The case for the Day after Thanksgiving Apple Cup

There has been a lot of debate or angst about this Friday's upcoming Apple Cup starting at 12:30 in the afternoon over in Pullman. While, the time is not exactly perfect the day arguably is for several reasons.

First, most importantly, the Apple Cup on Friday will have its own slot nation wide on Fox Television so the chance to give Huskies and Cougars all over the country the access to the Apple Cup on Free over the air broadcast television is huge. The flip side is the Apple Cup could have been stuck on the Pac-12 Network which I know has been the object of angst with those who are stuck in contracts with Direct TV.

Second, the 12:30 time slot will give both schools a walking billboard to potential students let alone potential student athletes. The value of the three to three and a half-hour informercial is a great chance for both fans and students of both students to show how great both the University of Washington and with the game being in Pullman how great the experience can be at a football game win or lose.

Third, I see a ton of potential for this game if it were to stick on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The reality is the 12:30 Saturday kickoff for every single game is long gone thanks to television and the money involved. Thus, it makes it even more critical for both the Huskies and Cougars to get as many nationally televised games as possible to help Steve Sarkisian and Mike Leach in getting maximum exposure for their respective programs.

In addition, the star power that Sarkisian and Leach bring to the table could evolve into a great rivalry which was what games at the end of the season are all about. With expected improvement from the Cougars and the continued upsurge from the Huskies television networks like Fox and ESPN are going to have a field day with that game moving forward. Also, with the Pac-12 Conference Championship game being held the following Friday it is going to seem to make more sense for most conference schools to play the rival game on the Friday. This would put the Huskies, Cougars and everyone else in the best competitive position if they were to make that game.

Overall, while this year's kickoff is not ideal time wise this matchup, I see this as an opportunity for fans of both schools to create a new tradition on Friday and futures Fridays after Thanksgiving and help turn the Apple Cup into one of the more nationally recognized rivalries throughout all of college football.