SALT LAKE CITY— Don’t forget to breathe.
It’d be easy enough, if you were a Utah football fan Friday evening. With the Utes playing for their first-ever Pac-12 title, with a spot in the College Football Playoff at stake, with the Rose Bowl as a consolation prize (as long as they won), who could’ve blamed the Ute faithful gathered at the Green Pig Pub in downtown Salt Lake if, distracted by a looming kickoff’s suction, they forgot — if only for a moment — that they need more than football to stay alive?
The night seemed to unfold as a pair of long, deep breaths. Even amid Utah’s early stumbles, the crowd didn’t exhale until halftime as its collective gulp turned from one of faithful excitement to one of blue-faced frustration. One more deep heave of the lungs marked the start of the second half, and with it an optimism that didn’t fade — until the very end.
Some fans arrived several hours ahead of one of the most anticipated games in the school’s long football history, perhaps rivaled only by the 2004 Fiesta Bowl and 2008 Sugar Bowl — both victories. The difference? Those games didn’t carry national title implications; Friday’s game did. And lifelong and casual fans alike brought the enthusiasm to match the occasion.
All it took was one look at Jared Richardson, a 32-year-old Utah nursing student set to graduate in May, to see it. Well into the first quarter, he wore a pair of sunglasses atop his head, revealing how long he’d been waiting. The lifelong Utah fan, who attended his first game when he was “8 or 9,” who recently took his kids, ages 11 and 7, to their first Utah game, didn’t hesitate when asked how the game would go.
“Sixty points,” he said. Given his “A Utah Homie Am I” T-shirt, he didn’t need to say in whose favor.
His friend, John Blundell, piled on. Not only would Utah win; “We’re excited to win,” he explained, “and be mad at the selection committee,” which he assumed would leave Utah out of the College Football Playoff.
Fans like them abounded. John Cudney also expressed skepticism about making the playoff, but excitement, too.
“I’ll be happy with the Rose Bowl,” he said, “but I want the championship series.”
His friend, Tom Withers, put the emotions of the whole bar into words.
“Being a Utah fan,” he said, “you’re always nervous. But also optimistic.”
Even the downtown location itself was a clear Utah stronghold. No BYU or Utah emblems; only flags of the University of Utah. Bartenders all wore Utah shirts, too, and when asked if they ever change it up when other Utah teams are playing, one bartender flashed a look that implied, “Clearly, you’ve never been here before.”
One of her co-workers rang a cowbell at the start of the game, and the standing-room-only crowd that eventually grew large enough to form an eight-man line outside the men’s restroom erupted alongside her. But the fist pumping optimism that defined the kickoff started to fade as Oregon mounted a lead, from seven to 10 to 17 to 20. At halftime, the faithful were able to breathe once more, but in angry huffs rather than sighs of relief. Their faces resembled Utah’s sideline: Stern, droopy and knowing — knowing their team needed major adjustments.
Notice it’s their team; not the team. When third-down cheers preceded an Oregon false start, patrons erupted with such enthusiasm you would’ve thought they caused it.
The second half brought hope. It seemed to increase in strength as Utah forced an Oregon punt and scored a quick touchdown. It carried fans through Utah’s next touchdown and two-point conversion, which put the Utes down by just one score. But then the air would quickly leave the bar.
Oregon, already up 30-15, forced a Utah punt with just over five minutes left. As one woman observed upon seeing quarterback Tyler Huntley’s clenched, neutral face on TV shortly thereafter, “He knows we lost.”
They exhaled slowly, like a wounded tire. You could almost hear the hissssss if you listened through the occasional expletive.
On Friday, the Utah faithful may have left breathing slowly, disappointment filling the air, a once-in-seldom opportunity squandered. But such is the nature of fandom; they’ll be back next time such an opportunity arises. And despite Friday’s letdown, they’ll be ready to take a deep gulp of nervous enthusiasm once more.