My favorite season is upon us, once again.

You may be thinking, what season is that?

(Almost) fall? Football season?

Well, it’s a combination of both.

It is the time of year I like to call “crewneck wearing, football watchin’” season and it comes this time every year.

Saturday marks the first day of the 2018 season for my favorite team — the University of Washington Huskies.

I long to wear my purple and gold again!

Though I know I don’t have to wait for Saturday to do that but I do need to wait for the weather to cool down a bit because my favorite Husky gear are long sleeve crewnecks.

That brings me to the other reason why I love this time of year so much — the cooler weather.

Honestly, looking back on summer this year… I did OK. Usually warm (HOT) days really bother me but for some reason, I like to think I managed much better this year.

Perhaps it was the fact I wore dresses more? I guess we’ll never know.

This year, I have the pleasure of kicking off the first official day of fall at Husky Stadium as I watch the Dawgs take on the Arizona Sundevils.

Now, don’t get me started on the Sundevils.

Last year, my husband and I decided now that we have seen the Huskies play every Pac-12 opponent in Washington we would travel with the team once a year to watch them on the road.

Our first away game was Oct. 2017 in Arizona, we were excited for the opportunity to wear shorts and short sleeved shirts at a Husky game (something you rarely get to do here at home).

Home attire usually consists of long pants (maybe even two pairs of pants), rain boots, a number of long sleeved shirts, sweatshirts plus rain jackets, ponchos to keep dry, hats, gloves, scarves… you get the idea.

Despite a 7:30 p.m. kickoff time, it was still 97 degrees in Tempe. Let’s just say, it was quite unbearable for these Washingtonians (especially me).

The weather was not the only thing unbearable about that day… the game itself was miserable to watch.

I have been to my fair share of Husky games from blowouts to come from behind wins to my favorite game I’ve ever been to — watching the Dawgs crush Stanford 44-6 in 2016 — but nothing comes to the devastation my husband and I felt watching the Sundevils run all over the Huskies.

The final score was only 13-7 but the game felt much more lopsided than that.

There felt like there were so many wrong decisions made and nothing seemed to be executed to the level the Huskies were capable of.

No matter how we felt, with our heads hanging low, as we walked out of the stadium… it didn’t stop us from continuing our new tradition. That was game one out of 11 road games we will attend as true die hard (non-UW alumni) fans.

This year, we will take a gamble on watching the Dawgs face a California team.

The hope is we can once again wear shorts and short sleeves in the fall and (fingers crossed) we are hoping for a much more enjoyable game.

I have been counting down this day for weeks now (just ask my co-worker Kayse) and I am so excited to finally be able to curl up on the couch each Saturday and watch the Dawgs.

Here’s to fall and football… enjoy!