With this being rivalry week, I thought it would be fun to toss out some new ideas for traditions I'd love to see at UTEP. From the Battle of 1-10 to Minerpalooza, there are lots of great traditions already on campus. UTEP is a school with a rich history and traditions that make the campus environment a unique place. I still think that some things could be done to better connect the school and the local community.
Not all traditions are marked by a particular game or date. Nobody knows how this tradition started, but few things are better than when an opposing player fouls out at the Don. Not familiar? Watch this.
Admittedly, the idea for this post was spawned by Living El Paso's idea to "light up" a building on campus to signify a UTEP Miner win in football or perhaps a conference championship in another sport in a manner similar to how they do at Texas and Baylor.
Going to games at UTEP is always fun, and great student run initiatives like the Paydirt Podcast show how vibrant life on campus already is, but I thought with the NMSU game as the backdrop it would be a good time to solicit your feedback on new traditions you'd like to see on campus.
To get the ball rolling, here are three things I'd like to see more of, or initiated, on campus.
3. More Mariachi Los Mineros
Have you ever seen that video? It's awesome. Mariachi Los Mineros should be far more visible around town and on campus. I've never seen them perform at a football game. I think it would be incredible if UTEP had them playing out in the tailgate areas before kickoff each week as guests from other schools come in to the stadium
2. Prospector vs. Round Up Editorial Smackdown
This idea is inspired by a long running tradition between Texas and Oklahoma. The Thursday before the Red River Shootout, the sports staffs from each school write an editorial slamming the other school. Academic stature, city's, football teams, and just about anything else you can think of are fair game. Each school runs the others, and their own, editorial side by side. It's all in good fun and to be honest it helps get the blood boiling, just a bit, on the eve of the weekend.
1. Lighting the Star on the Mountain
Living El Paso had it right. Lighting a building on campus, or the star on the mountain, orange and blue would be a great way to remind the city that UTEP is our team. It's not just the team for those who were lucky enough to attend school there. What a way for El Pasoans and those in Juarez and (cough) New Mexico to see how El Pasoan's stand behind Miner athletics.
My Paint skills are lacking but it could look something like this:
Rules could be drawn up as to when and how the building, or star, would be lit. It could be used to alert the community as to a major academic achievement. Perhaps, it could signify a conference championship in other sports. As football goes, every Miner win should warrant some sort of city wide appreciation and for a conference title maybe it could have a special effect of some sort.
So, these are some things I'd like to see on campus. Perusing some of the UTEP message boards, and looking at our site traffic, I can't help but notice that Miner fans aren't as excited about UTEP football as we were last week. After a loss, that's understandable for a day or two.
But this is a rivalry week. It's time to focus on the task at hand; bragging rights along 1-10.
Any tradition ideas of your own?