Roll Home Tide...Roll Home!

Where do I even begin with how remarkable this game was? We came to this game as the underdogs and even the city of New Orleans reflected this. The day of the game there were Alabama fans everywhere and just a speckling of Ute fans. This didn’t dampen our sprits though and we walked proudly down Bourbon with our Utah garb on. Little did we know that a few hours later, Alabama fans would be congratulating us and moving out of our way as we walked down the same street.

Since Alabama is so close and Utah not so much, we saw a good number of Utah fans a few days before the game. I guess if you are going to spend so much money and time getting down there, you might as well make it into a vacation. It was really wonderful to see so many people supporting our home team and I was damn proud to be a Ute. I know for many, including us, this was a once in a lifetime experience and we were going to enjoy every minute of it, win or lose.

The morning of the game, as we were leaving breakfast there was an improtu parade for the Sugar Bowl. The Utah women and Alabama women were there throwing out beads and cheering on their home teams. That’s the kind of thing I love about New Orleans is that random parades just happen and it makes the experience down there so memorable. We were surprised to see the Mardi Gras Indians, because they rarely come out so it was quite the treat and I am glad we were in the right place at the right time to enjoy the parade.

The Alabama Women

The Mardi Gras Indians. Aren't the costumes beautiful?!?

The Utah Women!

Later that day we decided to tailgate at Pat O’Brien’s where we were literally the only Utah fans in there. Football in the south is huge and EVERYONE gets into it. I swear the entire state of Alabama was down there cheering on the Tide. All the men were sporting their southern hair, collared button up shirts with the A or the elephant pin (their mascot) and their loafers, while all the women looked more like they were going to tea and crumpets with the queen rather than a football game. I actually felt quite underdressed since I was in jeans and a t-shirt instead of in a dress with perfectly coifed hair. In seeing this, I finally understood what people meant by being a proper southerner and it’s definitely a different way of life down in Alabama than it is here in Utah.

Now at this point in the day, the Tide fans were pretty cocky, with just reason. They kept talking trash amongst themselves and asking each other what a “Ute” even was. I finally got sick of it and interjected what a Ute was, which quickly shut them up. I mean seriously, what the heck is the Crimson Tide. I can only think of one thing and it wouldn’t be what I would want my team named after. :-) All we could think was Roll Home Tide… Roll home, and that night they did.

Mike and I tailgating at Pat O's

Finally it was game time and we headed over to the Superdome. It’s a beautiful stadium and I don’t think there is a bad seat in the house. We were worried because we were behind the goal post, but they actually turned out to be great seats. Since we had season tickets with the U this year, we were able to pre-buy tickets and sit in the Utah section, which was a lot of fun. Most of the people near us were cheering on the Utah Utes, with the exception of an Alabama family who sat behind us. We took to jovial heckling with them though and it kept the game interesting. Plus they were pretty good sports, even after the bad beating Alabama took.

Mike, Matt and I in front of the superdome. The beautiful superdome.Mike, Matt and I inside!Please welcome...YOUR UTAH UTES!!!
The view from our seats. This game was one of the most intense things I have ever experienced and I am beyond grateful we were able to witness and be a part of Utah Ute history. The players came out fighting and this was a different team than we had seen all season. They wanted this win; you could feel it in the air. It was such a different game than the Fiesta Bowl because that year they were unstoppable and they were slated to win. At the Sugar Bowl we were the underdogs who fought tooth and nail to get to this spot and the team could taste the victory and were not about to give that up. They played outstandingly and even with Bama’s band being three times the size of ours and seeing mostly Tide fans in the stadium, they brought home a win. It was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life and I haven’t ever been more proud to be from Utah. Although us Utah fans were small, we were mighty and we represented. With this remarkable win, no one can ever discount what a tremendous team the Utes are and I wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate their victory anywhere else than in NOLA. (although we truly missed our season ticket crew).

The first playMike so happy to be there!Our section mascot!Mah Be and I enjoying the game!The Ute sectionMatt and MikeDan, Jeremiah and Eli, our friends we met at the game.Little Jeremiah Go UTES!!!One of the last plays of the game.Look at that score!Mike and Matt after we won!
We won, we won!!!

After the game I was worried that the Alabama fans were going to be poor sports following their cocky attitudes earlier in the day, but they were completely gracious. Not only did they tip their hats to the team, but also to us as fans. We were so impressed with their demeanor and civility that even though we worked their team, we made sure to congratulate them as well. They my have lost but Alabama had a great season and I wish them all the best next year. For now though, I am thrilled Utah was able to show the team they are, bring press to the Mountain West Conference, earn some money for the team and while we weren’t ranked number one in the BCS standings, 2008 will always be the year of the Utah Utes!

GOOOOOO UTES!!!!