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I know this is way too early to be thinking about, but I just can't help it.
1983 was the first season I remember where I closely followed BYU football. I remember the first game at Baylor, even a particular hit on Steve Young just as he released the football that resulted in an INT which I'm pretty sure was returned for a TD, and thinking that Young wasn't going to a very good QB (I was 9 at the time--cut me some slack). I then remember the string of wins that followed (including a trip I took with my dad to the Rose Bowl to beat UCLA) and I became totally fascinated by the UPI and AP football polls, checking the paper each week to see who the best football team in the country was and where BYU was. I seem to recall Nebraska leading the polls most of that year; this early-formed memory of "the best" still makes it jarring to see them wallowing in mediocrity. I remember the throw to Stinett (I think?) and then back to Young that won the Holiday Bowl. I remember the tipped pass in the endzone at the end of the Orange Bowl that year. I remember BYU finishing the year ranked 7th in the country. The next year began with a win on the road over the #3 team in the country, followed by the longest winning streak in the country at the time (I think it got up to 26 games, right?). My first two years of BYU football really spoiled me.
Fast forward 25 years. Last year was the first year my oldest son (8 years old) really followed BYU football. I think our trip to the UCLA game will be ingrained in his memory forever--he still talks about it. He followed the polls religiously, unfortunately witnessing our tanking in them (and just as unfortunately, Utah's rise
) Like 1983, it was a good year (I still think that 1983 team was the best that BYU's ever fielded), with some room for improvement. Like me, his second year of real BYU fanhood begins with a win on the road over the #3 team in the country, and I just can't help but see the parallels.
Let's hope we can really spoil my son.
1983 was the first season I remember where I closely followed BYU football. I remember the first game at Baylor, even a particular hit on Steve Young just as he released the football that resulted in an INT which I'm pretty sure was returned for a TD, and thinking that Young wasn't going to a very good QB (I was 9 at the time--cut me some slack). I then remember the string of wins that followed (including a trip I took with my dad to the Rose Bowl to beat UCLA) and I became totally fascinated by the UPI and AP football polls, checking the paper each week to see who the best football team in the country was and where BYU was. I seem to recall Nebraska leading the polls most of that year; this early-formed memory of "the best" still makes it jarring to see them wallowing in mediocrity. I remember the throw to Stinett (I think?) and then back to Young that won the Holiday Bowl. I remember the tipped pass in the endzone at the end of the Orange Bowl that year. I remember BYU finishing the year ranked 7th in the country. The next year began with a win on the road over the #3 team in the country, followed by the longest winning streak in the country at the time (I think it got up to 26 games, right?). My first two years of BYU football really spoiled me.
Fast forward 25 years. Last year was the first year my oldest son (8 years old) really followed BYU football. I think our trip to the UCLA game will be ingrained in his memory forever--he still talks about it. He followed the polls religiously, unfortunately witnessing our tanking in them (and just as unfortunately, Utah's rise
) Like 1983, it was a good year (I still think that 1983 team was the best that BYU's ever fielded), with some room for improvement. Like me, his second year of real BYU fanhood begins with a win on the road over the #3 team in the country, and I just can't help but see the parallels.Let's hope we can really spoil my son.