GORDON: Put the ‘Basketball School’ Narrative Away for UNM, NMSU
We’ve heard the same thing for decades.
Or maybe forever, depending on your age.
“New Mexico is a basketball school.”
Everyone says it, everyone knows it, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way (or at least not the way it is now).
As of this writing, the University of New Mexico Athletic Department has sold 32,427 tickets to this year’s edition of the Rio Grande Rivalry at University Stadium.
If all those people show up on Saturday afternoon, the Lobos would have their biggest crowd since 2007.
Let that sink in.
It’s pretty obvious what makes this year different from all the others.
Jason Eck.
“Teams are usually going to play in a rivalry game better than maybe you saw on film,” Eck said.
Eck has become The People’s Coach of New Mexico.
He’s everywhere - and I mean - everywhere.
Isotopes games, New Mexico United matches and countless other places have gotten visits from the man at the center of the Lobo Football Team. The hype after beating UCLA has gone through the roof, which is evident from the ticket sales so far.
“I could tell since week 1 when they played Michigan that those guys don’t quit,” former UNM quarterback Lamar Jordan told The Pit Press. “Coach Eck, man, I’m a big fan. I saw his enthusiasm, his excitement, the first day he got the job.”
That excitement has energized Lobo fans from Albuquerque to Michigan and beyond.
The Rio Grande Rivalry is something everyone should experience at least once, especially if you live in New Mexico.
This is our Iron Bowl or Michigan vs. Ohio State.
New Mexicans love to talk…. crap, especially about sports.
Really, it’s all about having fun at the end of the day.
“One big thing I remember about the rivalry week is it brought a lot of pride to the state,” Jordan said. “I can’t remember a game that wasn’t packed out, even when we went down to Las Cruces. There was a butt in every seat.”
So for those of you scoring at home, there will be a lot more butts in the seats than we’ve had in 18 years on Saturday.
Also, more than last year’s New Mexico Bowl, which saw 22,827.
The UNM Athletic Department, under Fernando Lovo, has stated in the past that they wanted a party-like atmosphere for game day, and I think we may have a Project X scenario at play on Saturday if everything goes to plan, with more people than expected showing up.
New Mexico (yeah, Aggies’ fans too) deserves to have an electric college football atmosphere.
