Most of you probably saw the Cotton Bowl against Kansas State live. I heard all about the win from a senior missionary in the office of the St. Petersburg, Russia mission. He was my BYU Football fan buddy and we had a fun ride that season as we discussed the recent games in the 1996 season every few weeks. I still vividly remember the excitement on his face when I came into the office almost two weeks after the Cotton Bowl and asked if he knew the outcome.

He, of course, had also told me his story of how giving a couple sticks of gum to a gaggle of kids on the edge of Tempelhof Airfield turned into an experience that has publicly defined his life ever since.