In the Land of Salt: November 2008

Well, it's here. Rivalry week. Most people know I (Dave) am a Utah fan. Some would describe me as a "big" Utah fan, others don't know the extent of my fandom. Suffice it to say, I like the Utes.

In commemoration of the big game I thought I'd list my top ten Utah moments / Utah related memories - some are for the sports folks out there, others are more general in nature.

(10) Pulling in front of Kristin's house for the first time only to be greeted by a giant lit U in the upper window. Love at first sight (that refers to Kristin, of course).

(9) As a 12 year old, sitting in the BYU season ticket holder section while Yergensen nailed a 55 yard field goal to beat the Zoobs.

(8) Eating Christmas (or was it Christmas Eve) dinner, again as a young tike, with Phil Dixon (Ute basketball player) at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Having Phil Dixon, at the same dinner, give me two tickets to the Utah Wyoming basketball game. Also, and this may be my own addition (just ask Kristin about my bad memory), having Phil Dixon point / wave / come up / something to my dad and I at the game.

(7) Getting kicked out of Rice Eccles stadium while watching a closed-to-the-public spring practice in preparation for the magical 2004 season. In 2004 I worked night shifts (5 - 9) on campus. I often took a break from school by spending my afternoons watching the Utes practice. On one particular day the Utes practiced in Rice Eccles. I made my way up into the stands and watched about 30 minutes of practice. I found it odd that I was the only spectator in the stadium. I soon knew why. To my surprise, don't ask me how I didn't see him coming, a large man barked at me from the portal "get outta here before I call the cops, this practice is closed." I left.

(6) Fracturing my ankle on the morning of the Utah BYU game in 2004. Greg Condie, Nate McConkie and I ventured down to the ESPN Game Day set to watch Game Day that morning. Before the darn thing even started ESPN threw out Home Depot shirts to the fans. I jumped up to grab one, fell awkwardly, and fractured my ankle. Despite the intense pain, I couldn't miss Game Day. So, I had Greg and Nate drop me off at Scott Jacobsen's where he and I watched the show. I then went to the Instacare, got a brace, learned it was fractured, etc. That night I attended the game on crutches.

(5) Singing the Utah fight song with Dan Hinckley and Byron Burkhart in front of our Fluid Hydraulics class in return for my teacher moving our homework assignment due date from Friday to Monday (the new date allowed us to see the Utes' Thursday night game).

(4) Hearing Grandma say "Fred and I are going to the ball-game on Saturday." There's something special about Grandma, Grandpa, and the "ball-game."

(3) Standing under the basket as a ballboy when the Utes' Byron Wilson threw in a halfcourt shot to beat UTEP. Seeing myself on the news that night as the ballboy standing under the basket in which the game winning shot was made.

(2) Walking through Times Square on New Years Day 2005. The Utes thrashed Pittsburgh later that night, and my brother, Dave Hansen, and I watched the thrashing from the Vincents home in Delaware. But we had spent New Years Eve in NYC and accordingly found ourselves in Times Square on New Years morning. Some guy, from across the street, noticed my Utah gear and yelled out "Go Utes." I whipped around and yelled the same back to him. It was great to feel the Utah fever in the heart of New York City.

(1) Maintaing my position as the only one (out of 14 who have attended some form of college) of Grandpa Fred's grandchildren to remain true to his school (Lindsey Homer, I hope you'll join me).

Thanks to a timely Christmas present (yeah - 2 months early - so what?!?) from Kristin, our family once again has the ability to put pictures on our blog. We are way behind. So, instead of giving long descriptions - we'll just give each picture a title.