Flubs, Flukes, and Decisions

I correctly predicted via twitter that I would have nightmares about blocked kicks. And so it was. I can't get it out of my mind, that one play with time running out, that one play that lately has always gone BYU's way, that one play that would have been the crowing moment in Mitch Payne's BYU career... when the game should never have hinged on a play like that.

But it did.

Pretty much everything that can be said about the game has been said. There are the bright sides, like how Jake Heaps showed incredible poise in that final possession, moving the ball down the field reminding us of all the great BYU quarterbacks and their precision. As a fan, with very little understanding of everything that goes on in the strategizing of the coaches minds, I would have loved to see them keep pushing ahead, using the clock a little sparingly but still running it down, but getting closer to the end zone. I would have loved to have seen Heaps throw a touchdown pass to beat the Utes. That would have been so satisfying. And it would have felt right, the way a BYU game should end. Somehow we don't really equate big BYU last second wins with field goals...

Could the Utes have been more lucky in this game? The shanked punt that went off BYU and Utah recovered? The Brandon Bradley interception that ended in a (controversial) fumble? The flubbed handoff between Heaps and Quezada? And all the other breaks that went their way.

Really, this game meant very little for BYU's program. The season was already decided for the most part. They are going to a bowl game regardless (please not New Mexico, please not New Mexico), and the turn around of the team, both offensively and defensively, defines this season as a whole. That loss in Logan was a turning point for the young players and I think we can all look forward to next season with confidence that this team will compete.

Anyway, I will be haunted for a while by this game, it would have been so satisfying to win it, but ... ah!

Dude

Wow. The Boise State/Nevada game just ended.

So, today, among other things, BYU's basketball team won their game in double overtime with Noah Hartzock's buzzer beater. The Jazz took down the Lakers (BEAT LA!), and now this.

Two missed field goals within 30 yards.

And that pass/catch right before the first flubbed field goal...

Wow!

And I'm most concerned about what I'm going to wear to work tomorrow. I probably won't get to see much, if any, of the game. It's a weekend I can't take off, I'm in retail, so I for one am not terribly disappointed the rivalry game is moving to September. I can watch it in September.

But, anyway, what I'm going to wear. I haven't worn a BYU shirt underneath my work shirt since the USU game. And things have worked out pretty well for the Cougars since then.

So, obviously, I feel like I shouldn't borrow trouble.

But it's the freaking rivalry game.

And Robert Johnson claimed that BYU cheats.

Whatever.

What I'm Watching

I know, there has been a debate going on in some circles about whether a BYU fan should attend/watch the BYU vs. UNLV game or the Utah vs. TCU game.

I'll be there, in section 145 of LaVell Edwards Stadium, cheering the Cougars. I always wear the white and blue. I expect a great and entertaining game in Provo today.

Jazz vs. Nuggets Blogging

I'm also a Utah Jazz fanatic. They are playing the first game of the season against the Denver Nuggets tonight. It's the third quarter. The Jazz are down by 25 with 9:31 to go in the third. The following are some of my musings:

8:53- Hair. AK's hair is like a baby's. It has that limp and floppy quality to it. Nene wants to be this guy.

6:19- Deron's feeling it. It's that LeBron commercial, what should he do? Not make commercials like this.

5:40- I wonder if Vegas has an over/under for Matt Harpring's use of "I'll tell you what" during a broadcast. Whatever it is, I'll tell you what, I'm taking the over.

2:40- I hate it when teams go on 3-point barrages against the Jazz. It seems to happen a lot. Um, you know, in past seasons.

4th Quarter

10:10- Elson gets the second put-back to go in. That's always nice.

7:40- How bizarre is it that Don Nelson has the most wins as an NBA head coach?

6:47- Wait a minute? Carmelo is still in the game? What are they worried about?

Commercial- My TV buzzes sometimes.

5:19- Earl Watson at the line. His name is Earl.

3:08- I guess I'm sitting the rest of the game out.

Fan-Dumb

Yesterday a local radio station was taking calls from people who claimed that they once were BYU fans, and now were UofU fans. One caller said something about how his entire life he has loved BYU, but BYU has not reciprocated that love. That BYU isn't about winning football games, they are about building young men into good people. Utah, on the other hand, is all about winning. So, therefore, this dude was going to switch allegiances and become a Ute fan.

Good riddance to you, bandwagoner.

In fact, anyone at all who is even considering whether they should switch their fandom from BYU or not, for whatever the reason, I say, Go! You were never a real fan anyway.

Being a fan is so much more than cheering for a team when they're winning. You bleed with your team. You feel, oh how you feel, all of the ups and all of the downs, with your team. But you stick by them. Even if you're not happy with them, you stick by them. You may call for things to shake up within the organization, you may be critical of them, you may even scream at them that their offense needs to play with heart like the defense (at least that guy isn't switching his allegiance, even if he is nuts). But the thing that remains is that you still cheer for your team. You still watch their games and you suffer when they lose.

And when they eventually come around again, and they will, you know they will, the satisfaction is so much more because you were with them in the trenches when things were terrible. The thrill of cheering for whoever is winning at the time has all the satisfaction of an imaginary spouse. It's nothing compared to a real relationship.

Play Calling

Far be it for me. I mean, I know very little about coaching and play calling. Maybe it's because I couldn't watch the game, so I listened to it on KSL and my opinion was influenced by Greg Wrubell and Mark Lyons.

Whatever.

Let me just say, let me declare right here once and for all, that I am a Cougar fan who would not complain if BYU reinvented itself this year as a power running offensive team.

Honestly, not a single complaint. They have a great offensive line, they are tough, and seem to really love driving defenders backward while Kariya pounds ahead for four or five yards. Granted that's not like Max Hall throwing his customary 50+ yard pass once or twice a game like we got used to watching over the past three years. That was exciting to watch. But you know what?

Four or five yards is freaking FOUR OR FIVE YARDS!!

I'm watching Wisconsin take on Ohio State right now. Ohio State, you know, the top ranked team nationally. Big favorites to win this game. Wisconsin is ahead by 11 points right now half way through the third quarter.

And they have got most of their offensive yardage by running the ball up the middle.

It works for them, and their offensive coordinator doesn't seem to mind calling the play many times over. Because, again, it's working for them. So why stop, right?

It's satisfying to watch a football team utilize something that works.

Unlike the BYU-TCU game earlier today.

Huzzah!

I like the coaches' t-shirts. They are very cool. I like the idea of a Band of Brothers. I hope this emotional charge stays with the Cougars.

I'm so glad they won this game today.

So glad.

Did I wear a BYU t-shirt under my work shirt?

Nope.

But that's not what made the difference. Coach Bronco Mendenhall made the difference, and the players believing in him made the difference.

And defense made the difference.

And running the ball up the middle consistently made the difference.

Whew!