Fans camp out for rivalry game
Utah State basketball hosts its oldest rival Tuesday in the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum, and most USU fans wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Nearly 500 fans brought blankets, bean bag chairs and sleeping bags into the Wayne Estes Center Monday in preparation for Tuesday’s game, which will be the Cougars’ first visit to the Spectrum since losing 62-69 in 2011.
“There’s a lot of people playing games. Some of the football players are here. It’s just a good time,” said Aggie super-fan Derick Earle.
Students will be rewarded with early-entry wristbands for camping out, similar to last year’s home football game against the Cougars.
“When people arrive here, they put their name down on the computer,” said USUSA athletics and campus recreation vice president Dallin Laird. “At night we’ll go through and look at who came when. Each wristband has a number, and based on when they got here, we’ll give that person their numbered wristband.”
Laird said the wristband system was implemented so students would be able to go to class Tuesday knowing their seats are secure. Students without wristbands will still be able to line up in front of the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum as usual.
The Aggies look to continue a six-game home winning streak against BYU dating back to 2000.
“I’ve played them for a long, long time, and they’re always scary,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill. “They’re always really talented offensively, and there’s a lot of high-profile recruits on their roster.”
Freshman Cherie Crosby hopes the hostile atmosphere will help the relatively young Utah State squad to a victory.
“I think our players like the fact that we’re so supportive,” Crosby said. “We help get the adrenaline pumping, and they want to win for the crowd.”
Crosby added that staying overnight in the Spectrum was hardly an inconvenience when it came to witnessing the rivalry game.
“We can’t get a bad seat,” Crosby said. “People at USU are crazy and camp out like ten hours before, and we have to be a part of that.”
Morrill acknowledged that for many of the Aggie players, the game will mark their first experience playing BYU.
“The rivalry’s been around forever,” Morrill said. “That environment will be new to a lot of our guys.”
Sophomore Kieryae Grayson said she has friends at BYU and that bragging rights will be on the line.
“This is the first time they’ve played at USU for a long time,” Grayson said, “I think they’re in for a rude awakening.”
Coming home after two straight road losses, Morrill knows his team needs to play differently in order to get a victory against BYU.
“As everybody who follows us knows, we have a whole new cast of players, and a lot of guys trying to figure things out,” Morrill said. “We’ve had some good moments, and we’ve had some ugly moments. We have to be more consistent if we’re going to play with BYU.”
— logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @logantj