What made you a fan

[oxcoug]

Should go w/o saying that most of us here or any forum that is primarily about sports, we're in the 99th percentile of neurotic fandom.

Something happened to us that made us this way. Maybe more happened to me than happened to most.

What was it for you? Probably doesn't need to be said that for a lot of Ute fans, the day they didn't get into BYU was a transformational fan-making moment. But I assume that it goes much deeper than that for most of the CUF Ute fans. And for all of you Y/U fans - why do you care this much?

I think the majority of diehard BYU sports fans have been sipping on a uniquely dangerous cocktail all their lives - we fuse the institution with our religious identity and then we can't help letting that bleed into our affection and zeal for the most public manifestations of the institution, its sporting successes (and failures). I will even confess to being a third-hand Jazz fan (my main squeeze is Boston, secondarily the Kings) simply because I know when people hear "Utah" they think "Mormon." As a more self-aware adult fan I've worked on separating the sports-fan Oxcoug from the LDS guy Oxcoug, but I'd be lying for the benefit of Ute fans if I claimed that it's a clean separation at this point (BTW, I know there are plenty of totally secular BYU fans, so I'm not speaking for everyone obviously).

But it's wayyyyy more than that. It has a lot to do with timing. BYU's biggest breakthroughs in the world of sports occurred, for me, between the impressionable ages of 5-10. When Jimmy Mac saved us in the Miracle Bowl I was 6. I saw grown men - at least three of them attorneys, including my Dad - dogpile on a living room floor. It was witnessing a miracle. When Danny Ainge went coast-to-coast vs Notre Dame I was just a little older. I and my bros were crowded around the old family radio (radio!) and the moment was electric. When Steve Young scored his improbable winning TD vs Mizzou I was 8 and remember letting out a primal scream (probably more like a loud squeak at that age). When we won the national title a year later I was 9. Then, a few years later, when Detmer toppled #1 Miami in Provo, I was months removed from the death of my older brother and that win - in a very real way - jarred me out of the lethargy that had dogged me since he died late the preceding year. I won't claim that isn't weird, but it's true.

All of those dramatic wins packed into the most impressionable years of boyhood just blistered my imagination with the possibility of impossibilities, with the seeming inevitability of BYU's march to sporting greatness, with my personal right to see my team triumph, with the irrelevance of Utah sports (it never occurred to me to think twice about Ute sports until I actually got to BYU... but... yes OK, I think about them a lot now, ya happy?).

So in all seriousness - BYU sports of 1980-1985 were a big part of what shaped my outlook on life and Detmer's run at greatness actually had a restorative impact on me.

Suffice it to say - at this point, it ain't ever going away.*

[*unless BYU rehires Gary Crowton, then it might]

[Green Monstah]

Although you could count on one hand the number of BYU games I watched on TV the first 15 years of my life, I always considered myself a BYU fan.

My parents met there, graduated from there, and to this day, I think it was probably the happiest time of their marriage. I was five when they divorced, and when they did, a decade-long battle of words ensued between them. Mom left the church, dad's orthodoxy became more cemented than ever. Yet, both seemed to have a special place in their heart for BYU and the time they spent there together. I picked up on this, so for me, BYU seemed to have a certain mystique about it. I guess in my mind, it represented a time when my family (though I was born post-BYU years) was happy.

It wasn't until the 1996 Cotton Bowl that I became a bona fide BYU sports fan, however. I was visiting my Mom in Maine, and a bunch of my LDS buddies were huddled in front of a 20 inch TV watching the game. I don't remember a lot of the specifics of the game, but I remember when BYU converted on the 4th and 20 late in the fourth quarter, we all went berzerk. After that, I watched as many games as I could (still not many).

I wish I grew up watching every game, though. I'm pretty jealous when everyone reminisces about former players, coaches, etc.

[Sizzle]

My dad played for Lavell. I was pretty much bred blue. The only reasons I've missed BYU games that I can remember were for missions or I had a football game at the same time. I had a fall wedding that was planned around BYUs bye week that season.

[myboynoah]

I came of age in the '70s and wanted a team to cheer for. BYU stepped up big time.

[Paperback Writer]

I've been a fan of college football from an early age. Ironically, neither BYU nor Utah has been my favorite teams despite parents being alumni and family members having strong allegiances to those schools. Looking at both sides of my family, my immediate family was the only one outside Utah of the 12 families (have lots of cousins). I grew up in Ohio in the 1960s and early 1970s and was firmly entrenched in Ohio St. – Michigan; Woody Hayes – Bo Schembechler. So I became a Buckeye fan – perhaps to be different from my brothers and all my cousins. And it was a great time to be a Buckeye fan.

Then when I was 12, my family relocated to Nebraska and my Ohio St. allegiance was soon tested. It was difficult to maintain my loyalty in the heart of Cornhusker country. My father was on faculty so I got to attend Nebraska games and that is what ultimately swayed me to change loyalties. I experienced heartache as an undefeated Nebraska team would lose late in the season to Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma teams. Jubilation after some memorable wins like Alabama in 1977 and #1 Oklahoma in 1978.

