[NashvilleUte]

Great read! So many memories from 2004!

The Fiesta Bowl year was my last year at the U before I graduated. That last year, I attended all the home games and two of the road games (Utah State & SDSU) as well as the Fiesta Bowl. Those were the early days of the MUSS too and was a lot of fun. Traveling on the MUSS Bus to the both the SDSU game as well as to the Fiesta Bowl were both epic. Afterwards I cheered for whatever team Alex Smith played on.

Since then, I’ve remained mostly a Chiefs fan partly because of Andy Reid and partly because I have a lot of respect for Patrick Mahomes for continually giving Alex a lot of credit towards his success. It says a lot about Alex that he mentored his replacement so well, but says more about Mahomes that he recognizes that as a contributing factor to his success and to his Super Bowl titles.

I’ve definitely been a fan for longer than the last twenty years, but starting with the team carrying McBride off the field after beating BYU days before he was fired to now has been one heck of a trip! Everything that has happened since then would have been unimaginable back then. A lot of guys contributed to that success (including McBride), but a lot of that success is thanks to us having a great QB at the right time. I hope I’m not drinking too much Kool-Aid, but I’m getting the vibes that we’ve got another great QB at the right time this year with a realistic shot at getting into the playoffs.

It’s great to be a Utah Man! Go Utes!

[NashvilleUte]

I’ll second just about all of Aloha’s comments. Except for lurking on Cougarboard! I don’t do that! Haha!

The time apart not being in the same conference and occasional breaks in the rivalry game softened my opinion towards BYU athletics considerably. I’d increasingly been cheering for them against opponents that had no impact on the Utes whatsoever, but man joining the Big12 with them has not been kind on SO many levels… This is the first time in years that I’ve wanted them to lose this badly.

As a member of the church myself, I think it’s a great school and I get along quite well with most that graduated from there, but I just can’t handle their super fans. Like at all… (That being said, I realize we have our own contingent of fans that are probably just as poisonous)

Anyway, Aloha brah! I lived in Hawaii for two years (yeah THOSE two years), so I’ve got lots of Aloha for the islands!

[NashvilleUte]

Especially when half the fans themselves can more or less guess what general type of play we’ll be running half the time…

[NashvilleUte]

The numbers are definitely absurd at this point. Props to the SEC and the ACC for avoiding them.

[NashvilleUte]

I love Utah State. I’ll cheer for them against anyone other than Utah. I’m surprised, but definitely grateful they’re not getting left behind. I’ve been an Utah fan since I was a kid, but I did my first two semesters of college at Utah State. It was mainly to not be so close to home. I loved Logan, but I ended up transferring to Utah for the rest of my college and then later on for my MBA.

Go Utes and Go Aggies!

[NashvilleUte]

I’ll agree with Fanantic, U$C is the only PAC team that I’ll never cheer for. Unless they play that team from happy valley. That would be the only exception.

It’s not because of petty jealousy. It’s because it was starting to feel like a real rivalry on both sides. Not like our fake rivalry with Colorado. That never felt like a real rivalry. At the end of the PAC , the Utah/U$C game was almost always a top game for the season on many expert’s lists.

Hopefully when we get an invite to the B1G or whatever super league is next, we can rekindle that rivalry. Obviously our other rival won’t make the cut for the super league. If it’s a brand new league of the top football only teams, I’m not sure that UCLA will even make it, especially with how little they’ve been supporting football.

[NashvilleUte]

We’ve made impressive strides in our brand/identity among college football analysts and other coaches across the country. The rankings consistency proves that and builds upon that. Besides the analyst quotes above, I’m regularly reading quotes from various coaches across the nation who appreciate Whitt’s coaching and out style of football and are trying to emulate it.

However the aspect where we still need to grow and improve our brand is among national football FANS. I’m talking primarily outside the western Pac12 states. As someone who lives in the east, our name recognition is improving with those I talk with, but the familiarity is still very lacking. Part of it is that I live in the SEC footprint where folks don’t think outside the SEC/Big10 much at all. I’m pretty sure part of it is due to our late after dark games. The PAC12 as a whole outside of USC and Oregon seemed to struggle with recognition and i chalk part of it up to terrible game times for this half of the country. I get that there are those in the west who love and hate the later games, but they’re almost prohibitively late for anyone other than major fans in the east. I’ll watch, but I groan every time I see a super late one because I know I’ll be super tired the next day.

Anyway, we’re doing great as a brand, but we shouldn’t get too comfortable. Consistently playing in big games and getting some big wins in the major bowl games will help with fan sentiment. We’re just about there!

[NashvilleUte]

Agreed. I’m not desperate to return to Nike either, but I would like an alternative to UA. Maybe Adidas would be an option? Or maybe someone else trying to make a name for themselves with more ambition than UA…

[NashvilleUte]

I still wear plenty of Utah gear that has a Nike swoosh on it because I still have more Nike gear than I do Under Armor gear. I desperately wish we’d move on from UA, but I’m not holding my breath…

[NashvilleUte]

It’s nice to have this confirmed again, but it’s not even remotely surprising. I’d have been absolutely shocked if he didn’t become our next HC with or without this announcement.

The important question is who will be his coordinators? It’s pretty much a sure thing that when Whitt retires so will Ludwig. Maybe Harding? Maybe someone currently outside the program? Who replaces him at D Coordinator? Don’t know… I wouldn’t be opposed to Sitake returning. I keep hearing how the Zoobs think he’s the reason they suck (he’s not). Plus it would be nice to rub it in their faces if he comes back and is successful again. I really don’t see it happening, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it either.

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