senior campaign powered a 41-tackle/12 TFL/4.5 sack performance.
NOTABLE COUGAR SUPER BOWL NOTES:
• Quarterback Mark
Rypien won two rings with Washington Redskins, one as a backup in 1988 and the
other as the starter – and Super Bowl MVP -- in Washington’s 37-24 victory over
Buffalo in 1992. Rypien’s old Cougar teammate, defensive lineman Eric Williams,
was also a member of the ’92 Redskins.
• When it comes to
multiple rings, though, no Cougar tops receiver Mike Wilson, who won four Super
Bowls (1982, '85, '89 and '90) during his 11-year career with the 49ers. Other
multi-ring winners from WSU are offensive tackle Allan Kennedy (San Francisco,
'82 and '85) and defensive tackle Erik Howard (New York Giants, '87 and '91).
• The most Cougars
in a single Super Bowl is four – a standard achieved twice. In 1997, when the
Packers beat the Patriots 35-21, Drew Bledsoe, Chad Eaton and Ricky Reynolds
were with the Pats while safety Chris Hayes was knocking pads for Green Bay. In
1982, Jack Thompson was with the Bengals while Wilson, Kennedy and tight end
Eason Ramson were with San Francisco.
• LaVerne
"Torgy" Torgeson, a star linebacker and center for the Cougars in the
1950s, won three Super Bowls as an assistant coach with Redskins and also won
two NFL titles with the Lions in 1952 and 1953.
• The first Cougar
on a Super Bowl roster was receiver Gail Cogdill. The Spokane native and 1960
NFL Rookie of the Year with Detroit was a member of the Baltimore Colts when
they faced off against Joe Namath and the upstart New York Jets in one of the
most storied games in professional history: Super Bowl III, a 16-7 upset win by
the Jets in 1969.
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Super Bowl Cougars
WSU alums have rich history in football's biggest game
By Greg Witter - Feb 5, 2017
Cougfan.com
THE LIST OF COUGARS who have played in the Super Bowl – or,
before that, the NFL or AFL championship game – is considerable and includes a
Super Bowl MVP and a Coug who is among the most ringed players in NFL history.
The NFL season comes to a close Sunday with the playing of
the 51st Super Bowl featuring the Atlanta Falcons and New England
Patriots. No Cougar player appears on
either team's roster but WSU’s history on the NFL’s biggest stage is a rich
one. The honor roll includes the aforementioned Super Bowl MVP and four-time
Super Bowl winner, plus a two-time NFL Championship game winner who added three
Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach.
Former Cougar receiver Mike Wilson won four Super Bowls
(1982, '85, '89 and '90) during his 11-year career with the 49ers. That '82 win
was over a Cincinnati Bengal team that included legendary Cougar quarterback
Jack Thompson.
Mark Rypien (pictured above) threw for 292 yards and two TD
passes to win Super Bowl MVP honors in the Washington Redskins' 37-24 victory
over Buffalo in 1992 -- a game in which the Redskins' defense included his
former Cougar teammate, defensive lineman Eric Williams. Rypien also won a
Super Bowl ring in 1988 as the backup to Redskins starter Doug Williams.
Besides Rypien and Wilson, two other WSU products are
multi-ring winners: offensive tackle Allan Kennedy (San Francisco, '82 and '85)
and defensive tackle Erik Howard (New York Giants, '87 and '91).
The most Cougars in a single Super Bowl is four – a standard
achieved twice. In 1997, when the Packers beat the Patriots 35-21, Drew
Bledsoe, Chad Eaton and Ricky Reynolds were with the Pats while safety Chris
Hayes was knocking pads for Green Bay. In 1982, Thompson was with the Bengals
while Wilson, Kennedy and tight end Eason Ramson were with San Francisco.
LaVerne "Torgy" Torgeson, a star linebacker and
center for the Cougars, has the most storied championship resume of any Crimson
Soldier. The five-time Detroit Lions Pro Bowler helped his team to consecutive
NFL titles in 1952 and '53, and as a long-time assistant coach with the
Redskins he earned Super Bowl rings in '83, '88 and '92.
Jason David was a member of the 2006 Indianapolis Colts
Super Bowl XLI Championship team. David was a mainstay on Washington State's
three consecutive 10-win teams from 2001-03 and earned first-team All-Pac-10
honors as a senior. He concluded his college career with 16 interceptions –-
three of them for touchdowns -- in 35 starts.
