EL PASO, Texas — Taking a page out of Peter Griffin’s book of “you know what grinds my gears?” is our fan base here at UTEP.
Our fan base has to be one of the worst fan bases in all of sports! You ask why? Well it’s because we have a fan base that is made up of a bunch of complainers and fair weather fans.
We have the only fan base that I know of, that calls into a sports show and complains about an extra surcharge on tickets. Do they not know that the money from the tickets goes to the school to better improve facilities and to the athletic program?
We just came off one of the best seasons in UTEP basketball history. A season that had one of the most wins and do you know how many home games we sold out? Four, that’s it only four so where is the support?
Only four basketball home games were sold out this season, one of the best in Miners history. (Photo by Brian Kanof, courtesy of UTEP Athletics)
You always hear about how we can’t compete with the big time schools. Well it’s because big time schools like Norte Dame, North Carolina, Nebraska, Ohio State etc., always sell out their home games no matter what their record is. That will never happen at UTEP. NEVER!
That’s because El Pasoans are cheap and a bunch of whiners. You want proof? We can’t even keep a minor league baseball team in El Paso. The team was sold because it was losing money. The El Paso Buzzards, a hockey team that in the first two years won the title, left El Paso for the same reason as well. We have the El Paso Rhino’s who kick butt but hardly anyone even knows about them.
Former Miner basketball coach Tony Barbee would complain about our fan base and how it wasn’t that great. Barbee later would talk about how they would win games this past year because of the fans when they would actually show up and see the team.
Okay UTEP fans if you are reading this, how many national championships has UTEP won? Is it the just the 1966 National Champion Basketball team? No, UTEP has won 21 National Championships overall.
UTEP has won one in Men’s basketball, seven in Cross Country, seven in Men’s Indoor Track & Field, and six in Men’s Outdoor Track & Field. That is a lot more than just the one that the school boosts about.
Bob Kitchens arguably the second greatest coach in UTEP history has led UTEP to the most national championships. He is retiring after the season and he has an athlete who could add more national championships to UTEP and that is Blessing Okagbare.
Okagbare has the longest long jump this year, fastest 100m times this year and is primed to add more hardware into the trophy case for UTEP. When all is said and done she could be the best female athlete to come to UTEP.
The worst feeling in my opinion is when there are football recruits brought into UTEP to watch a game at the Sun Bowl and the stadium is half empty. Can you imagine what the recruits are thinking? Why do we want to come play here when we don’t have any fan support so why would it change if we came here?
We are one of the best crowds in all of sports when we actually show up and cheer and support our team so why can’t we do it all the time no matter what the win loss record is?
Miners fans at a football game. (Photo by Brian Kanof, courtesy of UTEP Athletics)
We have a football coach in Mike Price who is currently ninth all-time in wins and a new basketball coach in Tim Floyd who even talked about the fan base at UTEP in his press interview when he was asked the question, “what would you tell the UTEP student body on what to expect from the basketball team?”
His response was to the UTEP student body was, “You better get on board or you are going to miss a lot of fun. We are going to get that place rocking again like it was in the 80s.”
So fans need to get on board and be proud to wear the orange and blue and to be a Miner. And if you don’t and when UTEP takes are you are going to miss out. If you are not on board now Like Tim Floyd said, “They are going to hurt themselves trying to jump on that bandwagon.”
You know what grinds my gears? People like you who think they know about sports. First off, El Paso still has a minor league baseball team, the Diablos, who by the way, still manage to have one of the highest attendance records in their league. El Pasoans are cheap? You think they have a choice? The majority of the population lives in poverty. Attendance at games is low? UTEP is a commuter school. Notre Dame, North Carolina–the majority of students live on campus, so much of their social life comes from attending games to meet other students. Check out San Diego State, another big commuter school located in a large city and see how their attendance records stack up. How about YOU stop whining and start hitting up alumni for more money to support the athletics department like Texas and USC does.
I’ll agree with the author. People will always make room in their budget for what is important for them. UTEP game tickets are as cheap or cheaper than any other entertainment activity that the fair weather fans will partake in. Club admission:$5 for guys, mixed drink: $5. Boom, there’s your gen. admission ticket to watch the UTEP men’s bball team win over just about every home game this last season.
I feel that the author’s complaint is against the general UTEP student population, who has free admission to all UTEP sports games! That’s incredible in the world of UT, Texas A&M, and any other Division 1 school. A single game student ticket at a Texas A&M game this past fall was as high as $60. UTEP students get in for free and recieve a discount on guest tickets! How much more could you ask for?
I realize that this doesn’t go for everyone and the cold truth is, if you can’t afford it then don’t go. My wife and I live on a very strict budget and with a $50 monthly entertainment allowance, we’d have to be very conscious of where we’re spending money. But surely if we wanted to support a winning team and organization we wouldn’t balk to hard at the meager prices that UTEP has set to watch it’s athletic teams. I’d rather pay a few bucks more to help support a winning A.D. then to get in for free to a game I’d be sure my team lost.
When I visit El Paso, I want to proudly pay $15 to watch my alma mater compete with intensity and pride. And I’m willing to pay for it.