Can't believe I missed this. I guess if you don't have an elite history, you can just create one. Before last Saturday's game with USC, Washington raised a flag celebrating the 1960 national championship. The problem? Washington wasn't recognized as a national champion by any recognized poll, and finished sixth in the AP.
Now, one could argue that perhaps UW should have been the national champion. After all, they beat #1 Minnesota in the Rose Bowl, and this was an era in which the Golden Gophers were awarded the national title before the bowl season even started. However, the timing is more than suspect.
If they really want to claim the 1960 national title, why have they waited 47 years to stake that claim? The system that was in place recognizes Minnesota as the national champion. To try and change that half a century later is nothing more than revisionist history.
Former Husky coach Don James doesn't, who legitimately won a national championship in 1991, doesn't mind Washington's claim to the title saying "it was a flawed system." Hmm, the BCS is definitely a flawed system. Perhaps we should just unilaterally lay claim to a piece of the 2001 national championship? Of course, we don't have to resort to inventing things to feel good about ourselves.
HUCK THE FUSKIES!!!
--Dave
Update [2007-10-3 13:38:37 by Dave]: This only gets better. According to our friends over at Sunday Morning Quarterback, UW was voted #1 that year by something called Helms Athletic Foundation (for the record, they gave their 1939 basketball title to LIU, even though Oregon won the NCAA tournament that year). What makes this story so much better is that UW is considering claiming national championships from 1984 and 1990 when they were voted #1 by equally, and in some cases more obscure polls. I guess you better try and claim as much as you can from your past when you don't have a whole lot going for you in the present. This is beyond pathetic.