The Cougars were also represented in Super Bowl XL vs.
Pittsburgh by Seahawks starters Marcus Trufant and Robbie Tobeck. That was
Tobeck's second trip to the big game, having also started for Atlanta when it
lost to Denver in 1999.
THE FIRST COUGAR TO play on a Super Bowl team was receiver
Gail Cogdill. The Spokane native and 1960 NFL Rookie of the Year with Detroit
was a member of the Baltimore Colts when they faced off against Joe Namath and
the upstart New York Jets in one of the most storied games in professional
history: Super Bowl III, a 16-7 upset win by the Jets in 1969.
The first Cougar to start in a Super Bowl was Bernard
Jackson. A record-breaking running back and kick-returner in Pullman under Jim
Sweeney from 1970-71, he was a mainstay at defensive back for Denver's famous
"Orange Crush," which lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1978 title
game.
And back before the AFL and NFL merged, no Cougar had a
better title game than did Keith Lincoln in the AFL Championship of 1963. The
legendary Moose of the Palouse racked up 329 yards of total offense --- 206
hashes on the ground and 123 yards in receptions --- to lead his San Diego
Chargers to a 51-10 thrashing of the Boston Patriots.
In 1964, Lincoln and the Chargers returned to the AFL title
game, against Buffalo, but he left the contest early with an injury sustained
on what is considered one of the most jarring tackles in pro history. San Diego
lost. That Chargers team also included a rookie from WSU, safety Ken Graham,
who would later be considered one of the greatest defensive backs in AFL
history.
Of course, no talk of pro glory would be complete without
mention of WSU's two greatest contributions to the NFL: Hall of Famers Mel Hein
and Turk Edwards.
Before the Super Bowl, when the king of pro football was
simply called NFL Champion, Hein and Edwards managed to divvy up three
championships in five years, as Hein's New York Giants -- coached by Gonzaga
University grad Ray Flaherty -- won the crown in '34 and '38, and Edwards'
Washington Redskins in '37. Hein's Giants also finished as NFL runners-up five
times in his illustrious career.
OTHER COUGARS BELIEVED to have played on an NFL Championship
team are: Dick Farman (Washington, '42); Don Paul (Cleveland, '54 and '55);
Harland Svare (New York Giants, '56); Clifford Marker(New York Giants, '27); Al
Hoptowit (Chicago Bears, '43); By Bailey (Detroit Lions, '52; also won a CFL
title with B.C. Lions in 1964) and Jerry Williams (Los Angeles Rams, '51).
In addition, former Cougars Robert Akins and Kay Bell won
titles in leagues that competed with and/or ultimately folded into the NFL.
Akins was on the Cleveland Browns in 1946 when they captured the first of five
straight AAFC (All-American Football Conference) or NFL championships. And
Bell, who missed the NFL title by a touchdown to Turk Edwards' Redskins in 1937
while with the Chicago Bears, collected two titles in 1940 and '41 while
playing for the Chicago Bullies of the old, old AFL.
NOTABLE TITLE NOTES:
• Injury has prevented a number of Cougars from suiting up
with their teams in the Super Bowl. When Carolina faced the New England Patriots
in 2004, the Panthers dedicated their fight to former Cougar linebacker Mark
Fields , who was forced to sit out the season after being diagnosed with
Hodgkin's disease. In 2003, Marcus Williams, a WSU receiver and NFL tight end,
was on injured reserve as his Raiders lost to Tampa Bay. And in 2000, WSU
All-American tackle Scott Sanderson was on the sidelines with a bum knee as his
Tennessee Titans lost by a single yard to the St. Louis Rams.
• The 1995 Super Bowl included two Cougars -– Chargers defensive
end Lewis Bush and 49ers tight end Brett Carolan's -- who started for WSU in
the 1992 Copper Bowl.
• Three former Cougar stars came oh-so-close to
championships in the early days of pro football. Elmer Schwartz, QB of the
Cougars' 1931 Rose Bowl team, narrowly missed an NFL title in his rookie
season, as his Portsmouth (Ohio) Spartans finished one game back of the Green
Bay Packers. First-team All-American Cougar running back Bob Kennedy's New York
Yankees (later merged into the Baltimore Colts) of the AAFC were edged out for
the title two seasons in a row, 1946 and '47, by the juggernaut Cleveland
Browns, while standout Cougar end Nick Susoeff's San Francisco 49ers fell to
the Browns in 1949.
