It felt so good to get into a BYU football game! We were not planning to attend this game, but when we checked into tickets last week and found some available, my wife and I decided to jump on it. I have a brother in law who resides in Houston, so he and his daughter attended with us. It was great. Did anyone attending look for parking in the neighborhoods across the street from the stadium? Holy cow - rough, rough area. (We found a street that was nicer, but still had a pile of mattresses and furniture piled up on one side of the street. We could have parked in a structure next to the stadium for $40 or one block away in Beruit for free (ha). We took our chances - and survived.)

So strange having to wear masks outside. Once we got into the stadium, there were workers constantly reminding us to not only wear our masks, but to make sure we wear them properly. We were OUTSIDE! Sheesh. No one cared if we were wearing masks outside the stadium. But, once we stepped inside, they had to be on. Fine. People were pretty compliant, but it all seemed so silly and unnecessary.

There were 2-3x BYU fans at the game. If Houston did not have its very loud/annoying band in the stands, you would hardly know they had fans there. (The Houston band, to its credit, was incredibly LOUD and unrelenting. Wow, it seemed at times all you had to do to get into that band is be able to make as much crap noise as possible with your instrument so it collectively sounds like a rolling freight train approaching a crossing.)

I don't have to tell you all about how the game went, but that second quarter was THE WORST. We were sitting around some Houston fans who were all great, but they were pretty confident more than halfway through the third quarter. (When we failed on fourth and goal before the half, so deflating.) Once we finally switched up the defense and got pressure on the Houston QB, the entire feeling in the stadium changed. Houston fans around us became quiet. You could feel the momentum swing BYU's way, could sense the team getting its swagger back, and it was palpable. (My wife was reminding me "it's just a game" through the second quarter, halftime, and halfway through the thrid quarter. She added: "Don't let a loss ruin our trip." Oh yeah, right - like I would ever do that (ha). Three years ago, we were in Starkville, MS to see BYU get humiliated by Miss St. then drove to NC to watch BYU get spanked by a happless ECU team . . . best BYU football trip ever around the losses, though. We had a great time. So yes, I don't [always] let BYU losses ruin our game trips.)

The stadium in Houston was probably about 20% or so capacity. I think the number of BYU fans there helped the team. Chants of "Defense" and "BYU" - singing the BYU Fight Song after scores and making noise for the Houston offense at critical times had an impact. When Zach hit Milne late in the fourth, the stadium erupted in BYU cheers and all the Houston fans around us left. After the game, a mass of blue went to the lower area of the seating area of the stadium and the players made the long trek to slap hands of excited fans. BYU fans hung around for a long time after the game. The Houston fans we met were all nice. It's always fun listening to the KSL post-game after a win. We braved the walk back to the Beruit neighborhood to reach our vehicle. Fortunately, we weren't the only ones parking there (ha). No criminal activity - we made it!

We got to bed after 2:00 am, fell asleep listening to the post-game show with the lights out (ha). (Seriously, my wife would not let me turn it off. Do you know what she did this morning? She is listening to it all again via the podcast. Did I marry a gem or what?) No plans for the rest of the weekend. Hanging out with my brother in law in his seriously huge mansion. (We are staying in the "second master". It's pretty sweet.)

All's well that ends well. Looking forward to doing nothing but write stuff on CB and watch college football today while basking in the love of 5-0. Go Cougs!