Believe...

As an undergrad at UTEP, I never went to an athletic event or even had much school spirit. Actually, no, I went to one football game with extremely low attendance due to drizzly weather and a suck-y football team. After reaching a good beer buzz, we finally made it to the game, sat behind the band, and make fun of them. But no basketball games.

G. grew up with a different sense of UTEP spirit. His dad loves UTEP basketball. They regularly attended home games and reveled in seeing Tim Hardaway, Antonio Davis, and Greg Foster play for UTEP, all of whom later played for the NBA (so I'm told; I, of course, knew none of this).

Since returning to El Paso, I've picked up a bit more UTEP spirit, especially around basketball season, from G. and his dad (and his sisters, too--it's a family thing). Not enough to get me regularly to the games, but enough to understand how tough it is to be UTEP Miner fan.

To be a Miner fan, you must prepare to be disappointed about 60% of the time (depending on the sport)-this encompasses the Lows: the inexplicable mistakes, the near wins, the injuries, watching once promising records falter. The other 40% is blissful excitement and the entire city bursts with Miner pride. This 40% is attained through much nail-biting and suspense--the important games are never won with a comfortable margin; nope, every second, every move counts. It feels like the players have to win the hard way. To be a UTEP Miner fan, you are asked to follow the team through the many struggles, you have to believe they will pull through at the last moment. It may sound cheesy, it may just be the result of a very effective marketing campaign, but that one word--believe--emerges as the perfect catchphrase for UTEP athletics.

"Believe" is the best word for UTEP, its fans, even El Paso. UTEP's reputation is not as well-known or as highly regarded as that other UT school, nor do its players ooze with superstar, uber talent of the big athletic programs. Likewise, El Paso has a bad reputation. The city recently got national media attention for being one of the sweatiest, fattest, most illiterate & inebriated cities in the nation (TOTALLY not true). To be asked to believe that UTEP and the city can rise above these kinds of tags is mighty powerful. And they do believe. And it makes me love El Paso.

Last night, Miners pick up gritty win and held on to a chance to enter NCAA championship play.
Glory Road, the movie that chronicles the 1966 NCAA victory of Texas Western College (UTEP's former name) is more evidence that UTEP athletes have always been scrappy. I won't go into the specifics of the movie; all I will say is check your local movie listings and watch it immediately.

And, lastly, today is the Clasico de Clasicos, the big game between Guadalajara Chivas (boo, hiss) and Club America (vamos, aguilas!!). I'm taking UTEP's win last night as a good sign that the sports gods are on my side this weekend. Final Score: America 2, Chivas, 1.