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Football games: In the stadium, or on your couch?
By Kevin Dudley Coug Center Feb 3, 2018, 6:00am PST
Good Saturday morning Coug fans. I know its February, but
let’s talk football.
If you subscribe to The Athletic—I joined a month ago and
love it—you no doubt read Stewart Mandel’s mailbag. The former Fox Sports
writer now runs the college football section of The Athletic and I’m bummed I
didn’t subscribe until just before the National Championship Game. I always
loved Mandel’s writing at Fox Sports, and his podcast with Bruce Feldman is
excellent.
I bring him and his mailbag up this week because he touched
on something ($$$) that got me thinking: do you prefer being at college
football games or watching at home? Why?
That wasn’t the exact mailbag question, but that’s the
discussion it created. Mandel made this interesting point:
I don’t travel to as many games as I used to, but for those
I have, I’ve definitely noticed the emphasis on in-game entertainment. I can
remember going to games in college where we just sat there and waited during
the TV timeouts. Now, even venerable stadiums like Notre Dame’s continuously
crank the music. Video boards with a million different recurring features
(in-game trivia, tweets and IG posts from fans in the stands) are a must.
Anything to keep you from texting your friends outside of the stadium to find
out what they’re up to.
Let’s look at some pros and cons of different
football-viewing settings:
In The Stadium
Pro: If you watch in-person, you have the opportunity to do
a little tailgatin’. WSU has a unique setup for tailgating, in that it’s mostly
RVs. You have fancy RVs with fancy televisions set up and a kitchen with an
island, and you have older RVs that catch on fire just before heading out on
the highway (it has happened, trust me).
If it’s a Cougar football game, there’s always the
fieldhouse. Piss and moan about the food and drink prices if that’s your thing,
but the setup has improved greatly over the years and it’s always nice when the
team walks through:
The anticipation and roar of the crowd can’t be duplicated
watching on TV. I’ve never heard Martin Stadium louder than when Jahad Woods
caused Sam Darnold to fumble to clinch the USC game. It was incredible.
Of course, I suppose it matters where you sit. In the lower
level of section 25, the people are good.
Cons: Weather? I mean, only if don’t prepare for it. As the
saying goes: There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. There are
definitely exceptions to that, and the Colorado game this season was miserable,
while the Stanford game—much colder and snowing—was fine if you dressed for it.
Obnoxious fans? There are annoying fans everywhere, but I
can see how this can really impact your experience. I’m sure we all have
stories.
The price. From driving to the game, to possibly staying at
a hotel, to the cost of tickets and donations, to food, drink and an RV spot,
the investment adds up. The price is a real issue for a lot of fans.
At Home
Pros: Well, you control the weather, so that’s nice. You
don’t have to worry about driving home after the game, so you have a free pass
to the beer fridge. And I’ve often found that yelling at the TV to be kind of
therapeutic, you know?
The price. It’s much cheaper to watch at home, and the fancy
TVs make it more enjoyable, too.
Cons: All the pros I mentioned above? You don’t get that at
home. I guess you could have your kids pretend they’re the marching band and
you can walk behind them to your couch as if you were Leach and Co. You can
even have your friend dress up as Antonio Huffman.
Oh, and you have to deal with the commercials by actually
viewing them. At least the fans in the stadium get Tay Ali every other break,
or so it seems.
At a Bar
Pros: Since you can’t get the in-stadium atmosphere,
sometimes a bar is the next best thing. Now, there are different categories of
bars: ones with lots of your fellow Coug fans, and ones where you’re the lone
Coug. Cheering on the Cougs with your new friends at the bar can be a unique
experience, and you naturally gravitate to each other solely based on the
colors you’re wearing. Football is the great uniter!
At bars where you’re the only fan, it could be lonely. I
watched the Arizona game from the only bar in New Orleans that had the Pac-12
Network while everybody else went nuts for the Houston Astros during the World
Series. I tried to make friends by mentioning Tay Martin and Hunter Dale were
from the area, but nobody seemed to care. Good job, good effort.
Cons: You have to pay a tab, and you run the risk of somebody
switching the only TV you can see to something else. This is often the case
when you’re the lone Coug fan in the bar.
So there are some pros and cons. I understand everybody’s
experience is different for many reasons, including where you live. You folks
in the Eastern Time Zone, God bless you.
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