"FULLY INVESTED"

Today, for the very first time, I had the pleasure of attending the BYU/ UTAH game that is a much awaited Thanksgiving week event for football fans in Utah. Eric won season tickets at his work party (thanks ExtraSpace) but unfortunately we havent attended many of the games since Cameron was born the day after the first home game. I personally did not attend either school but I guess just because I lived in Provo for a long time and my husband is a die-hard Cougar fan, I rute for Blue by default. I am proud of it though. Braiden has also been learning the ways of a Cougar fan fom his dad and what it means to be a good sportsman. For instance to not yell "the Utes suck" while walking through a crowded store and spotting someone wearing red. Yes, that has happened. Luckily the guy was really cool. So today Braiden also got a strong taste of diehard fandom and witnessed the ever-amazing phenomenon they call "RIVALRY".
Eric and I bought matching beanies for the occasion so that we would fit in with the crowd. We were a little late so we literally had to climb over some mildly annoyed people while I prayed that nothing happened on the field to create any sudden movement in the stands so we didnt go flying. Finally we made it to our seats, glad that we had already made our bathroom visits because there was no way were getting out unless it was a life/death emergency.

Our seats were on the South end of the stadium so we sat in the shade which had its pros and cons. Pro: no squinting into the sun or getting sunburnt. Con: It was a less than comfortable 30 something degrees and slightly windy. We had to huddle to keep warm. Trust me, that was not a problem since people are squished like sardines onto those bleachers. You are likely to get pretty friendly with your neighbor.

I looked out across the sea of ant size specks of Blue and white and a few red here and there. Good thing I didnt wear my hot pink coat. The game was pretty intense but my fascination stayed mostly with listening to the ranting and yelling of fans behind me and to the side of me. I never get why they think that the refs or the players on the field can actually hear them. Pretty entertaining actually. There were no touchdowns by either team until the second half of the game. Utes first. At which point I witnessed my husbands cougar testimony waver. He hung his head is sadness and shame until BYU brought it back with a TD with 40 something seconds left in the game which took winning score to 17/10. See scoreboard photo. It was so cool when the game ended to see hundred or maybe thousands of people "rush the field". People were just pouring off the stands on to the field to gather around their team. This win earned them the Mountain West Championship and it was the second year in a row to beat the Utes at such a close game so the celebration was pretty massive.

So we had a good day. On the bus ride back to our car I sat next to a girl who was wearing a Utah sweatshirt and I overheard her on the phone asking her husband if he was going to be okay, apparently he was pretty shaken by the Utes loss. I know my husband is a happy man today. My biggest question is this: Will there be football in heaven and if so who will God rute for? Hmmm.