A Utah man am I, sir, and will be til I die!
I had the pleasure of attending Utah basketball's win over Wyoming yesterday. It's always great to get back to the U of U campus and it's always better when they win. I think this is the 4th time I've gone in the last 12 months and the Utes have won every time I've gone. I guess Coach Boylen's motivational speeches of "Win this one for the D Train" are really paying off.
In addition to the game, the University of Utah was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jon M. Huntsman center. This brought back memories, for me, of going to basketball camps there during the Rick Majerus years. In addition to the jolly fat man, I was also privileged enough to learn from such Utah greats as Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, and perhaps the greatest guard in Utah history, Andre Miller.
Meeting and learning from Andre Miller is of particular fondness for me as I was able to see him as a truly poor college student. I remember during basketball camp, some of us had some down time and we went into the Utah locker room. I saw in Andre's locker a notebook filled with doodles, among a few actual notes. As I was leaving the locker room and passing the south doors of the Huntsman Center, I saw Andre roll up in a gray/silver car that looked to be either a Gremlin or a Yugo. This dude was POOR. And incredibly unassuming. When he would coach our team during camp, he spoke so softly that he sounded like he was whispering. In addition to this, I don't think anyone realized how good he was really going to be. Coach Majerus, when talking about Andre, said, "We expect pretty good things out of this kid." How about leading the Utes to the National Championship game in 1998? Keith Van Horn only ever made it to the Elite Eight.
So I guess since I'm writing on my beer blog, I should tell you about the beer of the night. I, of course, wasn't able to drink at the game, but afterward I had the extreme pleasure of going with my good friend Jill to the Red Butte Cafe. Red Butte is a member of the Pub Group Restaurants and, as such, has both amazing food and amazing beer. The beer includes those from the Desert Edge Brewery and the Moab Brewery. My consistent favourite, and possibly the best beer in Utah, is the UPA (Utah Pale Ale). When in doubt, I always order this and last night was no exception. Perfect balance of hops, with the unfiltered bitterness of a lighter ale. Truly delicious and I enjoyed every part of dinner.
Cheers to the boys in red! Here's to 40 more years of basketball mediocrity (with the occasional great season), football superiority, and gymnastics domination!
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