Pride is hard to measure.
The U football team deserves more than congratulations for an undefeated season and an impressive victory over Alabama. The U, which touts a top medical research program, is home to a Nobel Prize winner for medicine, was ranked the third best technologically wired campus in the United States and houses one of the nation’s leading political institutes, probably received more national attention from its Sugar Bowl victory than those four achievements combined.
However, instead of overshadowing those other accomplishments, the success of the U football team places a finer lens over the U. The school certainly came home from Louisiana with a few more fans than it had before.
Beside the respect the Utes earned nationally, they gave the school, community and state something to be proud of and are well on their way to turning the U into a household name. Pride might be hard to measure but soaring memorabilia sales and donations from proud donors isn’t. Even students with no interest in sports have reason to be grateful, as this year’s phenomenal season will generate money for years to come. Amid drastic budget cuts, the Utes couldn’t have chosen a better time to deliver a Sugar Bowl Championship and a No. 2 Associated Press poll ranking.
The win even made a stir among the likes of Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, who released a statement congratulating the Utes and condemning the broken Bowl Championship Series system, and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who announced plans to investigate the BCS. Meanwhile, U and sports fans alike enjoyed watching sports pundit Barry Switzer at a loss for words after the Utes dominated Alabama in the first half.
All this from a team that, upon arriving in New Orleans, found local T-shirt vendors ignorantly printing shirts stating the U is in the WAC, instead of the Mountain West Conference. Beyond being proud of the Utes’ performance, students, faculty and community members should be grateful for the positive national attention they earned for the U and the financial prospects they made possible.