Completed Event: General versus Arizona on January 18, 2002
Final Score
General
vs Arizona
Photo by: Steve C. Wilson
Utes Insider – The stories behind the birth of the MUSS and flashing the U
9/15/2020 11:01 AM | General
The stories behind the birth of the MUSS and flashing the U
Ever wonder how certain traditions were created? Were they well-orchestrated or innocently organic? During this edition of Utes Insider presented by Pepsi, the stories of two Utah Athletics traditions conceived in the last 20 years, the MUSS and flashing the U, are told firsthand by men behind them.
The podcast can be heard on iTunes and YouTube. All Utah Athletics podcasts will be archived here.
John Fackler worked as the director of alumni relations for the U from 2000-18, but to students who became rabid Utah football fans, he might be best known as the Godfather of the MUSS.
As the advisor to the U's student alumni group, Fackler was among a core of individuals who saw an overwhelming need to get students more excited about attending Ute football games. While other initiatives over the years had failed, Fackler and his team found the magic formula for success and created the MUSS, which is an acronym for "Mighty Utah Student Section."
Fackler relives the group's humble beginnings in 2002, when 800 members was considered a huge success, and how a bus trip to the 2003 Liberty Bowl brought a passionate leadership group together. As its membership grew to 3,000 following Utah's Fiesta Bowl season in 2004, the MUSS started some traditions of their own, which include the U of U Chop and the Third Down Jump. Fackler marvels at the impact they've had on games over the years.
Fackler talks about former head coach Urban Meyer's passionate contributions and how Kyle Whittingham's interactions with the group over the years have gone far beyond football. The MUSS is now revered as one of the most avid and vocal student fan clubs in the nation with 6,000 members. It also sponsors groups for men's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. As Fackler enjoys Ute home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium or on television, he still marvels at what the MUSS has become.
When running back Matt Asiata celebrated a touchdown during Utah's 2009 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama by forming a U with both hands in front of his helmet, the phenomenon of flashing the U exploded. However, its creation didn't even involve the Ute football team. Rather it was born out of a promise made by a loyal Utah fan to the father of a student-athlete.
John Bircumshaw, who has been a long-time Utah fan and supporter, is the man who made that promise, and unknowingly unleashed what has become one of the greatest acts of fandom and celebration in collegiate sports. Bircumshaw relives the story of how simple gestures between himself and Utah gymnast Melissa Vituj in 2001 were seen by others and initially misinterpreted. But once the Ute gymnastics team and the MUSS adopted the U hand signal, it took off, and before long it began showing up at other Utah sporting events and on the streets of Salt Lake City.
Bircumshaw and Vituj never intended to start something big, but thanks to the early support of the gymnastics team and Asiata's memorable moment in the Sugar Bowl, is has become a phenomenon. Its popularity grew even more in 2013 when the U's social media manager, Andrew Thompson Landerghini, stared a #FlashTheUFriday on Instagram. Before long, hundreds of Ute fans across the globe were using the hashtag and posting photos on social media.
Bircumshaw, a man who is humble the core, is still in awe of what he started.
The podcast can be heard on iTunes and YouTube. All Utah Athletics podcasts will be archived here.
John Fackler worked as the director of alumni relations for the U from 2000-18, but to students who became rabid Utah football fans, he might be best known as the Godfather of the MUSS.
As the advisor to the U's student alumni group, Fackler was among a core of individuals who saw an overwhelming need to get students more excited about attending Ute football games. While other initiatives over the years had failed, Fackler and his team found the magic formula for success and created the MUSS, which is an acronym for "Mighty Utah Student Section."
Fackler relives the group's humble beginnings in 2002, when 800 members was considered a huge success, and how a bus trip to the 2003 Liberty Bowl brought a passionate leadership group together. As its membership grew to 3,000 following Utah's Fiesta Bowl season in 2004, the MUSS started some traditions of their own, which include the U of U Chop and the Third Down Jump. Fackler marvels at the impact they've had on games over the years.
Fackler talks about former head coach Urban Meyer's passionate contributions and how Kyle Whittingham's interactions with the group over the years have gone far beyond football. The MUSS is now revered as one of the most avid and vocal student fan clubs in the nation with 6,000 members. It also sponsors groups for men's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics. As Fackler enjoys Ute home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium or on television, he still marvels at what the MUSS has become.
When running back Matt Asiata celebrated a touchdown during Utah's 2009 Sugar Bowl win over Alabama by forming a U with both hands in front of his helmet, the phenomenon of flashing the U exploded. However, its creation didn't even involve the Ute football team. Rather it was born out of a promise made by a loyal Utah fan to the father of a student-athlete.
John Bircumshaw, who has been a long-time Utah fan and supporter, is the man who made that promise, and unknowingly unleashed what has become one of the greatest acts of fandom and celebration in collegiate sports. Bircumshaw relives the story of how simple gestures between himself and Utah gymnast Melissa Vituj in 2001 were seen by others and initially misinterpreted. But once the Ute gymnastics team and the MUSS adopted the U hand signal, it took off, and before long it began showing up at other Utah sporting events and on the streets of Salt Lake City.
Bircumshaw and Vituj never intended to start something big, but thanks to the early support of the gymnastics team and Asiata's memorable moment in the Sugar Bowl, is has become a phenomenon. Its popularity grew even more in 2013 when the U's social media manager, Andrew Thompson Landerghini, stared a #FlashTheUFriday on Instagram. Before long, hundreds of Ute fans across the globe were using the hashtag and posting photos on social media.
Bircumshaw, a man who is humble the core, is still in awe of what he started.
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