He lives in Michigan, didn’t go to UNM and has no ties to New Mexico. Why is he a diehard Lobo fan?

It was a “big, passionate thought” and it popped into Joshua Abate’s head one day in April. New Mexico had lost its head football coach in the months prior. Its star quarterback to the transfer portal. So many talented players were exiting that Abate saw nothing but “doom and gloom” on social media; fans anxious about the program’s future.

So, he started writing.

“It just kinda came to me,” Abate said. “I was like, I just want to kind of write something, write about how I’m feeling.”

The result was a 600-word Substack essay arguing: even if success at a Group of Five school can often feel more like an “audition than a destination,” it’s still a player’s right to leave for opportunities at larger schools.

“This isn’t about blaming players — it’s about understanding the environment,” he wrote.

But ... “(I)n order to build something sustainable, the Lobos need more than just transfer wins and locker room culture. They need fan investment.” As a whole, it’s a portrait of realistic — if optimistic — fandom in an era of college sports that hasn’t been too kind to schools like UNM, or its fans.

Which makes sense. After all, Abate is a Lobo diehard. The type of fan who won’t miss a football or basketball game. The 26-year-old owns a signed Brian Urlacher football helmet and numerous jerseys. He understands how frustrating it is to feel like a farm system for bigger brands; to stay in a fight that’s “real, but not hopeless.”

“I say this not as a casual observer, but as a diehard out-of-state fan,” he wrote.

Abate is a unique one. He did not go to UNM. He is not from New Mexico. In fact, he has virtually no connection to the state: the metro Detroit native and resident has only been to Albuquerque once. In a region with little-to-no UNM presence, he’s a speck of cherry and silver in a vast sea of maize and blue, green and white.

That’s why Saturday is a big one for Abate: The Lobos open their season at No. 14 Michigan as 34.5-point underdogs. So long are the odds against UNM that a $10 bet on an upset would pay out $360. Some sportsbooks don’t even offer bets on the Lobos winning outright.

Abate will be there, watching his favorite team play in-person for the first time.

And he can’t wait.

“I don’t know why the heck I fell in love with them,” he admitted. “I don’t have any ties to New Mexico whatsoever. But I rep them like you think I would.”

Growing up in Utica, Michigan, Abate spent hour after hour with his dad playing EA Sports College Football, the wildly popular video game series. They would pick a program that usually struggled (Kent State or Tulane, for example) and rebuild it into a virtual juggernaut, beating traditional blue bloods and winning national titles.

When he was 12 or 13 years old, Abate picked UNM by himself. Historically, they fit the criteria: Outside of a strong run in the 2000s by former head coach Rocky Long, the Lobos were known for mediocre to bad football since the 1960s.

The Lobos also appealed to the burgeoning football fan because ... well, even the tiniest details can make big impressions.

“My favorite color was red,” he chuckled, “I was like, ‘oh, there’s a red team.’”

From there, Abate watched UNM when he could before graduating high school and serving out a five-year contract with the Marine Corps. About midway through, UNM hired former head coach Danny Gonzales, and “that’s when I probably started watching them religiously,” he said.

Of course, it hasn’t been the best run on the field: UNM has compiled a 16-39 record since Gonzales was hired. The Lobos have won only eight Mountain West games in that period, and haven’t made a bowl since 2016 — the second-longest drought in the country behind UMass and Akron.

Abate’s love for UNM has only deepened since then, which prompts questions from friends and even some fellow Lobo fans. “Some of them are like, ‘why would you jump into this?’” he laughed. “‘Why the heck would you torture yourself?’”

All he can do is shrug.

“When I care about something, I care about it to the full extent, as much as I can.”

So he supports, through good times and bad. For instance, UNM basketball’s 71-63 NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan State in March? Abate bought tickets to the game in Cleveland, drove down and cheered for the Lobos — in a section with MSU luminaries like former head football coach Mark Dantonio and mega booster Mat Ishbia.

“I was sitting in the freaking lion’s den,” he laughed.

UNM’s season-ending 38-30 loss to Hawaii in November? Abate was up at 3 a.m. in Michigan, watching the Lobos’ bowl hopes fade with every play.

“That’s about as heartbreaking as it gets right there,” he said.

But Abate knows things can change quickly. Growing up a Detroit Lions fan, he saw the first 0-16 team in NFL history and the back end of 32 long years without a playoff win. Since 2000, the Lions have a .394 win percentage; only the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars have been more futile in that stretch.

“It was really hard. What the hell (makes) you watch?” Abate said, referencing years of listless football. “It was the hope that it (gets) better.”

In a few short years, that changed. The Lions have been bona fide Super Bowl contenders after hiring head coach Dan Campbell, a hearty Texas native that’s been a perfect fit in southeast Michigan.

For Abate, the hope is that the Lobos might have their Campbell. Even before the Lobos hired Mendenhall, he wanted UNM to look at Jason Eck — then the head coach at Idaho — to lead the program, calling him a “hell of a coach.”

Saturday, Abate will be there watching as the Eck era begins in earnest. Once again, the deck is stacked against them.

That might be the most fun part.

“It’s really easy to root for a team ... that’s always counted out,” he said. “Who knows what’s going to happen?”