Utah and Sports

Driving into downtown Salt Lake for the first time after six month in Las Vegas, I saw a Billboard featuring the University of Utah Football team. It boldly claimed “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!” Someone must have had the inside scoop, because earlier this morning, Utah claimed the sixth spot in the BCS rankings. If they can hold it, they’re going to a BCS Bowl. A team that many argued would fall to the bottom of the rankings after the loss of Ron McBride is on its way to proving a lot of people wrong.There’s strange sports energy in Salt Lake City. I’m starting to receive `Did you see that game last night?’ phone calls from friends who don’t normally care. I’m starting to see Jazz jerseys and Ute hats, which is saying something since it’s still only October.

These are the kinds of sport stories Utahns like. This is a sports town rooted in the principle that a team of good players is a far better thing than one or two superstars and a mediocre supporting cast. Even Stockton and Malone had to earn their respect over a long and highly critical period.
It’s hard to get love in the `Tah.
That’s why big ego players never quite fit in. (Just ask Karl)
It’s why we don’t like Kobe or Shaq, Derek Jeter or Terrell Owens.
Once you look past the projection of a squeaky clean morality, you can see a much truer image: Salt Lake City is blue collar.

It’s what we respect in each other and it’s what we look for in our sports heroes. We like the everyman rolling up his sleeves, doing the hard work and ultimately making the game winning play over a clearly dominant opponent.

We’re a hungry, hungry city, but we don’t have big delusions. None of us are expecting the Utes to manhandle USC in the Orange Bowl, none of us are planning to see Kirilenko drenched in champagne this coming June. We’re after something far less tangible; we want bragging rights. We want to wipe smirks off pundits’ faces. We like nothing better than to prove people wrong.

I called up my old friend Mark, a life long Cornhuskers fan.
“Mark, I never imagined I’d be able to say this, but right now, my school’s football team could beat your team’s ass and then go to bed with their girlfriends.”
After a `strong team looks better in a weaker conference’ response, I quieted him by saying
“We’re going to a BCS bowl, Mark, sixth in the nation is sixth in the nation.”

After a while, I told him that Salt Lake is crackling with excitement. We talked about U of U basketball and then the Jazz.
“I’m excited for the Jazz too, they’re looking good.” He told me.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”