I see you are in Virginia. I grew up in New Jersey, worked in DC, lived in Maryland, Massachusetts. Spent time in NC and now spending some time in Delaware. I wear my BYU gear everywhere. Probably 1/3 of the conversations about BYU football with nonmembers turns in to talks about the Church. It's not 100%; it's not even 50% of the conversations. Others' experiences may be more or less than mine. Some people's conversations about BYU football NEVER have led to discussions about the Church. The fact is that people associate BYU (the school, it's appendages (including football)) with the Church whether directly or indirectly. People think of the Catholic Church when Notre Dame is mentioned. When people think of BYU they think Mormon right? How does that not tie back directly or indirectly to the Church. When honor code violations hit ESPN like Brandon Davies, etc., people associate the honor code with some codes that members of the Church also live by (at least my acquaintances did when Davies thing came about). Another example: You, Virginia Ute, are a member I presume (forgive me if I am incorrect in that assumption; if I am incorrect, I have some friends with white shirts and black tags ...). As a member, by affiliation, you represent the Church (directly and/or indirectly) for better or worse. All of us do. People who know you are Mormon, observe what you do. Your actions MAY reflect good or poorly on the Church. Some people make judgments unfortunately about the Church by members' behaviors. We as members, by our actions, what we stand for, represent the Church and can be an influence for others to want to learn more about why we do the things we do, why we act certain ways, or refrain from certain things. Why can't people watching BYU football and its players have a similar influence? Several people on CB have said that their introduction to the Church was through BYU football games. Does BYU represent the Church by revealing new doctrine, setting new policies, etc.? Of course not. But like us members, the missionaries, BYU and all it's appendages, ANYTHING affiliated or assumed related to the Church causes some people to pay attention, come up with opinions, judge, become interested/disinterested, etc. Whether it's semantics of BYU football DIRECTLY representing the Church or INDIRECTLY it doesn't matter. It's still representing (for good or bad) like we do.