Larry Harris hasn’t missed a WSU home football game in 38 years. No one would have blamed the 74-year-old fan for missing the last home game against USC, since he’d had surgery just 10 days earlier to transfer a piece of his hip bone into his left arm. But for Larry, pain comes secondary to cheering on the team. When his doctor told him he would need reconstructive surgery after his arm was nearly severed by a chainsaw in May, Larry made it clear there would be no medical compromises during football season. “I told him he’d better have me ready,” Larry said. He and his wife, Vi, drive from Deer Park in their 1976 motor home. Larry used to drive a full vehicle of friends to the games – now many of them are among the WSU fans who make the pilgrimage in RVs for every home game.

The Cougars fans come to Pullman from every direction, from hundreds of miles away, donning crimson and gray en route to the great Cougar family reunion. Convening in the parking lots near Martin Stadium, they set up an elaborate, temporary village of WSU spirit that promptly disappears when the clock runs out on another football weekend. “I’ve gotten to meet so many good people at the ball games,” Larry said.

Friday, Sept. 29 Jerry and Carol Cutler, of Montesano, met Larry when he used to walk around the lot with his dog to make sure everyone was doing all right. They said his natural sociability brought their group of about 10 families together. But the Cutlers’ superb hospitality doesn’t hurt, either. A circle of lawn chairs near their vehicle slowly expands as more friends arrive throughout Friday afternoon. Jim Mohoric, of Chehalis, jokes that there was no alcohol on the premises, but various bottles and two nearby kegs call his bluff. The Cutlers make 60 to 70 gallons of home-brewed beer for the season. Carol also contributes to the smorgasbord of hearty food the group puts out for each meal. For the USC game, she made more than three gallons of black bean chicken chili.

“Any of you kids are always welcome to stop by for food,” she said. “You can get brownies and people who genuinely care about you.” The Cutlers have met a number of students over the years. One former student sent them a wedding invitation this fall, but they were unable to go to the ceremony. It was the same day as the Auburn game.

Kristin Covert, the Cutlers’ niece, was once a student experiencing the wild game-day scene on C Street. Now she and her husband, Adam, have started their own tradition of driving their RV to every game.

Neither of the Cutlers actually went to school at WSU. When they moved to Washington in the early 1970s, the die-hard football fans wanted to find a team to follow.

“We tried the Huskies, but that just didn’t work,” Carol said. Now they’ve been season-ticket holders at WSU for more than 20 years.

Just looking around the parking lot, there are trailers she said cost $10,000 and some that cost $750,000. The people who come to chat with the Cutlers include a farmer, a therapist and a lawyer, but that’s not what matters when they all get together.

“That’s the beauty, I think, of Cougars,” Carol said. “It’s how committed you are to the team and the school.” The activity begins to wind down in anticipation of the big day as the sky darkens, but no one wants to turn in for the night until an informal portion of the Cougar Marching Band comes through. People sitting around chatting peer into the dark, listening for the distant sound of drums or trumpets. And then it comes – tat, tat, tat – and a flurry of tubas, clarinets, crimson wigs and fur togas emerges into the illumination of the parking lot with a crescendo into one of the popular pep songs. Spectators clap along, and no one misses a beat when the band plays the WSU Fight Song as a finale. “There’s something here,” Jerry said. “It gets in your heart and it never goes away.” Saturday, Sept. 30: Pre-game Several hours before game time, the line at Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe is trailing out the door. The students already lined up outside Martin Stadium’s gates heckle anyone who walks by in the wrong colors. The Hollingbery Field House teems with crimson and gray as fans get a few drinks and a bite to eat before the game. Larry and his friends always cheer on the players when they come through the field house with the band for the Spirit Walk. At the last game, he briefly took a chair to give his hip a rest after the walk over to the building, but he refused to be caught sitting when the players came through. Some players march through like soldiers, eyes focused straight ahead; others give a smile or a wave. Mkristo Bruce gives Carol a hug.

Back at the camp, the air smells of barbecues and anticipation. One hour before the game, the Tequila Shooters gather in the Cutlers’ RV for their pre-game ritual. The group includes Larry, the Cutlers and the Coverts. Kristin’s father, Jim, who lives in California, is also present every time via cell phone. The group calls him up on speakerphone even for the games when he actually comes to Pullman. Once when he was in a meeting, Jim excused himself from the room when he got the call, and pulled out a tiny jar of tequila in the lobby.

With a greeting to Jim on the phone and a full WSU shot glass in hand, each member of the Tequila Shooters takes a deep breath. “Go Cougs!” they cheer together. Then it’s bottoms up and off to the game.

Saturday, Sept. 30: Post-game The sky is dark by the time the fans file out of Martin Stadium. The WSU flags hoisted above trailers hang limp in the evening calm. A plane flies over – two, three, four – at least a dozen jets taking the opposing team’s fans and players away from Pullman.

The fans in the parking lot below are in no such hurry to leave. Children run around on their second wind while adults bring out what remains of the feast from before the game. The rule of the RV lot is to celebrate after a win and to celebrate after coming in second. The game over and the score unchangeable, Jerry is most concerned about emptying the kegs before the drive home, and nearly everyone is happy to help him out. The melancholy brought on by the loss to USC slowly unwinds in loud discussions around the campfires. Gradually, the fires go out and everyone retreats to their own vehicles, knowing the morning will be for packing up and quick goodbyes – at least for now. After all, there’s another game coming soon that no one plans on missing.