There is always going to be a group of hardcore fans. Y Football will be around for the foreseeable future, but is never going to be very good again. Church activity is around a 1/3 of its total membership. The church growth is stagnant and probably actually in decline. The silent generation is quickly dying off. Once the boomers start dying the church is going to seriously contract. They have already lost the millennials and generation Z in giant numbers for good. BYU Football is no different. Generation X is the last group to remember BYU football as truly vibrant and top notch. As older fans die off there just is not the same passion any more. Independence has just sped that along. Pride, refusal to adapt, and true vision for the future kept BYU from becoming P5. You can say the same things about the current iteration of the church. The blue gogglers will continue to beat their chest and crow about how awsome independence is for the program. The same group will continue to say all is well in Zion as far as the church goes. This group that refuses to change in any way and admit the problems has irrevocably harmed both the football program and the church.