And That's Good for Another Cougar...First Down!

I love my roommates - all three of them. They are all completely different, but each has something great to contribute to our apartment. However, two of them don't share mine and Courtney's same passion for sports, in particular football and basketball. They say that they will never understand. And likely they never really will. But this has got me thinking lately - why? Why do I love standing in freezing temperatures for four hours to watch twenty two college guys in tight pants fighting over a ball? Why do I love standing shoulder to shoulder with a few thousand other screaming students to watch ten guys in baggy shorts trying to throw a ball through a hoop? Why is it that while many girls cringe at the thought of watching a four hour football game on TV, I get anxious with excitement?

Thinking back to the BYU-Utah football game a couple months ago helps me answer these questions. The team was in the old school royal blue uniforms, I drove down to the game from Salt Lake with my parents and siblings, I got to spend the entire game with my brothers and sister in law, and my whole family was there before the game to tailgate. This game reminded me of why I love Cougar sports. The whole game I kept flashing back to my first game at Lavell Edward's Stadium (then Cougar Stadium). Then I thought of the many games that followed in the stadium.

I remembered driving down I-15 in our old Aerostar van listening to Yz guyz with my family.

I remembered sitting next to my dad, asking him why that penalty got called or why they ran this play - I remembered him patiently explaining the complicated rules of football over and over to me until I began to understand.

I remembered standing up with my mom to yell and scream then sing the fight song following a touchdown.

I remembered going to stand in the long line at the drinking fountain at half time during particularly hot games.

I remembered my mom bringing in sandwiches for all of us when we got hungry.

I remembered stopping at my grandparent's house before the game to visit with them and pick some apples from my grandpa's trees.

I remembered my parents making sure they kept every Saturday open so we could be together as a family either at the game or in our living room watching it on TV.

I remembered my disappointment as each of my siblings in turn left our family's spot in the North endzone to go join the student section - then I remembered my excitement when I could join them there too.

Even today BYU sports are a family event for me. Rarely do I go to or watch a sporting event without at least one of my siblings. I fully realize that when it all comes down to it, football and basketball are just that - games. But watching them has become so much more than a game for me. It has become a way to connect with my siblings, share a common interest, and create amazing memories.

This is why I love BYU (and college) football and basketball. This is why I still make sure that I make it to every game. BYU sports (and sports in general for that matter) have always been a family event. Some of my favorite memories growing up happened at BYU sporting events, with my family by my side, and I wouldn't have it any other way.