But during this time, I also cheered for BYU football and kept the faith that BYU would get a shot at winning it all. I threw a football party during high school to force my friends to watch the BYU-SMU game in the Holiday Bowl. And never threw in the towel despite repeated requests “to give up on BYU and let us play video games”. I predicted a BYU victory and my friends watched in amazement during the comeback.

My Cornhusker loyalties were firm when I graduated HS and decided to attend Nebraska and walk-on and play football rather than attend BYU. I went on my mission knowing full well Nebraska had the talent for Tom Osborne to win a national championship (which they almost did in 1982 and 1983). While on my mission, my connection to Nebraska football came only through press clippings sent from my folks and the occasional letter from a friend or teammate. Towards the end of my mission, I was companions with a BYU scholarship football player and we got permission to watch both the Holiday Bowl (BYU-Missouri) and Orange Bowl (Nebraska-Miami). After Nebraska lost its undefeated season and a national championship on a failed 2-point conversion, I had my companion convinced to transfer to Nebraska to play football for Tom Osborne. That feeling didn’t last long though, and soon it was my companion along with our MP that convinced me to re-apply to BYU and transfer after my mission.

It was my first semester at BYU (1984) where things got strange. I still had connections to many Nebraska players from my Freshman year and from my high school program. BYU was going through its undefeated season but still ranked below one-loss Nebraska. I wanted success for BYU and Lavell Edwards but not at the expense of Nebraska and Tom Osborne. So it was difficult on 11/17/84 when all of Provo was in euphoria after BYU was victorious over Utah in SLC while my Huskers got stopped on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line late in the 4th quarter in Lincoln and lost to Oklahoma.

So I cheer for Nebraska, BYU, and Utah (in that order) but don’t really feel like I have a “dog-in-the-fight” when the Holy War is played. In the end, I’m just a fan of college football. As I watched Nebraska lose to Texas A&M this past season under a mountain of penalties and a HC that was in desperate need of a tranquilizer and straight jacket; I smiled because I knew my son was in the stands cheering on his Aggies and doing some weird group hug reminiscent of a scene from Avatar. He was experiencing college football.

[oxcoug]

I've been a fan of college football from an early age. Ironically, neither BYU nor Utah has been my favorite teams despite parents being alumni and family members having strong allegiances to those schools. Looking at both sides of my family, my immediate family was the only one outside Utah of the 12 families (have lots of cousins). I grew up in Ohio in the 1960s and early 1970s and was firmly entrenched in Ohio St. – Michigan; Woody Hayes – Bo Schembechler. So I became a Buckeye fan – perhaps to be different from my brothers and all my cousins. And it was a great time to be a Buckeye fan.

Then when I was 12, my family relocated to Nebraska and my Ohio St. allegiance was soon tested. It was difficult to maintain my loyalty in the heart of Cornhusker country. My father was on faculty so I got to attend Nebraska games and that is what ultimately swayed me to change loyalties. I experienced heartache as an undefeated Nebraska team would lose late in the season to Barry Switzer’s Oklahoma teams. Jubilation after some memorable wins like Alabama in 1977 and #1 Oklahoma in 1978.

But during this time, I also cheered for BYU football and kept the faith that BYU would get a shot at winning it all. I threw a football party during high school to force my friends to watch the BYU-SMU game in the Holiday Bowl. And never threw in the towel despite repeated requests “to give up on BYU and let us play video games”. I predicted a BYU victory and my friends watched in amazement during the comeback.

My Cornhusker loyalties were firm when I graduated HS and decided to attend Nebraska and walk-on and play football rather than attend BYU. I went on my mission knowing full well Nebraska had the talent for Tom Osborne to win a national championship (which they almost did in 1982 and 1983). While on my mission, my connection to Nebraska football came only through press clippings sent from my folks and the occasional letter from a friend or teammate. Towards the end of my mission, I was companions with a BYU scholarship football player and we got permission to watch both the Holiday Bowl (BYU-Missouri) and Orange Bowl (Nebraska-Miami). After Nebraska lost its undefeated season and a national championship on a failed 2-point conversion, I had my companion convinced to transfer to Nebraska to play football for Tom Osborne. That feeling didn’t last long though, and soon it was my companion along with our MP that convinced me to re-apply to BYU and transfer after my mission.

It was my first semester at BYU (1984) where things got strange. I still had connections to many Nebraska players from my Freshman year and from my high school program. BYU was going through its undefeated season but still ranked below one-loss Nebraska. I wanted success for BYU and Lavell Edwards but not at the expense of Nebraska and Tom Osborne. So it was difficult on 11/17/84 when all of Provo was in euphoria after BYU was victorious over Utah in SLC while my Huskers got stopped on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line late in the 4th quarter in Lincoln and lost to Oklahoma.

