I was the oldest of 8 kids in Orem, Utah. My dad and most the other dads around worked at Geneva Steel. I got ordained a deacon the day Mt. St. Helens blew, 1980.

About that time the economy got munched, and the steel mill went down. My folks were broke and not into sports, so I knew little about BYU football. I got a paper route and helped at a dairy. As I walked my route, I watched all the lawns go yellow from unpaid water bills, divorces or foreclosures. I couldn’t help wondering what good my religion was if everyone around me had a sucky life.

As a freshman Steve Young came to our Jr. High and taught me to throw a football. He invited us to come watch the Cougars.

They had merit badge powwows on Saturdays at BYU and afterwards you could get in the football games for a buck and sit on an old wooden bleacher in the north end zone. When I saw the flagship school of my religion beating the tar out of other schools, it restored my faith. My dad started letting me bring a radio along to hear the away games when we went fishing.

When the stadium expanded I bought my own ticket in the south end zone by myself. I would ride my bike down after going to the dairy and watched the whole 1984 season. The dairy manager had a chart showing where BYU was ranked after each game and it was incredible to see us go all the way to the top. It gave me the vision to see how I could get out of the ditch I was in.

Things really didn’t get better for my family financially till I was on a mission. But BYU football I feel gave me and the whole Utah Valley community hope through the 80’s and that helped me more than I can express. I hope we keep that heritage in mind when deciding if it is worth the hassle to support our Cougar football team.