Utah State has an awful football team. It hasn’t beaten the U in more than a decade, and it spent the past five years amassing less wins than the U had last year. But on Thursday, Sept. 3, they beat us. Bad. They beat us because they put more effort into the contest and ultimately gave their blood to win.
Wait, you didn’t think I was talking about football did you?
No, I’m talking about last week’s annual Bleed Red blood drive competition with the school up north. The blood drive began in 20028212;the first and only year the U won. Ever since, Utah State has put in a wonderful effort and posted even more impressive numbers.
“Utah has never really put in the effort to beat Utah State,” said Lance Bandley, spokesman for ARUP, who runs the drive at the U.
But from a school that prides itself on its winning traditions, I find myself wondering why we keep letting this win slip between our fingers. In reality, there are very few reasons not to donate.
For those with hesitations8212;I hate needles, blood loss and pain in general8212; I still donated last week. Bandley said, “The number one thing I hear from people who donate is “it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.'” Indeed, as most donors can testify, the most painful part is a pin prick on your finger to test your blood density levels.
There are myriad other excuses not to donate such as having blood loss affect athleticism. However, this is not the case, according to Valerie Bertran, the Donor Collection Specialist Lead in the Union during the drive. In fact, she said a person could return to regular workouts within a couple of days, even though it takes about eight weeks to recover lost blood.
Although no U student should need further motivation to beat Utah State in any contest, allow me to offer some incentive. Utah State’s blood drive is through the Red Cross instead of ARUP which means that some of their blood might not be used locally. Conversely, ARUP is a local company, and therefore, the blood you donate benefits your neighbors. The blood drive begins the week before Labor Day, a holiday that Bandley said guarantees an increase in trauma victims with so many people on the road. Finally, for those with softer hearts, much of the blood taken by ARUP is used for newborn babies who, without the blood, would likely die.
Much like our feelings regarding the football contest Thursday, Bandley said Utah State “knows they can take the U down.” And they do, year after year, because U students cannot seem to shed their misconceptions about giving blood. Bertran, who is in her fourth year with the blood drive said she can’t remember the U even being close to winning. This year, we were about 500 people short, and with a student body of more than 27,000, this is unacceptable.
In the end, there are so many reasons to give blood, and so few not to. So get out and bleed8212;for school, pride and babies.
