Fans prove true blue loyalty for Utah State
When describing the fan base the Utah State basketball team had this season, freshman cheerleader Mitchell Bassett can only think of two words – unmatched loyalty.
In a year that featured the seventh-largest single game attendance in Spectrum history with 10,381 versus Long Beach State and an average home game attendance of 8,465, fans were not quick to waver from their team. Every home game, not one seat in the student section was filled, because the Aggie student body was on its feet for the entire game, every game.
Bassett, who along with the other cheerleaders put forth tremendous effort all season to enthuse the fans, said other fans simply don’t compare.
“When we travel to other arenas, we have by far the largest and loudest student section,” Bassett said.
Such was perhaps most true at the Aggies’ lone game in the Big West tournament. In a 63-62 loss versus Cal State Northridge, there were approximately 2,500 Aggie fans compared to fewer than 100 Northridge fans, who had only 60 miles trip to make from Anaheim. Bassett explained that the fans made their job a lot easier this year with their undying support.
“It was always encouraging walking into the arena,” Bassett said. “We always knew they were gonna have spirit throughout the whole game, and it never died.”
In an effort to keep the team alive in its postseason endeavors, fans were no different in Wednesday’s NIT first round game versus Hawaii.
“Last night’s game was probably the loudest I’ve seen us,” Bassett said. “Even though we were left out of the [NCAA Tournament], the fans were still willing to give the team all the support that they could.”
The Mad Cows, a four-member group of rabid Utah State fans, supported the Aggies by dressing up in costumes for every game.
Mad Cow Dave Moss, a business information systems major, says his loyalty is based on his love for the team’s exciting plays, particularly Cardell Butler’s dunks.
Butler’s dunks and overall play were two highlights for the team this year. Starting every game this season, Butler averaged 14 points per game, and earned a spot on the Big West All-Conference First Team.
“There’s always exciting plays, you never know what they’re gonna do,” said Dave Stewart, a fellow Mad Cow and print journalism major. “They have a special chemistry about them.”
That special chemistry was good enough to give the Aggies 25 wins, a share of the regular season Big West Conference title and an invitation to the NIT.
Not only did the team have the full-fledged support of the student body, alumni from Utah State were on hand for this season’s action.
David Good, who graduated from Utah State in 1980, was at every home game this season, showing his unbridled support for the team.
“How they play as a team is appealing,” Good said. “There’s no one all-star out there.”
Good said he will not waver from his loyalty next season, even after a tough loss in the first round of the NIT to Hawaii.
“The consistency in the program is there,” Good said. “It seems to get better every year.”
USU student Jason Denson, another Mad Cow, said Aggie fans will continue to support the team even in hard times.
“Every year it’s like this, the fans are always loyal,” Denson said. “It’s not like this just because we win.”
-bcb@cc.usu.edu