Needless to say, it has been a rather disappointing year for Husky football. It seems the fate of our season has been doomed since the Pac-10 refs stiffed us, once again, with perhaps the worst call in all of college football this year — the B.S. flag on Jake Locker’s end zone “NOT-over-celebration” that gave BYU the win in week two.

Since then, our winless streak has set records in the Husky history books that we would like to forget. The seemingly weekly injuries have made our relationships with our starting running backs feel like something out of a speed-dating horror story. Ultimately, when “Heartbreak” Jake when down, so did the stars in our eyes. Now we find ourselves actually wondering where Carl Bonnell is about now. Finally, we were forced to let go of Tyrone Willingham. He is a terrific man with an Obama-like talent in the art of inspiring people, but unfortunately he didn’t turn out to be the miracle-worker that we needed.

To put it bluntly, there really hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer about this year.

Yet, we fans do. Of course, at this point it has been reduced to hollering and high-fiving for first downs instead of touchdowns, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Although our expectations have dwindled more than the attendance of an early morning Chem 142 lecture, our support has wavered surprisingly little. I can’t think of any other team that would still fill the E-1 parking lot with tailgaters and have fans eagerly trying to sneak their way into a packed student section when staring at a 0-10 record like we were Saturday night.

Heck, New England Patriots fans started to flood the exits just two quarters after reigning NFL MVP, Tom Brady, sustained a season-ending injury in week one; and that was the first game after completing the NFL’s only undefeated regular season since the ’72 Dolphins. Can you spell “fair-weather fans”?

I don’t think anyone can dispute that we have been loyal Dawgs.

This fact proved especially true when my friends and I woke-up at an ungodly hour just to stand in a three-hour long line for Apple Cup tickets. Hundreds of us skipped class, stood out in the frigid early morning air and gave up precious sleep and money just to see our now 0-10 team take on our nemesis in hopes of at least a consolatory win.

So to the football team, I offer this:

It’s no big secret that most of you have mentally and emotionally “checked out” of this season. But before you hang up your pads and sulk off to lick your wounds in the offseason, there is something that we need you to do: win the Apple Cup in Pullman this weekend.

There are many things weighing on the outcome of this game: the actual Apple Cup trophy, rights to the title of “not worst in the Pac-10” and, most important of all, the lingering shred of pride. Everyone this side of Wenatchee who can recite the ABCs without using a life-line knows how much better we are than our estranged eastern cousins. So let’s prove it to them.

If you don’t do it for yourself, then do it for us. Win so that our alumni can put an end to the year-long heckling they’ve had to endure from the Cougs that work under them. Win so that the 50-year season ticket holders that show up every game decide to come back for a 51st year. Win so that Cougs everywhere finally learn that WSU actually stands for “Wasn’t Smart enough for UW.” Win so that the thousands of us making the trek across the state with you have a reason to cheer and boast with Husky Pride when we descend like a purple rain on Pullman. Win for Huskies everywhere.

This is all that we ask out of this season. A victory Saturday will not earn you a top 25 ranking, but it will earn you a certain amount of redemption in our eyes and give us all something to be thankful for when the turkey is carved next week.

Good luck, Huskies. We’re all counting on you. Go Dawgs.

Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.