One win into the Pac-10 conference season and it’s hard not to beat your chest a little bit. If you’re a fan of the purple-and-gold, one win is all it takes to get your heart pumping again. We were lifeless throughout the final season of the Paint-Dry era, and in the previous two years we could barely get off life support with no playoff appearances by either of our big teams in their respective fields of play (NCAA Tournament and bowl games).

Now, all of a sudden, we’ve shut our rivals down and kept their crimson-and-gray gear in the closet for the time being. We’re 1-0 in Pac-10 play, and already halfway to an NCAA tournament berth. We’re playing like a team that needs oxygen, like a bunch of homeless guys after the last dollar bill, a drug runner after the last rock, a fat kid after the last piece of cake. Our Husky basketball team wants it bad and we need them to get it worse.

There’s been a slight uptick in the number of gray and white Husky t-shirts out and around town in the past few years. Sure, you’re still a Husky fan, but you’re not a purple-and-gold, brightly colored, in your face kind of Dawg. You’re the more subtle, earth-tone UW fan, one that tends to blend in with his surroundings and won’t rub anyone the wrong way with your allegiances. That’s why we need this. That’s why we need our basketball team to return to the promised land. We need to trade in our grays for PURPLE, we need to ditch the white for GOLD. We need to make a statement about our university. We need to let people know who we are, and where we’re about to be. This is the University of Washington, not some last-place doormat, not some backseat college. Nah, this is the U-Dub and we’re on the way back.

What do Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton, and Jon Brockman all have in common? They’re all from the greater Seattle area and know what it means to be a Husky. They have that local pride that isn’t found in the hearts of guys like Phil Nelson, Adrian Oliver, and Joel Smith. Guys who didn’t play for their city, or have that chip on their shoulder when they were counted out. Intangibles like toughness, attitude, and desire play a role in winning ballgames, without a doubt, and are reflected in this trio of localites that know how to rack up W’s. Their attitudes as leaders are infectious, and they permeate throughout the rest of the team. Just ask Compton, CA native Bobby Jones what it means to be a Husky. Or Corona, CA native Jamaal Williams. They know, because hometown guys like Brandon Roy, Will Conroy, Nate Robinson, and Mike Jensen helped them understand. And eventually, if it hasn’t happened already, this current team of Huskies will understand it as well.

I’m all for the purple-and-gold propoganda. I want to see us win every game ever. No sense hiding what you believe in. I would expect and respect the same outlook from a Washington State fan or an Oregon fan, or even an Oklahoma City Cloudfart fan (even though they don’t really know what it means to be a fan). One thing people tend to lack in today’s society is passion, and it’s something we should never have to sacrifice. Our jobs suck away our passion. Debt sucks away our passion. People suck away our passion. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Even with one victory, we can embrace the goodness in the sport, our team, and in life. We shouldn’t have to pretend we care less than we do, when inside we’re bouncing around like a kid on Christmas morning. If you feel it, then let it out. Be inspired. Live passionately. One win may not seem like much, but in this city, with the current economic climate, after a year in which losing became customary, one big win should be celebrated like the Fourth of July, Cinco de Mayo, and New Years all rolled into one. Enjoy it, Seattle. This is what we live for.