LETTER: Homecoming spirit was strong

To the editor:

I attended Homecoming Weekend, and though dismayed by the Aggie football team’s uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again, I was more than impressed by an energy, enthusiasm and, most importantly, the unity I felt on campus like I have never felt before. This includes my years from ‘71 to ‘75, when USU’s athletic teams were highly ranked nationally, in both football and basketball.

What a sight to see a sea of blue throughout Romney Stadium and to hear the enthusiastic, coordinated cheers and the unison with the repeated throng of “The Scotsman.” More than once, it brought tears to the eyes of this old, true-blue Aggie.

There was a feeling there that stretched beyond the stadium — a palpable feeling that permeated my skin as I walked the campus on both Friday and Saturday, as I attended the parade and rubbed shoulders with students and alumni alike — a feeling reflected in another cheer I repeatedly heard over and over at the game: “I believe in Utah State.”

There is, it seems to me, an elevated character among the student body and an attendant commitment to excellence. The quality of you current Aggies is refreshing and inspiring, and I thank you for that.

In the post-game radio coaches show, Coach Anderson said something I thought was profound. He said, in essence, we’ll begin winning these games when we deserve to win them as a team, as players, as a coaching staff.

The good news is the student body already deserves those wins, and I see signs that our football team is getting there.

Keep the faith, fellow Aggies. Big Blue will be back — and in so many ways is already back — because you, collectively deserve it, will demand it, will get it. Not just on the football field but throughout all of your endeavors in school and in life.

Go Aggies. I believe in Utah State.

Jim Ackerman