“If Jake Dickert has 1,000,000 fans, then I am one of them. If Jake Dickert has 10 fans, I am one of them. If Jake Dickert has one fan, then that is me. If Jake Dickert has zero fans, then I am no longer on this earth. If the world is against Jake Dickert, I am against the world.”

So reads an oft-circulated meme in Coug fan social media circles. In just a few short years, Washington State head coach Jake Dickert has become a fan favorite. Winning an Apple Cup less than a season into your time in charge will do that, as will saying the right things at every turn.

Dickert has a pristine public image. He excels at safe, uncontroversial coach-speak. The biggest criticism one could have would probably be that he can be a tad generic with the press, particularly when compared to WSU’s most recent long-term coach Mike Leach.

That made Dickert’s comments during the postgame press conference on Saturday so surprising and vindicating for Coug fans everywhere who felt he said what we were all thinking.

“There’s a lot of noise out there. I caught something this morning, I was watching GameDay. Corso comes on and he says [WSU vs OSU is] the ‘No one watches bowl. I don’t really understand it, what’s the merit once again? The facts say people watch the Cougs…. the people watch the Cougs more than any team that’s left over in the Big 12.”

While Dickert misheard the quote (Corso actually said “No one wants us”), the sentiment remains. The Cougs have been routinely disrespected by a national media that, despite wanting nothing to do with us, loves to point and gawk at our troubles.

Dickert continued his fulmination:

“It’s well documented what ESPN has done to try to get our league to where it’s at, and I would love to have a conversation with coach Corso about the value that he sees in breaking up the premier West Coast conference. I would also like to have a conversation with coach Corso about how he thinks student-athletes, and mental health, and flying them all over the country is a positive thing. I’m open to those conversations. I am fact-based on everything that we do.”

Dickert revealed in his midweek press conference that he had a phone conversation with Corso on Sunday during which he apologized while also explaining more specifically his gripes with the way the media has handled our situation.

When Dickert spoke, he spoke for the Cougs. We are tired of this, and we deserve better. Coach said it best at the end of his comments.

“I just know this. We belong. We belong.”