Cars, Cougs & a Walk-Off Win

Seattle served up one of those late July Saturdays that makes you forget it rains nine months a year. More than 45 Beta brothers, family, and friends rolled into The Shop for six-plus hours of cold beer, hot burgers, classic cars, cigars, and highly questionable automotive opinions.

From there, we took full advantage of the free parking and shuttle service and headed to T-Mobile Park for Coug Night. The Mariners and San Francisco Giants kept things interesting until the bottom of the tenth, when the M's launched the crowd out of its seats and delivered the kind of finish you simply cannot script. Sitting shoulder to shoulder with old friends in the bleachers, it became clear that some things never change, and thank God for that.

Before long, the old stories surfaced, the laughter got louder, and several generations of Cougs joined the banter, including a few Active Members getting a firsthand education in Beta lore. Time moved fast, the Mariners took the win, and our first Seattle Doubleheader officially landed in the books.

If GTAA Were a Car…

The question of the day was simple: “If you were a car, what kind of car would you be?”

When we asked Gamma Theta Alumni Association President Jim Pappas, he had his answer ready: a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang. Strong, beautiful, fast, and still carrying a respectable list of projects under the hood.

Honestly, that feels about right for GTAA.

Year One GTAA - 1969 Mach 1 Iconic Muscle Car

The Weekend Started on the Water

For the brothers who arrived early, the pre-funk began Friday night with a GTAA cruise through Lake Washington and Lake Union. Betas, wives, and Beta legacies traded stories, admired the waterfront homes of Seattle’s “dinosaur rich,” and made a few new friends along the way.

Several bottles of wine gave their lives for the cause, while the weekend’s most fashionable new cocktail made its debut: the Hillbilly Martini, a Rainier Beer with an olive. Refined? Debatable. Pacific Northwest elegance? Absolutely.

Captain Jason also offered a little dockside wisdom:

“If everyone knew how to boat, the world would be a better place. You’d be comfortable with things breaking, always have a long list of projects, and understand that everything costs more than expected.”

In other words: lower your expectations, adapt, overcome, and keep the cooler stocked.

Bigger, Louder and Better Next Year

We learned plenty from our first Doubleheader, especially that delegation is not merely a good idea; it is a requirement. We hoped to attract somewhere between 100 and 120 people, but summer had other plans. Kids were at camp, romance was apparently in the air, calendars collided you get the drift.

Next year, we’ll be looking for more volunteers, a louder megaphone, and a little help spreading the word. If you attended, we would love your honest and direct feedback: What worked? What should change? And what would bring more brothers through the door?

As Stuart Vreeburg put it:

“It was great to see everybody new faces and old. Thank you for coming out and making it such a fun event.”

So mark your calendar for next summer. When the Mariners host Coug Night, come join us at The Shop beforehand. We’ll reserve the private room, fire up the brotherly banter, admire some beautiful machinery, and perhaps even raise a paddle or two for the Beta cause.

So much to give. So little time.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

—GTAA