I already knew this but for diehard fans like me it’s easy to forget: It’s best just to enjoy the ride. I’ve become good at not drinking the pre-season Kool-Aid, but this time I let the team’s great success suck me in. Instead of just enjoying the wins and marveling at how well the team played — OSU, WSU, ASU, Cal, UCLA, Washington, Arizona, Colorado — I got stars in my eyes about the CFP and the Rose Bowl. This season has been the most fun I’ve had as a Ute football fan, ever. Yes, the Oregon game was a huge disappointment, and that was partly my fault for expecting so much. Still, we now have a terrific tradition, a future with real possibilities (which we need to be realistic about) and a program we can be justly proud of. That’s pretty good. Lots of other teams’ fans would love to have what we have.
It’s also a pleasure to have a fan website that engages in humor, mutual respect and realistic expectations for the entire program.
Let’s make each other stronger and smarter. Let’s create a Ute culture that serves the community.
We are bigger than one loss and we have so much to accomplish together.
Agreed. I was over it the moment the game was over. I celebrate the game, the kids willing to put it all out there for my alma mater, and the whole spectacle of college football. The tribalism is amusing, and the obsessiveness of some fans can get a little disturbing, but most of the people I know take these things in stride. I think for anyone who stays up at night worrying about how their college teams are doing, some effort to gain better perspective could be helpful. These are just games played by 20 year olds, after all.
I’ll never be over Macho Grande.
Love you guys, but I cannot endorse wresting.
Unless it looks like this…
It has been a very fun year despite the loss to Oregon. The program is in good hands and next season already seems like a bit of a reload. Lots of contributors coming back and by many reports Rising is the real deal at QB. Add in the stadium expansion and things can only get better. Go Utes!
Amen! I have a friend who retired from the Athletic Department a couple of years back and one Sunday morning after a tough loss I was talking to her about how irritated I was with how some people treated the players, especially the personal insults being thrown at the QB. Almost simultaneously we said, “It’s just kids playing a game.” It should be fun; your entertainment dollar at work.
The reality now is we have a top tier football program. We’re performing in the top 10 to 15% of all D1 schools on the field, and best of all the academic performance within the program is first rate. That stuff doesn’t just crash and burn. It’s good to be a Ute fan these days.
I gotcha.