The Utah Problem

Utah, you're either for us or against us. Now, I completely understand the criticisms of Utah--although I disagree with most of them. We catch a lot of hate from people outside the state because of our majority LDS residents, those LDS residents are also frequently in the state government and the government runs the state with generally LDS rules and so we don't have a ton of alcohol in the state and our nightlife is almost nonexistent. That's really it. Those are the two huge criticisms that Utah receives on regular basis from sports fans and athletes alike. That's not to say those things are important for a lot of people. I'm not LDS anymore and so I can come at it from two perspectives of understanding the rules that are in place the way that they are and wishing it was different. People like what they like and in Utah, things are different than most other places. 

Setting politics aside, I think Utah gets a lot of unfair hate and here's why that is: Utah sports are far more successful than they should be. Utah shouldn't be talked about, it should be an obscure state that really doesn't have much or do much. Kind of like Kansas, sorry Kansas. But let's be honest, Utah rocks. Our sports teams are consistently successful from the college level to the pros. Granted, that success has really only amount to titles in BYU football during the 80s (which wasn't the same kind of championship that would be awarded today), and an MLS cup for Real Salt Lake. Championships are the ultimate measure of success and the state of Utah just doesn't have enough trophies in the case to make a huge push to national notoriety. The Jazz have gotten just close enough to hurt and the newly founded Utah Hockey Club has (technically) no history. 

Acknowledging the fact that championships are the true measure of real success, Utah sports teams have pretty consistently been in contention for big games and been on national stages almost every year. Like I mentioned, the Jazz were in the Finals for 2 years in a row, only to get bounced by the GOAT Michael Jordan. The only consolation being that for 6 out of 8 years, every other team in the NBA had to watch Michael and the Bulls dominate the league. The 2000's Jazz with Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer were consistently near the top of the Western Conference and in playoff contention. Then we experienced a rough patch before the hiring of Quinn Snyder and the eventual pairing of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert took the team to new heights. Of course, Joe Ingles was the real motor of that team and I miss seeing in a Jazz uniform more and more every year. 

The MLS is essentially a nonfactor in the US market of sports so I won't really comment on them apart from the Real Salt Lake MLS Cup win in 2009. 

BYU football won their 1984 'championship' and never really competed on the big stage of college football again besides being extremely competitive in the Mountain West before slowly fading away in their Independence 'league'. Their basketball team has made a huge jump which is exciting but football is the real money maker so we will focus on that.

Utah State, apart from the rousing success of Jordan Love and Bobby Wagner, really haven't seen very much success on the football field. Their basketball teams however have really taken over in the Mountain West. Competing with San Diego State for supremacy. Their 2020 season would have been magical, had COVID not shut down March Madness that spring. 

The Utah Utes have been the dominant force of football in the state since Kyle Wittingham took charge 20 years ago, after Urban Meyer's departure to Florida. Beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to complete a perfect season in 2008 was the peak moment in Utah Mountain West football history. The move to the, now defunct, PAC-12 brought new challenges in a Power 5 conference but that mountain was climbed by winning back to back PAC-12 championships in 2021 and 2022. Moving conferences again, this time to the Big 12, brought the spotlight back again to the Utah football team and time will only tell how successful this team will be. 

All of this brings me to my main point--Utah sports have been far more successful than they should be. As a collective, Utah sports teams are always in contention for a big prize, or even just into the playoffs. Because people outside the state have a picture in their mind of all the negatives of Utah and think that we are some kind of cultish, gated community shut off from the rest of the world, I think its frustrating to see us have success. There are a few, who give Utah the credit they deserve but more that don't. People are finding out very quickly that Utahns are passionate sports fans. The Utah Hockey Club will showcase that and put the doubters to rest. The Utah problem is not one that is going to go away for many of the haters out there. I have always said Utah is everything that Colorado is, even better in fact, but the Mormons got here first so the rules are different here. People love Colorado and won't give Utah the time of day, but every day more and more people are figuring out that Utah rocks. We will see true, genuine success in a championship soon.