I was wondering what the etymology of “Zoob” is. I do not recall using that term when I was at the U, but remember, when I was there BYU kicked our butts every single year. That may have been back during the late Cretaceous.
Zoob is “booz” backwards. They can’t enjoy booze, so we call them zoobs.
I might have just made that up on the spot. 
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They can’t see beyond their own little world, just like an animal in a zoo. Hence, zoobs. At least that’s always been my interpretation.
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If you did, excellent. 
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Seems plausible.
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The explanation that I seem to recall was that the only institution south of the University Utah campus was the Zoo. Ergo, BYU is a zoo, then the whole Zoo explanation above.
To add, since I also seem to recall that BYU’s saying is “The world (or supposedly universe) is our campus.” I modified that to their Campus is their World/Universe.
Have to add this, because it’s funny.
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IIRC, the old utefans site had a glossary of definitions on the site, including the meaning of “zoob.” It was hilarious, and Turk’s posting here included part of that definition. Don’t know if Rocker can recover the whole of it or not.
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I don’t want to sound too authoritative here, but I recall hearing Utah Football fans calling BYU football fans Do Bees in the late 60’s early 70’s at games in the old stadium. That term came from an old local kids television show, Romper Room from the late 50’s early 60’s - YouTube video of the song, below. If you listen to the lyrics, you’ll probably see why the term was used for BYU fans.
At some point, later, no recollection of when, the name morphed to zoobies, as a result of mixing the DoBee name with BYZoo, or just The Zoo, which, as others have mentioned, were derisive terms for BYU.
Zoobs was an obvious shortening of zoobies.
(That’s my story, and I’m sticking with it 
)
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That’s exactly how I remember it too. It helps to be almost as old as dirt.
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LOL, yeah, I didn’t want to have to actually own up to remembering hearing that tune on the TV in the late 50’s when I was about 3
To be clear, I said almost as old as dirt.
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Ive known Miss JUle (Edna Anderson Taylor) for decades, and remember watching her as a kiddo
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I always hoped that she would see me in that mirror.
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I recall as a small child, perhaps 4, going on one of the daytime kid’s television shows in Salt Lake, I actually think it was one of the others, anyway, I vividly remember that the hostess would always speak into the camera, and talk seemingly personally to “all you kids out there in TV land”.
When I was on the set, on the show live, I missed everything that was going on in the studio as I was staring out toward the cameras and the lights, trying desperately to see my friends, “out there in TV land”. Who knew that TV was not a two-way medium?
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Do you recall Lighthouse 20? I was on it, once. Got in trouble for flipping off TV land.
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Ah, the memories of locally produced kids’ programming. Over the years we had Fireman Frank (probably my favorite), Captain Casey/Admiral Bernie (he got promoted to admiral when he jumped from Ch 4 to Ch 5), Captain Scotty the astronaut, and the Hotel Balderdash crew. Those were the days. Who did I leave out? It feels like I missed someone(s).
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My parents were friends with Jackie Nokes, Romper Room’s original Miss Nancy (before Miss Julie). When I was 3 or 4, she looked into her mirror and said she saw me (as she did with thousands of other kids).
It scared the crap out of me. Not sure I watched Romper Room again.
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I’m old as dirt, and fortunately I missed that horrific song.
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In the mid sixties, when I was 9 or 10, we used to walk downtown all the time (we lived in the middle Avenues) for matinee movies on Saturday, music lessons, etc. We would save enough pocket change for an order of the best fries in the world, at Snappy Service, on State Street, just south of Social Hall Avenue, which was where the TV stations were then located.
We occasionally saw Fireman Frank having lunch there. One day, a friend of mine who had heard a rumor that FF was the voice of Nightmare Theater, screwed up the courage to ask him to “do the NIghtmare thing”. He laughed, cupped his hands over his mouth, and in a loud, deep scary voice repeated the then famous,
" (sinister laugh,) welcome to NIIIIIIGGGHHHHHHTTTMAAAAARREEEEEE TTTHHHHHEEEEAAAATTTRRREEEEEEE"
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When I was a senior in HS he came to Box Elder for an assembly where he read poetry, including some hilarious audience participation. It was one of the best assemblies we ever had. He was a cool dude.
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