U of U gear sales are red hot as fans embrace the start of football season
Aug 31, 2023, 6:35 PM | Updated: 7:21 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Utes fans can find almost anything in the campus store, which for fans like Howard Graham, can be quite the adventure — when the credit card bill arrives.
‘I’ve never had kids but it’s kind of like you’re the father and you’re just waiting for the wife to give birth; You want to see what the new kids are going to do when they walk and run, you know?” Graham said.
That’s one way to put it.
“Baseball, basketball, nothing. Football. I need football to go the whole year,” Utah fan Tarsha Stewart said.
That’s why the University of Utah campus store was packed today. Fans buying the latest hats, shirts or whatever, just in time for kick off. It’s been busy.
“I would say this game is probably the busiest we’ve been this early in the season in my 10 years here to be honest with you,” Abby Hirshberg, the store’s merchandise manager said. “And it’s been all week.”
Even Florida fans were buying Ute gear.
“These are future Utes fans from Florida,” Graham said Thursday. For him, it’s all about having fun and connecting with other fans, no matter who they cheer for.
We even found some Florida fans buying Utah gear 🐊 pic.twitter.com/QAWnx7Nroy
— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) August 31, 2023
“It’s a great time. To be a fan, it’s a great time,” he said. But nothing makes him feel more connected to the team than the #22 hanging around his neck.
“I had this made special,” he said.
That’s the uniform number for two Utah players, Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, who died in 2020 and 2021.
“They’re with us, they would be a senior this year so we miss them,” Graham said. “They’re never leaving.”
For Graham and many U of U fans, it’s a way to honor the past while looking forward to another exciting football season.
“Go Utes!
