August is a month when the calendar year begins to get old and Mike Price turns young.
The UTEP football coach is 65 years old, but at Friday afternoon's Kick-Off Luncheon, as he grabbed a microphone, strode out into the convention center crowd and did his imitation of a revival preacher, he looked younger than the Miners he coaches.
He involved players, assistants, even basketball coach Tim Floyd, as he relentlessly made his sales pitch for the Miners at the annual fundraising event.
"This is a young, exciting, physical, punishing, getting-after-it football team," he said.
"Our running backs run into the secondary and they are punishing people, but their heads are on a swivel because they're going to get hit hard with a thunderous, tremendous blow.
"It's hard to scrimmage each other because it's such a battle out there."
The luncheon gave 450 boosters and fans a chance to meet the coaches and players over lunch, something the Miners seemed to enjoy as much as the fans.
"It's fun to get to meet them, they're the real reason we're all here," said Chapin High School grad Cliff Tucker, who attended four similar events at Maryland where he was a basketball player. "A lot more people know me. A
couple of people recognize me, others I'd tell them who I am and then they'd recognize me.
"It's nice to get to sit down and talk to them and get to know them."
That's something linebackers coach Robert Rodriguez has been doing for more than a decade. His first luncheon was in 2000 as a freshman linebacker and this was his ninth one in the years since (he missed a few when he was playing professionally in Canada).
He said he likes them better each year.
"They keep the jokes fresh;
they don't recycle them so that's good," Rodriguez said. "It's even more special seeing guys like (senior linebacker Jeremy) Springer who's been here four times. It's great seeing all the faces you see every year.
"I remember some of these people from the first time. I appreciate all the people who made UTEP such a great experience for me."
This will be the last luncheon Montwood High graduate Julio Lopez attends as a player. He said being an El Pasoan adds to the festivities.
"I'm not saying it's not special for the out-of-town players, but being from here, I've always been around UTEP," he said. "I had never been to one of these before I was a player, but I'd been to the tailgates out on Glory Field. I've been around UTEP football all my life."
So has longtime fan Richard Solis, also a coach for the Eastside Texans of the El Paso Nerf Football League, who brought some of his players to meet the Miners.
Sitting at his table was freshman center A.C. Patterson, the son of defensive coordinator Andre Patterson.
"I think UTEP is going to be better than last year," Solis said. "They've hired some good defensive coaches and the defensive coordinator is going to make a difference.
Optimism abounded on this day, and it was easy to see why as Price worked the crowd. "This team is special, this school is special, this community is special," Price said.
"We're not average. An average grade is a 'C'. Does anybody want a 'C'?
"We want an excellent school. We have that. We want an excellent community. We have that. We want an excellent football team. We're going to get after it."
About the only thing that could bring down Price on this day was the thought of waiting another two weeks to open the season.
Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359.
What: UTEP football scrimmage. When: 8 p.m. Where: Sun Bowl. Other events: 10 a.m. Fan Appreciation Day; 11:30 a.m. facilities tour; noon, women's clinic.
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