Seattle’s most profitable sports activities franchise will not be the Seahawks, the Sounders, the Storm, the Mariners, the long-gone Supersonics or the Husky footballers, it’s the University of Washington men’s varsity rowing team.
For greater than a century, UW crews have been main contenders in collegiate rowing, capturing 21 nationwide championships. The latest of these victories got here final Sunday when the UW boat bested Harvard on the Cooper River in New Jersey.
As Daniel James Brown instructed us in “The Boys Within the Boat,” his distinctive guide concerning the UW crew that gained gold within the 1936 Olympics, crew races had been town’s premier sporting occasions again within the Twenties and ’30s. 1000’s of Seattleites would line the shore of Lake Washington to look at UW rowers tackle the highest groups from California and the Ivy League.
Between 1923 and 1950, the UW crew gained 9 nationwide titles. Within the subsequent 50-plus years, this system remained robust, however the Huskies had been capable of convey residence simply two extra nationwide first-place trophies. Within the twenty first century, nevertheless, the Huskies have achieved success that now has exceeded the document of these early a long time. Between 2007 and 2025, the UW rowers have stroked their technique to 10 nationwide championships.
Rowing will not be a sport that turns athletes into millionaires. It’s now not an leisure that draws a legion of followers. However it might be the final word staff sport. There is no such thing as a quarterback or pitcher or different place participant who stands out from all the remainder, there are simply 9 younger athletes working in good unison with grueling effort to attain victory.
Seattle needs to be proud to nonetheless have our boys within the boat slicing a path to glory by means of the Montlake Reduce and on waters past.
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