There really is no reason to follow a particular sports team other than maybe you like their uniforms. Other than that, everything else changes.... oh ya uniforms change all the time too... so there is no objective reason to like a particular sports team other than proximity. You may as well be a fan of players because organizations don't stand for anything other than winning.

But with BYU it is completely and totally different. Not only do you know that nearly every player on that field sat in the cougar eat, enjoyed one of those pizza bagels, smelt the brimstone in the testing center, fell asleep in the marb during class, got a lame A parking ticket, froze on the way to class in February, and yes, they are held to the standard of the Honor Code. The players are like we were as alums. They strive (and sometimes fail) to hold standards just as I do. Beyond that they are, and will likely always be, the underdog.

Being a fan of BYU is like being a fan of good people. It is watching good people strive to win against others who are very often concerned about winning than being a good person. That is what is awesome about being a fan of BYU, it is a case study showing whether or not you can be both, a good person and a champion.

To all who want to chime in about "good people being on other teams too" and that "what about the brawl" yada yada yada. First of all, of course there are good people on other teams and of course we fail to meet our expectations sometimes. My answer to this is simply the honor code. What other team is comprised of young individuals who see these expectations and say "yes, I want to strive for that, I will be held accountable to that, and yes, meeting those expectations are more important to me than playing on Saturday".

It is not the achieving of but the open striving for. That goes beyond football and that is why I love BYU Football and will always be a fan.