BYU Football Fall Camp: Bringing out my Blue Kool-aid early

My name is Jeff and I'm a blue kool-aid addict.

Every season, except 1984, has led to some disappointment when the blue kool-aid loses its flavor and leaves us with a silly blue mustache.  We somehow let ourselves believe that Riley Nelson is the next Ty Detmer.  Last pre-season, I made an outlandish bet with my co-worker that BYU was going to win the national championship.  I knew it was a long-shot at best but I honestly thought, "Taysom Hill is going to be an amazing dual threat quarterback.  This new offense will be Oregon 2.0 with Cody Hoffman and Jamaal Williams forming an unstoppable touchdown machine.  On the defensive side, Kyle Van Noy will single-handedly destroy offenses like Rambo in the jungle.  With BYU's tough but winnable schedule, they will for sure make it into the championship game in the BCS rankings."  I lost that bet as well as my credibility around the water cooler.

I seemed to have forgotten that we had a brand new offense to learn, an untested quarterback, an offensive line full of juco transfers, and a defensive secondary that was ponies among stallions.  I wish someone would have taken that cup of blue kool-aid out of my hands and said the word, "grit." Flooding memories would have given me the shivers and I would have realized that this team was going to have struggles.

After a couple weeks of fall camp, the temptation is building on reports of receivers flying down the field catching touchdowns left and right.  Okay, everyone, just breathe! We are only a few weeks into fall camp and we just need to keep our composure and wait until the season starts before we hand out the Heisman trophy to Taysom Hill.

I don't mean to be a downer on everyone's lofty expectations but if you aren't responsible with your emotions you might end up with a few Sunday morning hangovers during the season rather than just enjoy this team for who they are.  Also, even if we do get off to a good start and pull off the win in Austin, let's remember 2009's team and their win against Oklahoma that was later followed up with a pummeling by Florida St. and TCU.  BYU had a great season that year despite the big losses but when the cougars skyrocketed to #8 in the polls, it was National Championship or bust.  Let's take this fall camp one day at a time, and when the season starts, one game at a time.

It's easy to tell that this year's team has a good chance of being better than the cougars of last year.  I would be surprised if they don't have a very successful season with lots of progress.  Please don't take this view as pessimistic but an attempt to enjoy the realistic success of BYU.

Feel free to upchuck your blue kool-aid in the comments section below with your outlandish perspectives on this year's team and what they can accomplish.  Be supportive of your fellow brethren and remember, "BYU fans don't let BYU fans drink blue kool-aid."