It happened too suddenly for many of us to realize what had just happened.

Jake Locker tossed the football up in excitement, pleased that the Huskies were now one measly point-after-touchdown away from tying BYU to go to overtime.

But the referees objected to the amount of vertical height that Locker put on the ball and called a penalty for excessive celebration.

Ironic, perhaps, because that would be the most celebration anyone would have for the rest of the football season, one that ended up being the worst in UW history.

Maybe the 2008-09 athletic year will be remembered most for the Huskies’ inept play on the gridiron, but peeling away the rotten layers of football skin reveals one of the most exciting and memorable years for UW sports in recent school history.

There were good and bad memories.

There were memories that made the hair on my arms stand upright like soldiers facing their commanding officer.

There were memories that made me ask, “How could this have happened?”

I still see Tyrone Willingham’s cold, dead face staring at a throng of reporters after the Apple Cup loss in Pullman, Wash., never changing his frown-faced demeanor.

But there’s Steve Sarkisian’s beaming, smiling face — a polar opposite in every way from Willingham — here to turn the UW football program around.

There’s Jon Brockman clutching his knees as Quincy Pondexter comforted him after the men’s basketball team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

But I still see Brockman, who fought for every loose ball and every rebound, cutting down a piece of nylon with a pair of scissors, signifying his team’s outright Pac-10 supremacy.

I also still see the women’s cross-country team lined up in a row, clutching their shiny NCAA title trophy.

But what about the UW swim teams? Did those athletes, who compete just as hard as the others, deserve such a terrible fate?

Finally, the most recent memory, which is hard to forget so soon after it happened: Danielle Lawrie and the rest of her teammates clutching their own trophy after playing three grueling weeks on the road, completing the year with a larger-than-life victory over Florida in the Women’s College World Series.

What a year, filled with ups and downs.

We stuck through the tough times and were always treated with something special.

It wasn’t a perfect year, but the Huskies impressed.

They gave us one of the most memorable years in recent history, providing hope and success to Seattle, a city with great fans who endured the worst year ever in 2008.

That in itself deserves praise.

So consider yourself lucky for witnessing a truly exciting year for UW athletics, a rare feat that we can only hope repeats itself next year.

Reach columnist Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.