Why I Loved The Mtn…. Farewell Old Fella

Editors Note: This is a repost of my article talking about why I loved the MTN and why it’s sad to see it go.  May 31st was it’s final day.  And let me include this quote from Bill Doleman.

"We said Goodbye to The Mtn. today. Our final shows will air Thursday, May 31. We were maligned at times, but we mattered. Without it, there would be no Big Ten or Pac 12 Networks, and the successes of Mountain West would have been a whisper in the wind. I have been blessed to have been a part of the network and to know the people who made it an oasis in a very tough business. We had talented professional in positions throughout The Mtn., who worked for other networks and professional sports teams throughout the country who chose to work with us because of the people, the product, and the way they were treated. The Mtn. was never a job. It will always be family. I am a forever thankful for the experience. Thank you all for joining us on The Mtn.-Bill Doleman"

So it turns out the mtn television network will close its door at the end of May and I for one (maybe the only one) am sad to see it go.

Look I know the mtn wasn’t perfect.  It stumbled a bit out of the gate and the production value wasn’t the best.  But what it let me do as a Ute fan who didn’t live in Salt Lake was let me see virtually every Utah game.  In fact that is the big lie that haters of the mtn want to tell, that you couldn’t find it.

The mtn was on every cable system within the MWC footprint and available on Direct TV.  That means that the mtn was available in every single sports bar in America.  If you couldn’t find the mtn, it’s because you’re an idiot.

Plus the mtn let us tell ESPN to lick it.  I have no idea why some schools were so geeked up to play Tuesday afternoon football just so they could say they were on ESPN2.

And no BYU and now Boise the mtn did nothing to hurt you.  Utah went to a little old thing called the Sugar Bowl while playing on the mountain and if Boise simply had a kicker who didn’t choke they’d have probably played for the national title game.

In fact most of BYU’s bitching seems to come from them wanting to act like they’re Texas.  Now they have their wish of being America’s most well funded exhibition team.  Congrats on that.

So while moving to an AQ conference was a no brainer for teams like Utah-TCU-Boise St., frankly we owe a debt of gratitude to the mtn.  It allowed us to play games on Thursday and Saturday and regular times.  That led to a vastly improved tailgating situation at Utah and allowed for years of huge crowds.  Does anyone think we have that with a bunch of Tuesday and Wednesday games?

So thank you mtn.  You were a great thing and highly under-appreciated.  And I for one will miss you.