For the most part the people of Price seem largely unaware that their small town has been invaded by a college football team this week. But then they've got other things to worry about.
The coal mining industry, which the town has long depended upon, has been reeling for years, triggering a domino effect right down through the core of the community. Boarded up shops blight the town's streets. For Sale signs grow in the neighborhood lawns. The College of Eastern Utah, the local school, even dropped its football team for the second time, three years ago. If all this weren't enough, the Wilberg Mine disaster and a years-long drought burden the town psyche.Ask the locals about Price, and they wince. Things are so-so, say the ladies behind the counter at the 7-11. Ditto for a retired railroad worker and a CEU employee and a newspaper reporter . . . .
And onto this scene came the University of Utah football team, which rolled into town Saturday afternoon to set up a week-long training camp on the CEU campus. After months of planning, the Utes came to Price seeking a place to concentrate on tackles and touchdowns and to escape girlfriends and home. Glad to have the attention and income, Price - at least its leaders - welcomed the Utes with open arms, even if the town's experience with its own college football players (battered dorms, fights, etc.) made some nervous. Utah and Price could be good for each other, everyone has been saying this week.
Maybe so. The drought has been so severe this summer that local churches have fasted and prayed for rain, and water rationing has been implemented. CEU officials feared their football field would be too parched for the Utes to practice on, but the day before the team arrived the heaviest rain in months fell on Price and temperatures dropped into the low 70s, where they have stayed so far this week.
Omens? Price and the Utes, who hope to unite annually, are treating each other like long lost friends. CEU president Mike Petersen greeted Coach Ron McBride during Sunday's practice (his door would always be open, he said). The Carbon County Chamber of Commerce hosted a steak barbeque for the team Tuesday night. It was attended by Utah president Chase Peterson, the mayors of Helper and Price and the local police chief, among others.
"We'd like them to feel this is their football team," says McBride, who mingles daily with the few locals who watch the Utes' practices. "We'd like to form a relationship with Price."
It might be stretching things to say that Price and Utah have some things in common, but both have seen better days and both are hoping they're on the comeback.
Then again, it is an odd pairing. "I ask myself, Self! How did I get here!" one Ute player was overheard to say loudly to no one in particular. McBride hopes the lack of distractions - and truthfully there are none - draws the team close together, which football coaches swear translates into better play on the field.
It appears to be working. With not so much as a phone or TV in their dorm rooms, the Utes drift together. In the evenings, they gather around the piano and sing while linebacker Sione Mahe plays (the coaches smile proudly at this). Freshmen sing songs in the cafeteria (wide receiver Henry Lusk has a future here.) But just before bedtime the players line up in long lines to use one of the three pay phones outside their dorm.
The rest of the day is scheduled. At 6:30 a coach kicks on the door and the day is begun. Snack 6:45. Meetings 7 to 8. Practice 8:30-11:30. Lunch 12. Testing 1. Meetings 2-3:15. Practice 3:30-6. Snack 6:15. More meetings 7. Dinner 8:30. Bed check 10:15. Lights out 10:30.
The pace is the same for everyone connected with the team, and there are plenty of those. To take care of 106 players, the Utes brought 16 coaches, 10 equipment managers, 17 trainers and one doctor to Price. A football team is no small operation these days. It took three buses and two trucks to bring players, uniforms, pads, blocking sleds, weights and training room equipment to the new training camp. Two video cameras survey the practice field. Walkie-talkies dispatch trainers and managers to where they're needed. Washers and dryers run constantly to keep uniforms tidy.
But the biggest operation in Price this week is in the kitchen. During the course of one dinner, the team and its 50-man entourage consumed 110 pounds of roast beef, 20 pounds of pork chops, 40 pounds of chicken fried steak, 15 gallons of mashed potatoes, four gallons of brown gravy, 35 pounds of vegetables and nine gallons of milk (plus salad bar and beverages). The grocery bill for the week: about $12,000.
In all, the Utes will spend some $30,000 this week in Price, which is not a bad contribution to the local economy.
No wonder one local football fan, sitting in the practice field stands one afternoon, was heard to mutter, "We need a football team." Maybe they've got one.