Hello, Dawg fans. I’m writing this from a hotel not far from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl, of course, is where the Oregon Ducks play Ohio State on New Year’s Day.

Some 35,000 Oregon fans are descending on Southern California this week, populating flights, hotels, restaurants, and other tourist spots. The hotel where I am staying is smack dab in the middle of Los Angeles’ Chinese community, and it seems the vast majority of non-Asian people I’ve seen so far around here are Duck fans.

Wish you were here, Dawg fans!

Not really. Because if you were here, I wouldn’t be. I am a Duck fan who lives in Bellevue. Yes, I have been to only one other Rose Bowl, that one in 1995. But my team is here this year and yours isn’t. And by the way, there are thousands of Oregon alums in the Seattle area, and hundreds of them are here (including several on my plane out of Sea-Tac).

But I have lived in the Seattle area long enough to know that Husky fans are not rooting for the Pac-10 team in the Rose Bowl this year. No way. Most Huskies would cheer for Osama bin Laden before they'd cheer for the Ducks. The Oregon-Washington rivalry, more than ever, is bitter and full of disrespect and hate.

Why is that?

Theories abound. Historically, the two venerable schools and their fans have had conflicts that go back decades to nearly World War II. But the bad blood felt today is deeper and more hostile than ever before.

As a former sportswriter who covered the Huskies off-and-on in the 1980s and ‘90s for Seattle-area newspapers, I listen extensively to KJR-AM, the Seattle station that broadcasts the Huskies. Two broadcasters who handle both the Husky pre-game and post-game shows, Hugh Millen and Dave “Softy” Mahler, are adamant in their disdain for the Ducks. They’ve said repeatedly that they would root for other Pac-10 teams in bowl games, but never the Ducks. Even against al Qaeda.

Unfortunately, they are representative of many Husky fans today.

Mahler is entertaining in his Duck hatred, but is a blowhard whose on-air antics I can handle.

But Millen is a more thoughtful and less emotional student of the game; a former Husky and NFL quarterback who loves football more than anything. He’s also a pretty nice guy. I know, because I covered Hugh in his Husky playing days, and found him to be among the most likable players on the team.

I wanted to chat with him about what must be some negative experiences in dealing with Oregon players, coaches or fans, but we didn’t hook up. He agreed in an email to chat about this topic, told me I may not like his answers, but asked me to call him this week. I did call him, but did not hear back.

Hugh, by the way, had other problems this week. He is also a Seahawks analyst for KJR and KCPQ-TV, and was confronted at KJR Tuesday by T.J. Houshmandzadeh and two other Seahawks wide receivers, apparently about what they consider his ongoing negative commentary about their performance. So be it. The Seahawks stink this year, and whatever Hugh said is likely more than accurate. It’s just too bad he didn’t have as much time or interest in talking to me about why he hates the Ducks.

But here is what I wanted to ask him:

Did he ever get spit on by Oregon fans?

Did Oregon players aim for his knees or otherwise play dirty against him?

Does he know dirty little secrets about the way Duck coaches recruit?

Does he get booed when he stops at a gas station in Portland?

What is it, Hugh?

What is it, Husky fans?

My theory: Husky fans got so used to winning against their neighboring rivals that it has become harder and harder to acknowledge Oregon becoming the more dominant program. In other words, if the Ducks hadn’t won the last six times in a row, and 11 out of the last 15 times the two teams have played, the rivalry wouldn’t be so bitter.

But bitter it is. In fact, here are 10 things Husky fans would rather see happen than Oregon beating Ohio State in the Rose Bowl:

1. Tim Eyman replacing Jean Enerson at KING-TV news.
2. The Oklahoma City Thunder winning an NBA championship.
3. All KJR-AM radio broadcasts done in sign language only.
4. Seattle’s new tunnel to replace the viaduct being named after Ted Bundy (oh, wait: Bundy is a former Husky).
5. Outgoing Mayor Greg Nickels becoming the new general manager of the Seahawks.
6. Sarah Palin moving to Olympia to become the new governor of Washington.
7. Google buying Microsoft.
8. Frank Colacurcio Sr. (or Jr.) becoming the next Washington state superintendent of schools.
9. The Mariners moving to Japan.
10. Tyrone Willingham becoming the next voice of the Huskies.

Regarding No. 10, maybe, maybe not.

Go Ducks!