Eastern Washington football reaches out to make an Oso connection
Aug 29, 2014, 1:23 PM | Updated: 1:23 pm
(Photo courtesy Eastern Washington University)
(Photo courtesy Eastern Washington University)
Cheney is nearly 300 miles away from Oso, but that hasn’t stopped the Eastern Washington University football team from dedicating its season to the memories of the 43 people killed in the deadly mudslide.
When the high-powered Eagles took the field last Saturday against Sam Houston State, they had Oso on their minds and on their helmets. The team wore gold Oso stickers on their helmets for their home opener, and they will now put those stickers on their lockers as a constant reminder of the March 22 tragedy.
You might be wondering about the connection. Eastern is so far away from Oso.
Two Eagles players are from the Arlington area, and one them knew 13-year-old Jojo Mangual, who was killed in the mudslide. They convinced head coach Beau Baldwin to travel to Spokane in April when Mangual’s football team was playing in a tournament.
“Let’s get as many guys out there as we can to just cheer up these young kids that should never have to deal with losing a teammate like that,” Coach Baldwin said.
Twenty players and members of the coaching staff joined Coach Baldwin for that game, and that’s when they decided to do something special for Oso during the season.
It started with those special stickers last Saturday. “Not just for Jojo but for all of the families and the people that were effected by it,” Baldwin said. “Hopefully it meant a lot, and it did mean a lot to our guys too.”
Baldwin said he hopes it sends a to message to everyone, to understand what’s really important in life.
“There are bigger, bigger, bigger things out there, and for us to give a little attention and recognition and dedication to something that is far bigger than any football game, and that’s the families,” he said.
The Eagles will not be wearing the special helmet stickers again this season. There are NCAA rules and regulations that prevent that kind of thing.
But Baldwin said that won’t keep his program from dedicating their season to the memories of those who lost their lives and the families trying to recover.
