Dear Lobos fans: Here's your moment to show how much you love football

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Hey, Lobos fans.

We know how much you love your beloved cherry and silver — well, at least when it comes to the basketball court. Now is the time to show how much you love football.

And seriously, you really need to love football.

Yeah, the University of New Mexico secured a bowl bid with its inspiring win over UNLV on Nov. 1, but the bar has been raised. You can thank head coach Jason Eck for that, and not just because he’s guided a remarkable turnaround in a program that was gutted not more than 10 months ago.

After the win over the Rebels, Eck said it would be “disappointing” if the stands aren’t filled with at least 25,000 fans for Saturday’s game against Colorado State. He rightly pointed out the importance of fans showing up because, hey, you have a winning football program.

More importantly, it’s a program that has to do something pretty special. If the Lobos can close out with wins over CSU, Air Force and San Diego State, they very likely will be competing in the Mountain West Conference championship game.

In case a history lesson is needed, the last time the program played in a conference championship game was 1997. Oh, and the last time there was a crowd of at least 25,000 people (actual bodies, mind you) for a November game was 2008.

Yes, there is that pesky thing called men’s basketball, and UNM plays in-state rival New Mexico State. But guess what? It’s in Las Cruces, and tip-off is set for after 7 p.m.

In Albuquerque, you have a team that is playing at home with a lot on the line, and it has a 1 p.m. start. No conflicts of interest here! You can celebrate a football win and have plenty of time to catch the basketball game — on TV or online, mind you.

But the football program needs you, Lobos fans. This is a call to arms.

If you haven’t heard — chances are you have, many times — football drives the college athletics bus. It is the lifeblood of almost every major college athletic program, and that won’t change for a while, if ever.

The sellout crowd for the NMSU-UNM game was a great snapshot of what could be. But the portfolio needs more of these, and this weekend is a chance to enhance the university’s image.

We see how schools are jumping conferences like it’s a 10-minute matchmaking service, and the way to make yourself attractive to a suitor is to read the room. Basketball is nice, even pleasing to some conference officials, but showing off your football chops? Oh, they’ll drool over you.

And for all the success in a variety of UNM sports over the past couple of decades, be it basketball, cross-country or baseball, all that conferences really care about is where your football program is in the hierarchy.

Getting 25,000-30,000 attendees sends a signal that the community is serious about football. And it helps open doors of possibilities.

No, UNM will not be in a Power Four conference anytime soon, but what about someday, if you have a football program that is supported and even loved?

Besides, Eck deserves every diehard’s support. Not only is he clearly a good coach, he’s funny, engaging, and above all else, insightful. Eck is saying all the right things about the program, even dropping hints he could see himself here for a while.

Now, you can roll your eyes at that comment, but doesn’t it feel nice to be wanted? Remember Bob Davie? He pined for Texas A&M and Notre Dame so much that he seemed to forget he coached at UNM.

Remember Mike Locksley? He tried to be Eck but was out of his element here. At least he found his place at Maryland.

Eck won’t be here for long, but if the community treats him and the program right, the next up-and-coming coach will see UNM as a destination — not a transfer station to better places.

Besides, this team is worth watching. It plays an exciting brand of football on both sides of the ball. And Eck sure is fun to watch and listen to, even after a loss.

And who knows? Maybe he is serious about staying in Albuquerque. Wouldn’t that be great?

Regardless of what the coming months bring for the program, this is a great moment for UNM football. It deserves a level of respect from the community that hasn’t been here since Rocky Long left.

Saturday is a chance to not just show the rest of the conference and even the country that UNM is ready to embrace football, but to send a message to Eck and future coaches.

UNM and football can be a match made in heaven. All you have to do is show up Saturday. Then, do it again for San Diego State.

Oh, and there’s a bowl game coming, too. Show up for that, as well.

And from now on, get used to saving Saturdays for Lobo football.

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