The Cougars

A tough day to write this post, after last night's heartbreaking loss to end the undefeated football season, but that's how life, and sports, sometimes go.

I've been a BYU fan for as long as I can remember. Both of my paternal grandparents attended BYU, which is where they met. Neither graduated from BYU, but obviously it played a large role in how the rest of their lives would play out. Most of their ten children would graduate from or at least attend BYU. Both of my parents are BYU graduates, which is also where they met. It seems reasonable to say, that without BYU, I would not be here, as in anywhere.

My earliest BYU-related memory is my first trip to California and Disneyland. While I didn't go to the game, the main purpose of the trip was for my parents to attend the 1984 Holiday Bowl, which BYU won to win the National Championship.

I'm not sure what season it was, but I have a memory of being over at my buddy Dave's house and watching a game and every time BYU scored a touchdown we'd go running through the house hollering. Dave's Uncle Bjorn was doing some work in the dining room (and listening to the game) and would get a big grin on his face every time we'd run through.

A less-fun memory was our deacons' quorum advisor, Jerry Lees, inviting us over to watch the BYU-Utah game in 1988. As I recall, BYU was somewhat expected to win, but Scott Mitchell and the Utes blew them out that year. Never fun to be watching in a group as your team gets destroyed.

I don't remember what year it was or what game we went to, but I remember one year for my birthday party I asked a bunch a friends to bring $10 to help pay for a ticket rather than getting me a gift and we all went down and my dad bought tickets from scalpers so we could all go to the game.

We had the book, "And They Came to Pass" by Lee Benson that I read multiple times. It covered the careers of Gary Sheide, Gifford Nelson, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, and Robbie Bosco. Later, my family obtained a VHS entitled "The Passing Years." I don't remember that as well and it has since been misplaced. If anyone has a copy or knows how to obtain one, I know a couple of my brothers would pay more than you'd think to get a copy.

Probably my next big memory was BYU beating Number One ranked Miami in the first game of the 1990 season. I remember the whole family being so excited and piling into whatever vehicle we had at the time and driving up and down the street honking and then going somewhere to get some ice cream. I had recorded the game onto a VHS and on Monday I took the tape to school and asked Mr. Rockwell if we could watch it during class, which he allowed.

That season didn't end up as fun as it began. BYU was upset by Oregon a few weeks later, and then at the end of the season, on the day Detmer won the Heisman, they were destroyed by Hawaii. My dad got my brother Scott and I tickets to go to the Holiday Bowl. We went with Sunnie Titmus and his brother-in-law Steve Howard. I remember the trip being fun, but BYU lost the game against Texas A&M by some ridiculous score, like 63-14. As I recall, Detmer separated both of his shoulders in that game. That was less fun.

I was also a BYU basketball fan, but really the only memory I have of basketball was the team that featured Michael Smith (now a TV analyst for the Jazz), Marty Haws, and Jeff Chapman and coached by LaDell Anderson. That team won their first 17 games and was ranked number 3 in the AP poll, but again, the rest of the season didn't go as well as one would have hoped.

I was on my mission during the 1996 season when BYU finished 14-1 and beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, but was able to watch the BYU-Utah game from Mexico.

As I've gotten older, I haven't been as intense of a fan as I was in my youth. I still follow the games, but I don't necessarily watch every game. Jeanell cheers for the Utes and Devin and Kareena both graduated from the U so at times I am left as the only BYU fan at games we'll go to together. But periodically attending BYU games with family has continued to be a part of my life.

At times, my role as the only BYU fan in my immediate family has generated some sympathy. One year, Carol (Jeanell's mom) bought me a bunch of BYU gear because she felt bad that I was always cheering by myself and always wearing the same BYU shirt. Another year, I had an expected package at the door, and Jeff and Krista Hutchins had left me some socks and other BYU items.

In December 2015, Jeanell and I, our three older boys, Collin, my parents, and some of my brothers piled into a 15-passenger van and went to the Vegas Bowl where Utah played BYU. Driving for that long in a 15-passenger van was not ideal, but the game was fun (even though BYU lost).

The following September, my parents and most of by brothers drove down to Phoenix to watch BYU's season-opener against Arizona. BYU won that game, which made the drive home much more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

The next September, Jeanell and our boys went to the BYU-Utah game at Lavell Edwards Stadium. I believe I was the only one cheering for BYU by that point. BYU lost, but we had a good time.

In November 2018, my brothers and I went to visit my parents, who were serving a mission in Connecticut. During the trip, we went and watched BYU beat UMass at Gillette Stadium.

The following September, I made a trip out to Tennessee to see my good buddy Aaron and we drove up to watch BYU beat Tennessee.

In September of 2021, just days after my dad passed away, my mom, my brothers, and others drove to Vegas to watch BYU beat Arizona, again. The following week, Jeanell, Devin, Kareena, and I went to the BYU-Utah game at Lavell Edwards Stadium, where BYU ended the Utes several-game win-streak against us.

In October of 2023, Scott, Brent, my mom, and I traveled to Texas and stayed with my brother Kevin to go to the BYU-Texas game. That game didn't go too well for the Cougars, but we had a good time.

And then just last week, Jeanell and I were able to go to the BYU-Utah game at Rice Eccles and watch BYU snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the final seconds.

So while I'm not as passionate of a fan as I once was, and don't follow the program like some of my brothers do, it continues to be a part of my life, and has generated many memories, both pleasant and painful.

Go Cougars!