I'm not sure how much of it has to do with the state of UW athletics and how much is just a reflection of the change in the American political culture over the past few decades.
Political ideology has now passed occupation as the primary identifier most Americans use to describe themselves. If you asked someone in 1990 to describe themselves to a complete stranger in 30 seconds, they almost always used their occupation/career as their primary descriptor. Now, unsurprisingly, a majority of Americans use their political ideology/affiliation as their primary descriptor.
As such, politics and political discussions tend to find their way into every aspect of life now.