Sometimes, Being a Weber State Fan is Really Hard

 

The last time the Weber State Wildcats lost to the Idaho State Bengals in Ogden was 1984.

Let that sink in for a second.

40 years.

Terminator was the #1 movie in America, Prince’s Purple Rain topped the music charts, and Ronald Reagan had just defeated Walter Mondale in the presidential election. That was a long time ago. In the timeline of Weber State football, that’s ancient history.

Mike Price was the coach of the Wildcats in 1984. The Cats went 5-6 that season and finished 6^th in the Big Sky. A lot has happened in the Weber State Football program since 1984. Six Big Sky Conference Championships, 10 FCS Playoff Appearances, 8 Playoff Wins, 7 head coaches, and well over 470 games played. Still, in all that time, the Wildcats had not lost a game to our rivals at home.

That all ended Saturday afternoon. Mickey Mental and freefalling Wildcats watched as the Idaho State Bengals paraded around the field toting the newly re-introduced “Train Bell Trophy”. This marks a new low for Weber State Football. As I sat in my living room, looking at the faces of the disappointed fans and dejected players through my TV screen, I turned to my wife and said, “Sometimes, being a Weber State fan is really hard.”

Now let me clarify, it’s hard in terms of “sports fandom” hard. Not like an actual real-life trial or setback hard. Watching sports, after all, is for entertainment. If that’s not the case for you, may I kindly suggest you take a little longer look in the mirror tonight. However, in terms of sports fandom, it’s hard to remember a fanbase more down in the dumps than the Wildcat football faithful are right now.

Five losses in a row. Losses to two rivals in back-to-back weeks. The program veering sharply in the wrong direction. An unpopular head coach. The likelihood of many of our best players transferring… We can list many reasons why Wildcat fans are full of lament these days.

We’ve seen what success in football looks like over the past decade. It took many years to get the football program to a place where it was a consistent competitor in the Big Sky Conference and it just feels like this season, we’ve fallen back into being ok with being below average.

Where do we go from here? I really don’t know. I’m guessing that we’re going to lose some of our top talent to transfer, and honestly, I don’t blame them. Mickey Mental has two years left on his contract, and if Weber State fires him they would owe him the complete amount for the duration of his contract, which amounts to $430,000; not pocket change for Weber State, so, I don’t think Mickey is going anywhere for at least another year. Are we doomed to mediocrity for the foreseeable future?

I remember the last time I felt this way – Hopeless about the football team. It was in 2015, Jay Hill’s second season as head coach. After two decent wins over Sac State and Northern Colorado, the Wildcats played Southern Utah in Ogden. I was there at that game, and watched the Wildcats endure a miserable beat down – 44 to 0. I remember going home after that game with the same thought I have today— "Sometimes, being a Weber State fan is really hard." I obviously had no idea the success that would soon follow, what Jay would accomplish, and all the great times that lay ahead.

There have been high-highs and low-lows as a Weber State fan, as is the case for any fan base. But for me, one thing has always remained constant: I am a Wildcat. I graduated from that school. I spent nearly every day of my life for 4 years on that campus. I met my wife at Weber State and started my family in Ogden. That school, and that place mean something to me, something deep and very special. I have stuck with this team through thick and through thin because there is just something in my blood that keeps me coming back time and time again. I am not a fair-weather fan, and if you are reading this, I’m going to assume that you, like me, are all in as well.

We are enduring a rough storm right now, but times will get better. They eventually always do. And while I’m not holding my breath for an overnight change with this team, all I will say is that I intend to be there every step of the way.

Go Wildcats

Michael Garlick