The sight of Laramie can be….underwhelming to some.
Coming from a large city like Denver, I found that to be the case at first. For god’s sake the tallest building in this state is White Hall and it’s only 12 stories high. Parking garages are taller than that. Yet, I eventually started growing into the town. I noticed how friendly the people are, how little traffic there is and, of course, how much pride there is in the fact that everyone bleeds brown and gold.
Which leads me to this thought. Why wouldn’t an athlete love coming to this University? For four years, you are among the prime names in the state. No one can compete with you. I have no doubt that if quarterback Brett Smith would have ran for the Governor’s office last year, he would have won with 95% of the vote. There’s no major league team that steals the spotlight. There’s no large attraction in the state to pull away from your games. On Saturdays in the fall, War Memorial Stadium is the epicenter of the state and the region. No matter the record or the score, the Wyoming faithful are there every week cheering for a less than premiere program. Why should it stay that way? Why should this program continually be down-trotted because of our location, in the po-dunk plains? A full and loud War Memorial Stadium is among the best atmosphere’s I have ever experienced. Athletes should flock to these sorts of attractions.
Back in the spring of 2012, I interviewed Wyoming alum Derrick Martin. He was a safety at the University from 2003-2005. I was doing an alumni spotlight for my high school at the time, Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colo. I was a junior at Thomas Jefferson when I interviewed him, and Derrick had graduated in the spring of 2003. At the time he was still a safety in the NFL, and was coming off a Super Bowl championship with the New York Giants. It was the biggest interview in the community and I was able to grab it. After doing some background research on him, I noticed he was also an alumnus of the University of Wyoming. I decided to ask him about his time in Laramie. What he said seemed like a politically correct statement at the time, but now could not ring truer today.
“Playing Division One football is a great thing to start with, but Laramie is the greatest community to do it in. The brown and gold really support you,” said Martin. Now, it probably helped the Martin was an All-American candidate and among the elite safeties in the nation so of course everyone loved him. Yet, Martin still could have taken a totally different approach to Laramie. Being from Denver as well, he could have seen the small market of the city and the cold winters and go in another direction. He was still able to fall in love in Laramie, and still comes back today.
Homecoming for Wyoming athletes is a return to the ultimate glory days. They were, at one time, the kings of the state. Coming back to the campus in Laramie should be such an honor. Why should these athletes “settle” for Wyoming? No, coming to the frontier of Laramie is an honor and a commitment. Returning to remind us of who they once were should only be the same.
