There was a time, not so long ago, when it seemed as though Utah quarterbacks had to whisper in the huddle to prevent opposing defenses from hearing their plays.
There was a time when tumbleweeds blew through the stands and a line in the women’s restroom was the closest thing the Utes had to a post-game traffic jam.
Well, those days are long gone.
Anyone keeping an eye on the preparations for this weekend’s opener against UCLA can plainly see that the amount of student support for the Utah football team has increased dramatically in recent years.
Chew on this: The U has sold more than 5,000 tickets for Saturday’s season-opener, and school officials estimate that up to 3,000 more have purchased tickets by other means, either through the Rose Bowl or UCLA itself.
What could possibly account for this sudden change of heart? Although several factors have likely contributed, perhaps the most visible is none other than the MUSS, the student fan club that has been spreading like an aggressive cancer over the last few years.
“When we first started the MUSS in 2002, it was called the Utah Football Fan Club,” said John Fackler, the staff supervisor of the Student Activities Board. “Our goal for that year was about 300 students.”
Membership in the MUSS has virtually exploded since those humble beginnings in 2002. The current number of students enlisted is 3,679 and growing.
It’s fairly obvious, at this point, that, when the MUSS sets out to do something, it gets it done. And this week, the Mighty Utah Student Section has set its sights on taking down UCLA.
In addition to selling hundreds of tickets to MUSS members, the campus brain-trust has facilitated early T-shirt pick-ups for those hardcore fans making the trek, and is currently planning the biggest pre-game tailgate party for an away game in school history.
“We have a gathering planned at Brookside Golf Course, which is right across the street from the Rose Bowl,” Fackler said. “We already have over 500 members of the Alumni Association who have committed to being there.”
Thanks, at least in part, to the upcoming three-day weekend, a large part of the Utah student body is also committed to making the journey to California. Some fans have had Sept. 2 circled on their calendar for months.
“I bought my ticket forever ago,” said senior international relations student Allison Williams. “Almost all of my friends are going. We’re excited to be part of that one section of opposing students that is always way loud and way obnoxious.”
A mobile fan base is something on which the Utes have rarely been able to rely. Utah’s athletes should be very excited about the students’ change of heart, especially considering that, in previous years, Ute fans have traveled about as well as a hyperactive, hypoglycemic child with a very, very small bladder.