Keep Things Positive and Productive
Back in August 2016, I decided to make a Twitter account focused solely on Utah Athletics. Before my account had a name and a face, I went through a few iterations. First, I was "Mister Red." Not long after, I shifted to "UtetahUte." That was also short-lived before I made the switch to "GlassHalfUte," a handle I used for the better part of a decade. Now, I'm still known and referred to by many as "Glass," but also as Josh Bennett (Bennett//Josh/JB).
Despite the name changes over the years, the mission never changed: keep things positive and productive.
When I first started, Utah Football felt like it was constantly hovering on the edge of something bigger. In a way, it still feels that way today — the goalposts have just moved. The 2015-2019 stretch was a rollercoaster, season after season. Injuries, November collapses, and a lot of bad luck. That rollercoaster led to plenty of emotions, both positive and negative.
Some people are dismissive of fan sentiment and the impact it can have on a program. I'm not in that group. I believe fans are largely responsible for a team's energy. And no, I'm not talking about the kind of energy you get from your favorite soda or energy drink. The players, coaches, and admin all see what fans are saying. Maybe not everything, but they see enough. We had Micah Bernard join a Space on X, and he talked about how players see a lot of the noise through burners, friends, family, and social media in general.
If you say the team sucks… the team is more likely to suck.
If you say the team is good… the team is more likely to be good.
That's just science.
And that's where I started.
My whole brand was built around being obnoxiously optimistic and calling out counterproductive negativity. I wasn't the fan police, but I would absolutely subtweet the masses ready to give up on the Utes after an opening-drive three-and-out.
Over time, that positivity expanded beyond Utah Athletics and into how we treated one another. I prided myself on giving everyone the time of day. There was no "100 follower" rule. It didn't matter who you rooted for, whether you were nice or a troll — I gave everyone a chance.
As time went on, my voice got louder.
From Fan Account to Community Builder
When Utah joined the Big 12, everything changed. During the Pac-12 years, there were a few active fanbases that were fun to engage with, but they were few and far between. Then I made one ignorant post about Las Vegas, and suddenly — one million impressions later — I was introduced to the passion of the Big 12.
I made some enemies with that post, but I made even more friends. Suddenly, my sports conversations weren't limited to Utah fans anymore. There was an entire conference full of fanbases just as passionate and prideful about their programs.
It was easy to get behind.
I started hopping into random Spaces on X and chopping it up with fans from other Big 12 schools. I participated in "Hate Weeks" leading up to conference matchups. I was having fun.
Along the way, I found myself becoming a representative of sorts for the Utah fanbase — not officially, just organically.
And with that came a challenge to do more.
The new EA Sports College Football game had just released, and I joined a dynasty league. One of my matchups was against D-Tier (if you know him, you know him). That conversation changed everything.
"You need to run Utah Spaces," D-Tier told me while running all over me with Ollie Gordon.
I told him no. He persisted. By the end of the game, I agreed to give it a shot.
One Space per week after each Utah Football game during the 2024 season. So we did.
Things didn't take off immediately, but we had solid conversations every week and slowly built a core group of regular speakers and listeners. Over time, the regulars grew, and so did the profile of our guests. Media members started joining. Eric Weddle joined one. It finally felt like we had traction.
Utah was in the middle of a horrible season, but the Space became a cathartic outlet through the struggle. A place where Utah fans could gather after games, react in real time, laugh, vent, debate, and ultimately… connect.
There was a real community brewing, and I genuinely enjoyed this new role within the fanbase.
So… we kept going.
The Breakthrough
I learned a ton during year one of the Spaces, and I knew I wanted to continue growing the community and leveling up the discussions we were having around Utah Athletics.
As the 2025 season approached, new opportunities started presenting themselves. I had a couple chances to step into a larger role within the Utah media scene. After talking with Steve Bartle from KSL Sports for advice, he reached out a couple days later and pulled me into the big leagues.
I had followed Bartle's journey for years and always respected his hustle and the way he treated people. Our visions aligned in so many important areas, especially when it came to building community. The thing I appreciated most was that he never wanted me to stop doing my own thing — he wanted to help amplify it.
I obviously said yes.
At first, it was supposed to be one episode per week — recording Sunday nights to put a bow on the college football weekend. Then it became postgame instant reactions, pregame shows, live streams, and whatever else made sense.
I went all-in.
Working with Bartle opened doors quickly. When we first started doing episodes together, my personal goal was to earn credentials for the 2026 season. Instead, those credentials came during Week 5 of the 2025 season when Utah traveled to West Virginia.
Suddenly, everything felt real.
I finally felt like I had a seat at the table. More importantly, I felt like I had a genuine responsibility.
What I'm Trying to Do
That brings everything to today.
I started U Talk UTAH. to continue building a home for Utah fans to talk ball and connect with other decent humans. The Space on X will always be at the center of things — the conversations and hangouts are the magic.
But not everyone can tune into a three-plus-hour Space live. And not everyone wants to consume hours of sports talk every week.
That's the next step.
U Talk UTAH. is built to turn those long Spaces into more consumable content. The weekly Spaces will be recapped through shows highlighting the best takes, reactions, sentiments, jokes, and moments from the conversation. Those episodes will then be broken into clips and segments distributed across X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and wherever else makes sense.
Twitter/X is the only platform I've ever really used for sports content. That's about to change as I continue trying to grow the conversation and build a place where good people can come together to talk about good things.
The Space will always be the Space.
There's something cool about the way these voice chats turn into a town hall of sorts. You never know who's going to show up, and everyone has a voice. More importantly, people leave feeling more connected to the program — and to each other.
The truth is, none of this works unless people are willing to show up and contribute to the conversation. That's what has made this whole thing special.
My hope is that the platform we've built together can continue giving people whatever they may need from it. Friendship. A voice. A place to belong. Or maybe just a place to talk sports for a few hours after a long day.
Utah Football brought us together, but the community is what made people stay.
I'll never lose sight of that.
At some point, this stopped being about tweets, takes, or even football. It became about people. People showing up after wins, after losses, and after long days looking to feel connected to something.
And that will always be at the center of this mission.
A place where Utah fans can talk ball, laugh a little, disagree a little, and leave better than they came in.
That's the goal. Always has been. Always will be.