Oh how lovely were the holidays! We had Dave home for the entire week between Christmas and New Year's Day, the girls thoroughly enjoyed their descent into the cornucopia of greed (as Ralphie so eloquently put it), Gramma and Poppy spent a few days with us, and we had a perfectly fabulous time making very merry. So as the dust settles, I cannot seem to extricate myself from one particular facet of the joyous season just past - the Utes' unbelievable, indescribable, and downright poetic victory in the Sugar Bowl last Friday. It was a thing of beauty. A transcendent moment. And it was a long time coming.
Now, as most of you know, I am a proud Alum of Utah State and bleed Aggie blue through and through. But I was not raised an Aggie. Growing up, I was only vaguely aware that a university existed in the northern climbs of Utah. USU only came into my field of vision when I announced that I wanted to go away to school rather than commute to the nearby "U" and live at home. My father's reaction I will never forget. He simply said the following. "That's great. But you are going north NOT south." You see, in my family we live, eat, and breathe the "U". We have endured cold November afternoons huddled together on frozen benches in the old Rice Stadium (during the bleak 1980s) watching the Utes take yet another pounding from their rival which shall not be named but which we shall refer to as "tds". We have fought back bitter tears as the Utes squandered a half-time lead to fall yet again to the University of Kentucky in the NCAA basketball championship game. (My poor dad has yet to recover from that one. Although it must be said that the run in the tournament up to that point was the kind of dream that only becomes reality in fairy tales!) It's safe to say that as the "U" goes, so go the emotional and psychological well being of our family. (In a mildly ironic sidenote, Dave will be the only one in my family to follow in my parents' footsteps and earn a degree from the "U"....at least in our generation. Ellie seems pretty excited to be a "go Ute!", however. We will keep you posted!)
So as we sat watching the Sugar Bowl - a fitting if daunting reward for an incredible football season - we tried to fight back our hopes for the kind of outcome that would make this season the stuff of legend. My brother Matty braved the gauntlet of the bowl game armed with beer and lil smokies. My father no doubt was pacing the entirety of his home (as has been his usual practice for as long as I can remember.) As for me, I engaged in some nervous cleaning for most of the first half, sprinting downstairs to the family room every time hoots and cheers wafted up the stairwell. By the end of the evening, our family stood united in euphoric shock. The Utes had done what most thought impossible. They had taken the advice of the inimitable Eleanor Roosevelt when she insisted that "you must do the thing you think you cannot do." The Utes had beaten the dog out of the Tide, disproved all of the pundits, took the legs out from under the BCS, and emerged as the ONLY undefeated team in Division I football. (I shall not ascribe to the FBS nonsense.)
Ever since Friday night, I cannot seem to tear myself away from the major sports media outlets. ESPN, SI, Fox Sports - I am glued to them all. The talk around the nation surrounding our beloved Utes is remarkable, and has been a long time coming. While one game remains to be played this season (some nonsense about a BCS championship), the Utes, our Utes, MY DAD'S UTES, have become the focus of a national debate over who is most deserving of the title national champion. And more phenomenal than that - the "U" seems to be coming out on top. Yes, our little team that could has become the center of a rallying cry for greater parity in college football; for a just system that rewards talent and hard work, rather than the name on the jersey; for a championship that is indeed a championship, and not yet another political debacle.
Regardless of what the final polls say on Friday, this past week has been one to remember. My dad and I have spent an inordinate amount of time trading phone calls and emails, relishing the support for the cause of the "U" that is growing across the country. No matter where they finish, our Utes are seen by many throughout the country as the team most deserving of a national title. For a family who has weathered the good, the bad, and (particularly during the aforementioned 1980s) the ugly in University of Utah sports, our time has finally come. Our team has finally arrived. My dad finally has his moment to see his Utes stand at the apex of college football. Joy to the whole darn world!