First a quick story...

I played golf all through high school. I wasn't a great high school golfer by any means, but I got to the point where I consistently shot in the mid to high 70's. My best round ever was a 75. During high school, if I ever shot in the 80's I was disappointed. After high school, I went to BYU for a semester and then on a mission. During this time I went three years without touching a golf club.

After I got back, I went straight back to BYU and started taking classes. I played golf when I had time and money which was rarely. When I did go out, I did not play well at all. I was generally shooting in the mid to low 90's and while there were brief flashes of the golfer I was before, for the most part I looked like a beginner. I remember getting so mad when I would golf because I would think in my head every time before I went out, "This is the day you break 75" even though I wasn't even close to that. When it was clear that wasn't going to happen after the first 4 or 5 holes, I would get so mad and give up on the round. Even when I shot a decent round in the 80's all I could think of was the few shots that kept me from dipping into the 70's. Golf wasn't enjoyable at all during this time. I just got so frustrated and after every round I wondered why I even wasted the time and money going.

I kept doing this for a couple years until I finally accepted the fact that I need to learn to enjoy golf even if I didn't shoot my personal best every time I went. It was humbling, but I changed my mindset and forgot about my previous best scores. I learned how to go out and shoot an 85 and feel good about it. I stopped giving up on rounds when I could tell I wasn't going to have a memorable day and instead played every round to the end. I felt such a difference in how much I enjoyed golf.


I think sometimes as a fan base we have a tendency to do a similar thing. Maybe it is because we have enjoyed quite a bit of success (including a national championship) or because with our current position as an independent we don't have much else to play for other than a NC. I used to do the same thing I would do with golf and set my expectations so high and then be crushed when it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Rather than enjoy a great win against a solid opponent, I would sulk about the loss the week before. If every season is undefeated or bust then you are setting yourself up to be disappointed.

I have since learned to adopt a similar mindset to BYU football as I did to my golf game. That's not to say that I don't have high expectations for my team, I have just learned to enjoy a season even when those lofty expectations might not be met. I used to be so caught up in "the way we win" games and would be disappointed if we didn't win by a large enough margin to help us move up in the polls. Now I have learned to enjoy a win no matter who the opponent was or the point differential. I used to have the same mindset that I have seen on this board many times which is, "what is the difference between 7-5 or 9-3 if we play in the same bowl?" I have now learned to enjoy an 8+ win season and even though it's not as good as I hoped it would be, it was still a successful season (much like shooting an 85 in golf).

This has helped me to enjoy BYU sports (especially football) much more than I used to. Maybe it can help some of you also.

Now go ahead and tell me how I am the problem with BYU sports and we need to have higher standards and with an attitude like this BYU will never be an elite program.