By Jeff Hunter ’96

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A couple of years ago, my pre-teen son, Dillon, looked longingly across Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium and proclaimed, “I can’t wait until the day when I can sit over there with them.”

Since it was just the two of us watching an Aggie football game, it was hard not to take that declaration personally.

But I also understood because the “them” he was referring to was the HURD, and that night the elite members of the Utah State student section were having a blast performing their high-energy game rituals and raining their always clever disdain upon the opposing team.

Meanwhile, Dillon’s middle-aged father — the man who has attended literally hundreds of Aggie sporting events in the three-plus-decades since he was a USU student — was finding it difficult to display any emotion on the other side of the stadium, while also performing the clunkiest version of The Scotsman imaginable.

But in all fairness, Utah State University taught me to be that way.

As a young journalism student aspiring to be a sports writer, I was repeatedly instructed that “cheering in the press box” or displaying outward signs of passion during an athletic event were strictly verboten and highly unprofessional. And after covering Aggie athletics for a few decades for several different publications, I’ve found it difficult to “turn it on” whenever I’m simply sitting in the stands as a fan rather than working as a writer or photographer.

However, what you can do at the press table or the press box is cheer for the story. And I’ve been fortunate to witness many great moments in Utah State sports history, and had a chance to watch, interview and/or photograph some all-time Aggie greats.

A few current and surely future members of the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame are featured in this special issue of Utah State Magazine dedicated to Aggie athletics, including this year’s Commencement speaker and legendary NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner, U.S. Olympian Chari Hawkins, all-time winningest basketball coach Stew Morrill, former Aggie guard Tony Brown and current NBA starters Sam Merrill and Neemias Queta.

As part of the feature story on Merrill, who graduated in 2020 as the program’s second-leading scorer of all-time, I attended the Cleveland Cavaliers at Utah Jazz game in late March. After catching up with Sam in the Cavs’ locker room, I had the option of sitting in the lower bowl of the Delta Center with the media or sitting further away in the upper deck with my family. I opted to sit up top with my wife and fellow USU alum, Maegan, as well as Dillon and my daughter Callie, who were all primarily decked out in Utah State gear. Granted, it was a rather awkward situation for them, cheering for the Jazz while simultaneously supporting Sam.

And while I certainly wouldn’t be confused for a member of the HURD, my family even got to hear me yell some encouraging things towards No. 5 from time to time, especially as it dawned on me that after being around Utah State basketball for 34 years, Sam’s appearance at the Delta Center marked the first time I had ever seen a former Aggie play in an the NBA game in-person.

Go Aggies – past, present and future!