After UW's marching band bus crashed their rivals responded with a moving tribute.
The rivalry between the UW Huskies and the WSU Cougars runs deep—but not as deep as human kindness.
When people think of Washington state, they usually think of Seattle, with its hipster vibe and liberal political leanings. What many don't realize is that a mountain range separates the largely urban, rainy, politically blue sprawl of Western Washington from the largely rural, mostly politically red rain shadow of Eastern Washington, and the two areas are quite distinct.
Having grown up in Eastern Washington, I can attest to the physical and philosophical East/West divide marked by the Cascade Mountains. And that divide is highlighted every year during the Apple Cup, the football matchup between the University of Washington Huskies (West) and the Washington State University Cougars (East).
The Apple Cup has been played 110 times in Washington's history, with the location alternating between UW's big city Seattle and WSU's small town of Pullman each year. When it's held in Pullman, as it was this year, weather can be a big question mark. This year, it snowed cats and dogs (ba dum pum) throughout the entire game.
I know OU vs. WVU game is on, but we’ve got a SNOW GAME going on in the Apple Cup right now. https://t.co/qFY8axTJVI— PewterReport (@PewterReport) 1543028886.0
But inclement weather played a big role before the game even started.
A bus carrying members of the University of Washington marching band hit ice and crashed on Thanksgiving Day.
The Apple Cup is always played Thanksgiving weekend, which often means making the 5-hour drive across the state on the holiday itself. This year, freezing rain and icy road conditions east of the Cascades spelled trouble for a bus carrying UW marching band members on Thanksgiving Day.
That afternoon, one bus in a 6-bus caravan carrying the team's marching band overturned near George, Washington. (Yes, that's really the town's name.) Thankfully, no one was killed or seriously injured, but a couple dozen students needed to be treated for cuts, concussions, and pain. The rest of the travelers—more than 300 people—would have been stranded if it weren't for the kindness and hospitality of the locals.
UW Band charter bus involved in rollover crash on I-90 near George https://t.co/eB0vNyLNUm— KHQ Local News (@KHQ Local News) 1542941931.0
The tiny town of George, Washington gave up their Thanksgiving night to provide shelter and food.
Shortly after the bus crash was reported, stories started pouring in of the kindness of the people of George. The town of approximately 500 people and others from surrounding small towns showed up in a big way, opening up the elementary school for the marching band and faculty to triage the injured and regroup after the accident.
Had the opportunity to assist the UW Marching Band tonight in our hometown of George. They could not have been more… https://t.co/yB21Y5Q3Ao— C A R I H O R N I N G (@C A R I H O R N I N G) 1542956273.0
In a remote area with few ambulances and all-volunteer fire departments, community members are used to doing what it takes to help in an emergency. Families brought food, blankets, and mattresses to the school. For the entire evening, the UW marching band was treated to warmth, hospitality, and kindness from those who were probably rooting for their team to get trounced by the Cougars the next day.
Colors are just that: colors.This afternoon, one of the 6 buses transporting the UW Husky marching band caught a patch...
Posted by Chiara Paul on Thursday, November 22, 2018
In addition, the WSU marching band learned the UW fight song and played it to kick off the Apple Cup.
To add even more warm fuzzies to this story, as soon as the WSU marching band found out that none of the UW band would be making it to the game, they took it upon themselves to learn their rival school's fight song—in less than 24 hours. Then they played it at the game.
So, my alma mater the Huskies (UW) and the Cougars (WSU) are rivals. The UW marching band’s bus got into a serious… https://t.co/lYp43twcK2— Sarah Emerson (@Sarah Emerson) 1543030290.0
WSU also marked off a section of the stands at Martin Stadium in Pullman, and left it empty in honor of the UW band members who couldn't attend.
The Cougs may have lost the Apple Cup this year, but they won the hearts of people everywhere.
I live in Cougar country and have witnessed the passion and fervor with which WSU fans cheer on their team, especially when it comes to the Apple Cup. It's impressive, if not a little scary sometimes.
But when tragedy strikes, rivalries quickly take a back seat to humanity. The good people of George stepping up on Thanksgiving and the WSU band playing the UW fight song turned a frightening incident into a beautiful story of people supporting one another. These teams who fight like cats and dogs (or Cougars and Huskies, to be precise) know that when it comes down to it, we're all part of the same family.
More of this, please.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."