The Muss

[UteManX]

Is it me, or does the Muss seem to not care as much as they used to? They are loud on the lower end, but they really do not show up like they have over the years. It seems weak in comparison to recent years, and yes the admin is noticing. Come on Muss, get it together and get the energy back up and make those in the muss before you proud, if not, this is trending towards 2002 levels. 

[MineralUte]

Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.  I understand some students bailing on the ASU game – the weather sucked.  But it was only 60% full Saturday.  Weak.

[UteManX]

exactly! it was no rain, just a bit chilly. Wear a coat, put on some gloves and come support your fellow students and get the energy back up. I hate to say it as when I was a student the Muss was great and brought the support, but now the muss seems really weak. They need to look up the real meaning of the Muss, not the mighty utah student section. It is the deepest part of the trenches in WWI. Nobody wanted to mess with it. Bring back the energy, Muss!

[Ute Bc]

Personally, I think expanding the Muss Section was a mistake.  Make it smaller and give those tickets to those on the waiting list.  

[Utesbyfive]

Interest in the Muss, and football in general is waning among college aged kids.

[Larry B]

It seems like attendance as a whole has been down this year. It’s really strange. I have season tickets on the West side and I look at the East side every week and I swear there are hundreds of empty seats.

And the fans that are there just don’t seem to get into the game like previous years. I had a fan behind me ask me to sit down last week because I stood up on a defensive 3rd down! I’m one of maybe 20 fans in my area that stand up every 3rd down. It’s so bizarre. Has anyone else had the same impression this season?

[UteManX]

I am over there on the west side as well and have noticed exactly that. I was also told to sit down, when for 10 years I have stood at the same game situations. Its seems the only consisent area is the North end. We need to get that place packed and if you can’t use your tickets, give them to people who can. If you’re a student, get a ticket, if you’re in the Muss, SHOW UP AND GET LOUD!

[norm]

I guess it seems lame to blame the weather, but I’m starting to get old so I’m going to.  The weather this year has sucked.  I have had a hard time getting motivated to go to the games in the first place, and when I’m there have had a hard time being motivated to cheer enthusiastically because it was either too hot or too cold.

The first two games were in like 90′ heat and it would have been great to have been at night instead.

The last three games have been freezing cold and/or wet, but would have been perfect during the day.

I know the reason start times are what they are, but it really sucks that early season games aren’t all at night and late season games in the day to account for the weather.  I think it would really help with the atmosphere if people were comfortable.  We don’t have enough die-hards to have a ton of energy in conditions that are less than ideal.

[UteBacker]

This was also the odd year for scheduling (no USC, Washington or TDS).  Arizona St has been our only true “adversarial” opponent.

[ThurstonW]

I also have season tickets on the west side and get comments when I stand at a critical point in the game.  The people around me act like they are there to watch a tennis match. I like my view of the field, but sometimes I wish I were down in the south endzone, where there’s always an elevated energy level.

I went to the UTAH/UW game in Seattle a couple of years ago and the entire section of mixed UU and UW fans NEVER sat down the entire game…very fun experience (until the last few minutes of the game 🙁  ).  I’m headed up for the game this weekend and fully expect to be standing and watching the UTES win BIG!!!!  

[GibUtes]

The old man behind me told us to sit after cheering for Moss’ breaking the rushing yard record. And it was so he could see the PAT kick. Screw that guy.

[teepee]

I agree with attendance overall being low due to lack of big names/games. Plus all of the games have been pretty dominant for the U so there’s less urgency/need for the fans/students to really get into it. Every year it seems someone complains about how the MUSS isn’t as loud and crazy in the past and every year I have to disagree. I’ve been in the MUSS since 2010 and the students are just as into as they have been every year. Weather lowers attendance, especially when we’re blowing teams out but there’s been no discernible drop off in student enthusiasm that I’ve seen for a decade now. The thing we’ve missed this year that we’ve had in the past is those crazy back and forth games where the fans feel like the 12th man. 2010 Pitt, 2013 Stanford, 2016 USC all come to mind. The team is so dominant at home this year it’s almost been unneeded.
I really can’t wait for the stadium to be closed off. I think the MUSS is going to benefit the most from the new echo chamber the most. Visiting teams won’t want to be near either end zone as the NEZ and MUSS both bring it for every drive

[PhiladelphiaUte]

I used to fly all the way across the country to attend at least one Utah game per year.  But I always picked the “roadies” because I knew that RES always sold out, and I didn’t want to get fleeced by the ticket scalpers.  But if the stadium is as empty as you all claim it is, maybe I WOULD attempt to go to a Utah game at RES after all.

[10sUte]

My daughter has tickets in the Muss around the 14th row, she has been frustrated that a lot of the people around her don’t really care about the game.  Last week her friend bailed on her due to the rain so she came and sat in an empty seat by us.  She commented how nice it was to really be able to get into the game with those she was sitting by.  

[Grimmetal]

As someone who has sat in the MUSS for the past three seasons now, I understand why a lot of kids don’t want to come. The ones down low that ‘get crazy’ are all a bunch of jerks looking to get an Instagram picture, sneak in beer and just get stupid drunk to the point where no one is having fun, and really, the weather is playing a part. Super hot to super cold. Wet and rainy. It sucks.

I’ve signed up for tickets exactly at the start time each year and I find myself not moving up in seat quality at all because the MUSS council or whoever want to reward their friends to get into the main sections. In three years I’ve gone from row 20 down to row 6 in the same section.

Every game I move from row 6 up to rows 15-20 because there are fewer idiots. People that actually watch the game are in the mid to upper levels. Those that came to party and be seen are down low.

Naturally, I’m introverted and can’t stand the loud obnoxious behavior of a lot of the kids these days. But that might be my biggest turn off. I come to watch the games, not get squeezed out of my standing room because a couple kids want to drag down 20 of their friends from the upper bowl.

Outside of actual sporting events, the MUSS doesn’t really have a presence on campus. I’m on campus every single day for classes and I only ever see advertisements for games and that’s about it. There is so much more that could be done to generate excitement for the team and the events and it’s just not there.

/End rant.

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