Arizona Wildcats fan Matt Bustamante lived in Arizona for roughly the first 30 years of his life, 12 of them being in Tucson, he can’t help but be a huge Wildcats fan.
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Matt lives in north San Diego County and has for the past three years, he’s married with two little Wildcats; one boy and one girl, He works for an awesome audio company called JLab Audio which was actually founded in Tucson. JLab Audio is a designer and manufacturer of personal audio products.
Matt enjoys working at JLAB and more, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, exploring the various hiking trails where he lives, and going to and watching sporting events especially basketball.
He loves music, mostly rock, his favorite band is Metallica. The thing he misses most, besides going to games in person, is eating “real” Mexican food.
We asked on Twitter if anyone out there was a huge Wildcat fan, and Matt responded in kind so we interviewed him to find out more about him.
@ZonaZealots huge fan!
— Matt Bustamante (@Bustamantra) June 6, 2015
Arizona Wildcats
ZZ: How long have you been a fan of the Arizona Wildcats?
Matt: I’ve been a U of A fan since I was a kid. I grew up two hours outside of Tucson and my family were fans, so naturally I became a fan as well.
ZZ: What was it about the University of Arizona Athletics program that caught your attention?
Matt: Basketball is my favorite sport, so I was immediately drawn to the early 90’s Wildcats when the program became dominant.
ZZ: What are some of your favorite things about the Arizona Wildcats?
Matt: The fans! We have the best fans in the country and it shows when we’re on the road. I love the connections that the athletes make with the community that keeps them coming back long after they’ve moved on.
ZZ: Do you always watch Arizona games or go to the games when they are in town? How often at home, how often in person, how often do you listen on the Radio?
Photo by Matt Bustamante
Matt: I watch as many games as I can. When I lived in Tucson I had season tickets to basketball and went to most football games. Now that I live in SoCal I try to go to as many as I can when they’re out here. I’ve attended the tournament games for basketball as well as their game here against SDSU a couple of years ago. If I’m not attending the game live and it’s on TV, you better believe I’m watching!
ZZ: What is your favorite saying when it comes to the Arizona Wildcats?
Matt: Bear Down!
ZZ: Do you have any game day rituals or game day look?
Matt: If it’s game day, I’m wearing “the colors.”
ZZ: Do you have a favorite Arizona Wildcat moments?
Matt: The 1997 NCAA Championship.
Storming the basketball court as a freshman after an amazing comeback against UCLA in January 2002.
The undefeated tournament run that the ‘Cats made in the 2012 College World Series.
The 1998 football team, especially the leap by the lake!
Anytime we beat ASU.
ZZ: Tell us about the pride you feel when you wear the school colors.
Photo by Matt Bustamante
Matt: I wear the colors every Friday. It’s like being part of an exclusive club, especially out here in SoCal. There’s nothing like seeing another Wildcat in a random place and exchanging a Bear Down.
ZZ: Does winning or losing a game affect your mood? In which ways?
When we win, I’m on could nine and there’s not much that can bring me down. I’ve been known to get a little moody after a loss, especially when it’s a game we should have won.
ZZ: Who is your favorite Arizona Wildcat player and what sport do they or did they play? Favorite Coach? And why?
Matt: We’ve had too many great players come through for me to narrow it down to one. I’m a huge fan of the guards we’ve had come through the basketball program. The first NBA jersey I ever owned was Damon Stoudamire’s rookie Toronto Raptor jersey. Mike Bibby, Miles Simon, Steve Kerr, Sean Elliot, Jason Gardner and T.J. McConnell all come to mind with basketball.
Jennie Finch was dominating while I was in college so I’ve always been a fan of hers on the softball side of things. Kim Glass in volleyball. Ortege Jenkins, Nick Foles and Scooby Wright in football.
My favorite coach has to be Lute for what he did for the basketball program.
ZZ: If you could say one thing to them, what would it be?
Matt: Bear Down!
BEAR DOWN MATT! And thank you so much for sharing with your fellow Wildcat fans!
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