SEATTLE — More than 2 million people are expected to watch the Nov. 25 Apple Cup football game between the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars at Husky Stadium.
But two Catholic parishes on opposite sides of the state will also be watching a related rivalry — a bet on the game’s outcome between Father William “Bill” Heric, pastor of St. Bridget Parish in Seattle, and his youngest brother, Father Paul Heric, pastor of the St. Thomas More Catholic Student Center at WSU.
“It’s a fun brother thing,” Father Paul said. “We’re trying to bring some levity to it.”
You see, St. Bridget is near the UW campus, while Father Paul is chaplain of the Cougar football team. He attends team meetings, conducts Bible study with the athletes, travels with the team, provides chapel services before every game and is on the sidelines with the coaches and staff during the game.
The brothers will meet on the Husky Stadium field before the game to make their bet official. What’s at stake? The brother whose team loses will have to don the opposing jersey and stroll around their own team’s campus for an hour.
“It’s not really fair,” admits Father Bill, who came up with the idea but acknowledges the daily role his brother plays in Cougar country. “People really know him on campus in Wazzu,” he said.
The brothers don’t have a long-standing rivalry over football teams. They grew up in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood — Bill the oldest of seven children, with Paul 10 years younger. They later moved a bit north, but the family always lived in the greater Seattle area. Neither brother attended WSU or the U-Dub.
It was not until 2019, when Father Paul was assigned to the Newman Center in Pullman, that the light-hearted Dawgs vs. Cougs ribbing began. Father Bill had been appointed to St. Bridget the previous year.
“To be honest, the ASB Bulldogs are my favorite team in all of sports,” said Father Bill, referring to the Catholic Youth Organization teams at Assumption-St. Bridget School.
Changing football landscape
The 2023 Apple Cup comes after the University of Washington’s decision to leave the Pac-12 college football conference, which is also home to WSU. It is joining the Big 10, and despite the UW and WSU agreeing to play in the Apple Cup through 2028, this year’s game is likely to be the last Apple Cup with familiar stakes.
Money, especially from television revenue, is the motivation for the change. Father Paul laments the increasing role money plays in school sports.
“The real story is how sports has moved away from good-hearted, fun school rivalry,” he said. “For a lot of these guys, football is their way out — not to get into the NFL, but just to get into college.”
It is somewhat rare, Father Paul said, for a Catholic priest to serve as a college sports program’s chaplain. So, what advice does he give to the players?
“The football coach [recently] gave a rousing speech about honor. And that was all good and fine,” Father Paul said.
“What I said after was: ‘You are the beloved son of the Father. Your identity might be a football player. That is what you do and what you take pride in. But you are always primarily a beloved son or daughter of that Father.’”
Spirit of unity, brotherhood
So, which Father Heric is likely to be donning the opposing team’s jersey after the Apple Cup?
“Bill’s more adamant about it than I am,” Father Paul said. “I don’t have as high needs to win.”
That’s probably a good attitude to adopt. The Huskies have won more than two-thirds of the games since the rivalry began in 1900, and they have won eight times in the past 10 years.
The brothers’ bet combines “sportsmanship and spirituality, showcasing the camaraderie that transcends team loyalties,” said a news release from St. Bridget Parish. “As they face off on the field, they do so with the spirit of friendly competition, reinforcing the notion that even in the heat of rivalry, unity and brotherhood prevail.”
2023 Apple Cup
Nov. 25, 1 p.m.
Watch on FOX
Follow Father Paul Heric on Instagram: @frpaulheric