Remembering why I am a fan of BYU Football

It is interesting the effect that a game can have on our emotions and our lives.  Right now, BYU fans are sad, downtrodden, disheartened, frustrated, plus any other synonyms that you can think of.  Some fans are so frustrated that they want some major changes to the coaching staff.  This is not a post about that though.  Yes, I'm feeling emotional and in my stomping around the house my wife asked a great question.  "Why do you watch something that makes you like this when they lose?"  Here is my answer.

Interestingly, I love basketball.  I only played one year of high school football and hated it.  I was a starter, played a lot, but I really hated it for some reason.  I really love basketball.  I played basketball and now I coach high school and AAU basketball.  I make a living off that sport, so why are my favorite BYU athletic memories all about football?

It all traces back to my dad trying to get me into sports as a little kid.  I was 8 years old.  He took me to the Smith Fieldhouse because he heard some of the BYU basketball players would be there.  As I was walking out, LaVell Edwards stopped us, we didn't stop him, and he leaned down and talked to me for awhile.  Asked me when I was going to come play football for him in Cougar blue.  I was hooked after that.  I have been a die-hard BYU fan ever since.

I went to my first football game that season, just so happened to be the 1996 season, not a bad season to start cheering for them right?  My uncle took me to a couple games and my dad took the whole family to the WAC championship game.  When Ethan Pochman hit the field goal to win, I started to cry.  I was so happy that I started to cry.  There were some students that drove down sitting in front of my family and they just started hugging me.  It was a lot of fun sitting with a bunch of random people who I have never seen again, but sharing a great moment like that because we were united by our favorite team.

Another great memory I cherish is LaVell's last game.  My dad was working at Rice Eccles Stadium then and he sneaked me into the game.  I spent the game standing on top of a chair to see the game.  I was standing in the corner of the end zone where Brandon Doman scored the game winning touchdown to send LaVell off into the sunset with a win against Utah.  After the game, I got to talk to LaVell one last time and to meet his wife.  She gave me a hug asked if I play football, and said she would look for me in a few years to be playing for BYU.

So there is my walk down memory lane.  Please comment and share your favorite BYU football memories.  We're all fans for a reason, maybe we need to remember why!