There was a definite feeling of intrigue and curiosity surrounding Pier 39 in San Francisco on Friday. The seafood market and pier store employees, the street performers, the fishermen, the ferry captains, even the everyday citizens of the city by the bay could be seen mouthing the same question — What is MUSS?
By the end of the weekend, San Francisco not only knew what the MUSS was, but also that Salt Lake City takes their football team very seriously.
It began Thursday night when three buses pulled into the parking lot of the engineering building on north campus. As the busses pulled up, a wave of cars and a crowd of people rushed toward them looking to escape the bitter cold of Salt Lake City into the warm fall air of California. The annual MUSS bus trip was about to begin, and with three busses stuffed to capacity with red and black clothed students, it was the largest trip the MUSS board had ever put on — the excitement was palpable.
That excitement was shot down for a while when MUSS bus number three suffered mechanical issues just outside of Tooele. After a two-hour delay that featured a noble but ultimately unhelpful mechanic and a switch of buses, the trip was back on track and the Utah students could once again imagine the sight of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Around 1 p.m. PST, the buses arrived at the Holiday Inn Express at Fisherman’s Wharf with hundreds of sleep-deprived college students who wanted nothing more than to get off the mobile prisons and hit the pier for some hot seafood.
As the throngs of Utah students walked the pier and the surrounding area, you would have thought people in San Francisco had never seen a large traveling fan base before. I suppose they’re not used to seeing a traveling Ute fan base, since Utah is still in the tail-end of its honeymoon phase of entering the Pac-12.
As we perused the shops and restaurants in and around the pier, one curious civilian after another came up and asked us, “Why is everyone wearing red?” and “What in the heck does MUSS mean?”
After we told them that we were the Mighty Utah Student Section here to watch the Utes do battle with Stanford on Saturday, we were all shocked to hear the reactions. Most people responded with, “Oh yeah? That’s awesome! I hate Stanford! Good luck to you.” Until we actually got onto the Stanford campus, I only heard one “Go Stanford” during the entire two days spent in San Francisco amid a lot of “Go Utes” thrown in by other traveling Utah fans.
The next morning, the hotel dining area was full of red- and black-clad Utah fans. A few hours later, the MUSS buses were loaded once again to make the short trip to Palo Alto, Calif., home of Stanford University.
After gorging on a variety of barbecued favorites at the U Alumni Association tailgate, many MUSS members began to wander the Stanford campus to see how the other half lives.
In a word, the campus is stunning. From the state of the art buildings and facilities to the historic landmarks and seemingly endless forest that surrounds the campus, the area is magnificent. If you are confused as to why their mascot is a tree, wonder no more. Their campus has so many different kinds of trees I don’t think I could point out more than half of them.
After some quick photo-ops on the campus and passing the Stanford student section, who wore shirts adorned with sayings like “Nerd Nation” and “Fear the Tree,” the MUSS began filing toward Stanford Stadium.
There were literally only two sections in the stadium that were full, so it was a shame the two student sections were on opposite sides. Many MUSS members wondered how a 5-4 Stanford team less than a year removed from being Pac-12 champs could not fill their stadium, but that just gave us extra incentive to be as loud as possible and drown out the home fans.
With the Utah offense looking as stagnant as ever and the Stanford offense having possession of the ball for what seemed like the entire fourth quarter, the MUSS section began to fear the worst. Thankfully for all who made the trip, the Ute defense was able to send the game into overtime and give the traveling fans a real treat.
Two overtime sessions and two Utah touchdown passes later, the MUSS erupted with the vigor of a mini Rice-Eccles Stadium as Kenneth Scott caught the game-winning touchdown to secure the Utes’ fourth road victory of the season.
As the Stanford faithful began to file out after a disappointing end to their home schedule, MUSS members seated in the upper deck began to file down closer to the field to greet their victorious Utes. After the post-game handshakes and field interviews, the Utes, led by cornerback Dominique Hatfield, rushed to the northeast corner of Stanford Stadium to thank the MUSS and the rest of the traveling fans with a rousing road rendition of the fight song where the loudest line sung was “no other gang of college men dare meet us in the MUSS.”
After a night of boisterous celebration by the bay, it was time for the buses to load back up and head for Salt Lake City. As the temperature plummeted, we were left with only the warm memories of the win and the anticipation of the 2015 edition of the MUSS bus.
 
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