The UTEP football team ended their 2015 season 5-7 with no chances of a bowl game. This performance seemed to dissuade some students from spending their Saturday nights at the Sun Bowl.
The Kugler era began in 2013 with a disappointing 2-10 record, but then showed promise during the 2014 season with a 7-6 record, 5-3 in conference.
Even if the football team is not doing well, the general feeling seems to be that most students enjoy the game-day atmosphere. Alejandra Gamez, a graduate student in kinesiology, claims that as a graduate student, she doesn’t really attend the football games, but did as an undergraduate.
“There’s always school spirit at the games,” Gamez said. “I liked the cheerleaders, the band, the half-time shows that they usually do.”
There is a rousing energy that is prominent in the student section. Rebecca Mejia, a communication major, enjoys the electricity that is present during the games.
“The games are always exciting, especially the big games,” Mejia said.
She refers to the games that seem to always surprise the crowd, like the Battle of I-10 against NMSU, or the 2014 Texas Tech game, where UTEP lost only by four points.
Ivan Vicencio, who is a marketing major, said there is a special kind of relationship between the team and the crowd.
“They both share an energy that drives them, either to play or cheer better,” Vicencio said. “Doesn’t matter if they’re not winning, it may be a tie or it may be a loss, as long as the game is entertaining.”
Of course some would say that the enthusiasm of the game is enough. Erick Garcia, a mechanical engineering major, believes that a victorious football team would surely be more attractive than one that just tries.
“The only reason people would start going to games is if they start winning,” Garcia said.
The Sun Bowl may not be packed with colors like other universities on football nights, but that may be because UTEP is a commuter school. At the end of the day, students find it easier to go back home.
Gamez added that even if the football team doesn’t win, even if they don’t reach their goal, the students who attend the games go not only to show support, but to have fun. The Sun Bowl’s ambience is what the students go for. The food, the drinks, the cheers, the occasional sack of the other team’s quarterback and the touchdowns are what everyone goes to savor.
UTEP’s tradition and school spirit may not be as electrifying or important as other colleges, but it doesn’t mean that it is not trying. The school is growing and there’s nothing that can impede it from reaching that level.
Andres Gallegos may be reached at [email protected].
