Wall to wall local media coverage: As has been explained ad nauseum we struggle for exposure with Gonzaga hoops, WSU, UW, two time Memorial Cup Champion Spokane Chiefs, two time AFL2 Champion Spokane shock, and Idaho. We had great coverage throughout the playoff run, but championship week we had the front page of the Sports Section every day, articles every day, and a full two page cover spread photo in the sports section on 1/7 as well as the lead headline "National Treasure" and photo in section A-1.
Local TV sent crews to Frisco that had nightly coverage including a half hour special on SWX Thursday night.
The regions top rated local sports radio telecast ESPN AM 700's "The Dennis Patchin Show" did remote broadcasts Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Championship week and have talked about very little else.
Washington State Governor Chrisine Gregoire declared Jan 6th offical "EWU Football Day" by decree.
Since the championship, the coverage has continued with many follow up stories in the Spokesman, continued press coverage throughout the media market, and has led to this:
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Now I'm sure that for certain big time programs, especially the ones from smaller media markets where your team is the only game in town, this is par for the course. But for those under achieving smaller programs with a weak fanbase and smaller athletics budget that are always struggling to compete for the limelight, this type of pub is priceless.
So to all the little guys, hope you get your chance because the whole damn thing has been terrific and sets us up for future success.
To all the big boys who have the built in advantages and are used to winning and basking in the glow, do smaller programs winning the title hurt FCS football?
