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Holiness to the Lord

A half a dozen clearly inebriated Wisconsin dudes sat behind us at the game on Saturday. They cheered on their Badgers, tried and mostly succeeded in keeping their language in check knowing young kids were around (welcome to a BYU game, boys), while occasionally making PG-13 jokes about the Church when BYU was cooking. The cheering was boisterous (and often hilarious) as the game went back and forth. One guy tapped me on the shoulder mid-second half. “Hey, BYU. All the best, man. May the best team win. No hard feelings either way.” BYU won in dramatic fashion and I’m sure the Wisconsin dudes were disappointed. As we walked down the steps to leave, I wanted to make sure that they knew I appreciated the effort they made and the class they demonstrated, all without making like I was gloating about the win. I looked back, gave them a thumbs up, and congratulated them on a great comeback, and wished them safe travels. To a man, they all returned the gesture. Then, a few minutes later on the concourse, they asked me to take a group picture for them. We had a nice convo and left having both enjoyed a great game in rows 13 and 14. These guys were great ambassadors of the state and university of Wisconsin. And on account of the BYU fans I spoke with, I wasn’t alone in coming away with nothing but good things to say about Badger fans. Sport, though the final result is a binary, can bring people together in gratifying ways. Next time around, when BYU isn’t the opponent, I’ll be cheering On Wisconsin.

A BYU RM threw an alley-oop off the backboard to himself to celebrate a Sweet 16 berth. We are living in the glory days of BYU sports.

BYU going to the Sweet 16 with a team that physically looks nothing like any of the BYU teams I’ve seen, while simultaneously being led by a curly-headed dude who’s dialoguing to America about tater tots because his great grandpa Nephi invented them. New BYU, same-old goofy BYU.

We made memories. GO COUGS!

Many of the thousands of BYU fans in attendance in Denver are just mulling about. It’s celebratory, but it’s more like everyone is recovering from shock. How great BYU played, how BYU almost threw it away, and how BYU SURVIVED and ADVANCED!

Wheels up! Let’s make some memories. And win the game, too. Go Cougs!

“I bet President Nelson still has a perfect bracket because he can see the future.” - my 8-year-old son

The Jimmer Experience, for the uninitiated. What a time to be alive. And one of the best calls ever.

Some double-digit seed hit ELEVEN threes in the second half and BYU still won comfortably.

March Madness is even more fun when your team is balling out. Go Cougs!

Step 1: fill out a March Madness bracket because you are a warm-blooded American patriot. Step 2: ignore your March Madness bracket and cheer for the upset because you are a warm-blooded American patriot.