Huskies get special send-off as they head to Houston for National Championship Game
SEATTLE - The Huskies are heading to Houston for the National Championship Game against Michigan, and plenty of UW fans are following the team to Texas.
On Friday, hundreds of people packed into the space around the Husky Stadium entrance, to properly send off the team as they made their way toward finishing a perfect season.
The Huskies are 14-0. They are taking on Michigan in the National Championship Game on Monday. It is a poetic final match-up for their season as the Huskies beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl in 1991, which was the last time UW was national champions.
While the football team piled into buses heading to the airport, some fans were already at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for their own journey south.
"I don’t have much of a voice still, from New Orleans… recovering from that one," said Charlie Stanton.
Stanton and his wife, Abby, are long-time UW fans. The two met at the University of Washington. Their first date was after a UW football game.
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University of Washington fans are gearing up to watch the undefeated Huskies take on the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA National Championship game in Houston next week.
The Stantons planned their trip to Houston, for the National Championship game more than a month ago.
However, not everyone prepared so far in advance for the game.
"The flight, they’re just really hard to get. So, I just said I’m going to bite the bullet and go because I love my Dawgs, and I’m going to pay the price to go see them," said Paul Sweeny
Sweeny says he bought his tickets a couple of weeks ago, and they cost about $1,500. A price well worth it, he said. Sweeny says he goes to all the games with his dad. His first game ever was back in 1991, during the Huskies’ National Championship season.
Alaska Airlines and Delta Air Lines both added extra flights from Seattle to Houston for fans looking to head to the National Championship. However, some people didn’t technically need to buy plane tickets to Texas for the game.
"We got these tickets way before UW even got in the semi-final," said Andy Dong, who is from Seattle but lives in Houston. He said he was home for the holidays, and his return flight to Texas lined up perfectly for the National Championship.
Another lucky turn of events for Dong is that he didn’t have to do much to get tickets for the big game.
"I am very blessed. I have a friend who wants to buy my ticket for me," he said.
For those not as lucky as Dong, tickets are available for the National Championship game on resale sites. They are going for around $800 and up. One-way flight tickets from Seattle to Houston are on-sale for about $600 and up.