Jaison Williams used to cut me in line. It was lunch and everybody cut, but he was a big dude and not very subtle about it. We went to the same Southern California high school in a town called Culver City.
Culver City High School was and still is a bastion of mediocrity. The classrooms and hallways were overcrowded with a mostly disinterested student body. It was so mediocre that – and I swear this is true – when we reached the state average of standardized test scores, our principal bought every student ice cream in those little, personal sundae cups with the wooden spoon things.
We weren’t much better on the field. Teams mostly sucked and the good ones tended to choke quickly in the playoffs. Football was one of the good ones that flamed out in the postseason. So when I see that the leading receiver in the Pac-10 graduated the same year I did, it’s weird.
Greatness doesn’t often emerge from environments defined by low standards and expectations. But Williams is an exception.
He and Washington State’s Michael Bumpus, another CCHS ’04 alumnus, are the only Pac-10 receivers with 50-plus catches.
I didn’t know either of them in high school, and I don’t know them now. Regardless, I’m not sure what to make of their success. It is great to see two people excel after spending four years of their lives in a lackluster place that rarely saw greatness and never knew what to do with it.
So Saturday’s game presents a dilemma. Washington takes on a star from my high school. A star who somehow finds himself rising above the stifling haze of that high school’s middling nature, but also plays for a hated rival.
With that said, I go to the University of Washington now. I’m a Husky, and I’d rather wear a shirt that says Washington than one that says Culver High. This is a school I can be proud of, and with that pride comes a few requirements. One of which is an eternal loathing for all things Oregon and all things Washington State.
Ducks and Cougars are equally awful, but my disdain for Oregon is stronger. You don’t have that inferiority complex that WSU students seem to swallow with all that Pullman dust. Just a strange, bright yellow and green brand of arrogance.
So don’t be too confident on Saturday. Washington may be playing handicapped, and it may have lost four straight, but this team has played big games against big teams on the road all season. Ask USC or Cal what they think of the Huskies.
And no, there may not be a Williams-caliber threat in UW’s starting lineup, but Washington has another receiver from another Los Angeles area high school. His name is Sonny Shackelford and he went to school in a classier place called Beverly Hills. He also has six touchdown catches this year – just as many as Williams.
As for who I’m rooting for, it’s a no-brainer. I hope Washington wins by 40. But if Oregon does end up moving the ball a yard or two then sure, let Williams make that catch. After all, he did used to cut me in line.
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Behind Enemy Lines
Daily Emerald
November 2, 2006
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