Whoa! in Oregon

The players had long entered the locker rooms. Most of the fans had left Qwest Field. But Seahawks fan Chris Corbray couldn’t quite let go of the day’s events that left his team 1-4 following Sunday’s 27-17 loss to Green Bay.Wearing a referee’s uniform with a Seahawks patch on the left breast, Corbray, 43, lingered near the front railing in the south end zone stands holding a Seahawks sign. “Washington state sports is abysmal and we’re sad,” Corbray said.

He could have been talking about most of Washington’s sports teams, many of which are currently gasping for the slightest breath of good fortune.

The Seahawks’ improbable fall after winning four consecutive division championships was the last shoe of futility to fall for the state of Washington in arguably the worst year for professional sports and big time college programs in the state’s history.

The SuperSonics are now the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Mariners had the worst record in the American League, the Washington Huskies football team is 0-5 and the Washington State Cougars football team is 1-6.

The only winning major Washington sports teams in the past season were Washington State and Gonzaga basketball — both on the opposite side of the state — and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

“I’m hurting, man, OK,” Corbray continued. “I’m in pain.”

It’s a stark contrast to the Oregon sports scene.

– Excerpt from The Oregonian, October 17, 2008