favor upon those who play for His school, and as a key part of the church's footprint / exposure and proselyting prospects. Many also took pride in the concept of good Mormon boys showing the rest of the world what "clean living" and "knowing the truth" about things can produce as the BYU boys beat up on the big boys of the NCAA.

I know, many will likely guffaw at these notions, asserting that it was / is just sports, and has nothing to do with the religion. But, even if some people feel that way, there is still a very large contingent of die-hard BYU sports fans that have and do feel differently, and somehow feel that if BYU sports fail, that it is somehow a chink in their testimony armor - "surely God wouldn't let that happen, would He?" You can refute this idea, and many will, but many of you, if you're honest about it, would admit to knowing people personally (perhaps yourself) who would fit this mold. It has been part of the culture for many years, IMIO, and as long as BYU is winning, it doesn't rock any boats.

Well, that being said, consider this. Perhaps God has just changed his mind on BYU sports, as he certainly seems to have done with a lot of other things lately, including the importance of the hometeaching program, Sunday meeting length, the value of the quorum of the seventy, the wording of temple ordinances and covenants, the scouting program, the appropriate age to serve missions, the use of church nicknames (LDS, Mormon), transparency regarding certain gospel topics, and a whole lot of other things. So, if He can change his mind on those things (or simply reveal a new direction He intended to pursue all along once the time was right / ripe, He can certainly change His mind on the importance of BYU sports. It is possible that the plan is to just let them all dwindle away, and concentrate on other things instead.