Rebels are a girl’s best friend

March 11, 2010 by Jennifer Miller 

Lori Cox, also known as UNLVGirl, has “School Spirit 2.0”

Do you think you are the biggest Rebel fan?

Well, you’re probably not – because Lori Cox is.

No one is more excited for the game tomorrow than Lori Cox… except for her son Michael Cox.

The two live and breathe Rebel sports.

Lori is a 1996 graduate of UNLV and Michael is currently a freshman.

Lori’s admiration and commitment to UNLV athletics began 25 years ago. She remembers the first game she went to.

“It was the 1985-86 season. And I sat in the first row behind the announcer at the time, Dick Calvert. I was amazed. Ever since then I have been hooked.”

One of Lori’s highlights as a dedicated Rebel fan was winning a contest she entered on Twitter. The reward two roundtrip tickets to Hawaii, along with a paid five nights at a hotel and tickets to see the Rebels play in the Diamond Head Classic.

“It was 4 a.m. when I got the message from ESPN on my phone. I was like ‘This can’t be real.’ I started to text all my friends if they got the message. All of them said no,” Lori said. “Then I was like, ‘Maybe I really won this!’”

The trip actually created a conflict because Lori’s family had already booked flights to visit family in Florida.

“I had to call my mom and tell her, ‘Sorry, I’m not making it for Christmas this year,’” Lori said.

“But they all know me so I think they understood.”

Her trip to Hawaii is just one of the many that she has taken to attend games.

Included in her Rebel fan resume she boasts attending the last two NCAA tournaments the Rebels competed in. She has been to New Mexico, Chicago, St. Louis and Omaha among other cities.

She and Michael also make it a point to travel to road games that they can make it to.

“We’ve been to the San Diego State game in California for the past eight years,” Michael said.

Michael and his sister Diana grew up in the Rebel atmosphere.

“I dragged my kids to games since they were babies,” Lori said.

Michael had the opportunity to be a ball boy for four years when he was younger.

“I loved it,” Michael said. “Everyone was so nice to me and it was a really good experience.”

Michael also admires his mother and her dedication to UNLV.

“She’s insane. She works 40 hours a week, makes sure I’m safe. She’s a foster parent. She does so much. But she still makes it to every game,” Michael said.

Lori utilizes her social networking sites to display her love for UNLV.

She has a Facebook page where she posts her UNLV updates.

But her Twitter page is the one she is most active on.

On Twitter, her profile name is UNLVgirl. She has 959 followers at this moment. But that number increases daily. She has fans from all across the country and even across the ocean – in the United Kingdom.

“Since I can tweet from my phone its really easy to just update whenever,” Lori said.

The editor for the sports publication, “Rebel Nation,” Steve Guiremand asked her to write a blog on the Web site that she tries to contribute to once a week.

“I was a little nervous at first but Steve told me, ‘just write,’” Lori said.

“And I realized it was easy to write about something I was passionate about.”

During football season she also organizes the tailgates for her and a group of other die-hard UNLV fans to attend.

“At first I was the only girl, so I was the one that had to tell all the boys what to do,” Lori said, “but now one of the professor’s wifes helps me out.”

Feb. 24 was Michael’s 19th birthday and also a home game for the Rebels.

During the game 98.5 KLUC’s Chet Buchanan did a shout out and Michael was chosen to shoot the half court shot that would have won them two airline tickets.

“It was really close, it barely fell short,” Lori said, “but it was really fun for all of us.”

The passion that Lori has developed over the years has been infused into Michael. And is something that both of them share.

“We have our disagreements but when we travel or go to games nothing else matters. It makes both of us happy.”

Lori appreciates what being a Rebel fan has given her also.

“I’ve met so many wonderful people. I’ve made so many great memories. It’s awesome,” Lori said.

ON THE WEB: Lori Cox’s Web sites: rebelnation.reviewjournal.com/blogs/rebel-rundown and twitter.com/UNLVgirl