So I cheer for Nebraska, BYU, and Utah (in that order) but don’t really feel like I have a “dog-in-the-fight” when the Holy War is played. In the end, I’m just a fan of college football. As I watched Nebraska lose to Texas A&M this past season under a mountain of penalties and a HC that was in desperate need of a tranquilizer and straight jacket; I smiled because I knew my son was in the stands cheering on his Aggies and doing some weird group hug reminiscent of a scene from Avatar. He was experiencing college football.

That's quite an odyssey. Did you know Scott Norberg? Wasn't he at Nebraska and then BYU at/around the same time?

[MarkGrace]

Jake Heaps

[thesaint258]

It was my mom's doing. She's a die-hard Cougar fan, and she raised me to be one too. She took me and my brother to games all the time, she even woke us up to the fight song every morning when I was little. My mom's family is also a huge group of Cougar fanatics, so I've been surrounded by it my whole life.

[old_gregg]

i am a good, god-fearing mormon so clearly i cheer for the team the church thinks is worth sponsoring.

[Green Monstah]

It was my mom's doing. She's a die-hard Cougar fan, and she raised me to be one too. She took me and my brother to games all the time, she even woke us up to the fight song every morning when I was little. My mom's family is also a huge group of Cougar fanatics, so I've been surrounded by it my whole life.

That's awesome. I bet not many Cougar fans had moms who were the driving force of their fandom.

[pellegrino]

I have a couple of memories as a kid that were decisive factors in giving my allegiance to the Cougars of BYU.

First, my dad always had each of the kids (all 8 of us) and any friends who happened to be in the house fill out the Deseret News' weekly football pickem competition. It was my introduction to college football and it was how I learned what acronyms such as UCLA, SMU, and USC meant, which teams were good and which weren't. I was one of the winners once, and they sent me a BYU shirt that resembled a jersey. It had the number 83 on it (for the year) and I remember my father was very proud of me. I was in third grade.

My older sisters were at BYU at that time. One of them was a cheerleader during the national championship season and for a few years after. She always got us great tickets for football and basketball. For one reason or another, I was the one who usually attended the football games with Dad. I was the envy of all the kids in my class.

Then as basketball season started, my younger brother, or sometimes a friend and I would get dropped off at the MC, watch the game, and then get a ride home with the cheer coach, who lived not too far from my parents. Sometimes we'd get a ride down with her too. That was always cool because we had access to the locker room and tunnel before and after the game. I still have vivid memories of that year's Cougar Classic, the loss against Pepperdine stung for some reason. I also remember watching Bobby Capener and Jeff Chatman beat Notre Dame in OT. I was in fifth grade, and it was really cool to be trusted enough to attend a game by myself and sit in the student section alone. I was hooked, there was no turning back.

[Paperback Writer]

That's quite an odyssey. Did you know Scott Norberg? Wasn't he at Nebraska and then BYU at/around the same time?

I had heard of Scott Norberg but never met him. I was in the class after him and not sure how long he stayed at Nebraska. While he was in Lincoln, he probably didn't associate with the LDS community or we probably would have crossed paths. Kind of odd in that he took a break from football and served a mission. He must have gone back to Arizona and left from there to the mission field. Otherwise, I probably would have run into Scott since the Nebraska campus and most student housing was in my ward while I was in HS. When I went to BYU after my mission, I wasn't involved in the Cougar football program.

I did know Dave Burke (Layton, UT) THANKS LAYTON who was in Norberg's class and Grant Campbell (CA via Ricks College) who was in my class but he was a transfer and only had a couple years of eligibility. Also Gary England from Skyline HS was a few years earlier and had a very positive influence on me while I was playing prep ball.

[cougjunkie]

I think we have a thread like this one already with some great stuff in it.

[doctorcoug]

Ty Detmer sealed the deal for me.

I went to the cotton bowl. My buddy and I made a piss poor attempt to paint our chests blue and we then went to the front row at the stadium, which was empty for some reason. We got on TV multiple times, supposedly. I was a total jerk by jumping in front of the cameras videotaping a baby in cougar form. Oh well, I was a kid. I had an absolute blast, except I didn't get to shower prior to flying back home to Connecticut, which was awkward on the plane, and even more awkward when the guy from church on the flight offered to drive me home in his jaguar. I was worried I'd get blue paint on his seats. Fun memories.

Viking was kind enough to pay for 50 yard seats for the big games so I didn't have to sit in the student section. We watched Luke Staley in his prime there. Some of my favorite memories with my brother. It Has always been something we did together, probably to escape the absurdity of our parents.

I think the lack of TV access has made me an even bigger fan. Absolutely excited for next year.

Oh, nice dig at Ute fans there. Seems like many of my high school wanted to go to the U, because BYU wasn't cool. Seems like Chad VanOrn (or however it is spelled) was a U fan as well.

[thesaint258]

That's awesome. I bet not many Cougar fans had moms who were the driving force of their fandom.

I don't know about all of Cougar fandom, but I know many of my cousins can. For some reason, my mom and her sisters all married guys who weren't really into sports. My mom and aunts make up for it in spades, however, so we're one big family of BYU fans--all thanks to our moms. We're kind of like the Army of Helaman that way.