By: Arie Dekker
Though LaVell Edwards Stadium lies quiet, the Indoor Practice Facility reverberates with the cheers of football players during a tug-of-war match.
While the usual practice field is buried in snow, the indoor green artificial turf absorbs the punches of football cleats during January drills.
Despite winning the Mountain West Conference Championship and capping a 10-game winning streak with a victory at the Las Vegas Bowl a few weeks ago, linebacker Kelly Bills said the team wants more ? an undefeated record and a national championship.
Love of the sport and respect for BYU?s tradition motivates players to practice hard through the winter and sacrifice for a shot to play for BYU.
Bills said playing here is especially prestigious and challenging because BYU has, ??a lot of tradition, [and] honor.?
Cougar fans loyally followed the team that finished ranked in the top 25 through its impressive 11-2 season last fall.
Defensive back Ben Criddle said fans may be drawn to BYU in search of, ??something to be affiliated with that gives them positive energy and identity.?
The players experience a similar draw, he said.
Tight end Andrew George said BYU players are held to a higher standard than athletes at many other schools.
He said that higher standard is the most recognizable aspect of BYU. He always wanted to play for BYU, but he said he looked at other options for a time because the team had slumped into three consecutive losing seasons and had undergone a recent coaching change. Despite all that, he said the unique atmosphere and spirit at BYU won him over.
BYU also requires high standards of athleticism and hard work in addition to conduct. Even during the winter, George said players lift weights and do conditioning exercises four days a week.
He said the heavy year-round practice schedule is ??like having a part-time job.?
Linebacker David Nixon said players got time off for Christmas and reported for practice the first day of school. He said some players start their days lifting weights at 6 a.m.
?You love the game so much that you put your body through it,? he said. ?It?s tough, but at the same time it?s worth it.?
This love of playing is illustrated well in Friday practices, when players leave the footballs on the sidelines and compete in friendly ?super games.?
This time, players were divided into 10 teams for a tug-of-war tournament. Large ropes, a couple inches thick, were placed neatly on the practice field turf. Each rope had a white ribbon tied to its center that had to be pulled past either side?s orange cone for a victory.
Criddle said playing football gives him a sense of identity and self-awareness.
?We?re playing a game, and it?s fun,? he said.
But at the same time, he said players learn and apply important principles of teamwork, unity and dedication ? principles that are universal and can be learned in any discipline, not just in athletics.
In one of Friday?s tug-of-war matches, the initial jerk of the white ribbon favored the right side. In most bouts, if the first jolt tugged away, that team was almost sure to lose.
On the left side of the rope, players clenched and dug and yelled ? anything to regain the lost ground. While the rest of the football team crowded around to cheer both sides, the ribbon kept shifting right.
As the rope came within inches of the cone marking the end, the nearly defeated left side yanked in concerted repetition, improbably pulling the ribbon to the left.
This unlikely surge to escape defeat and prolong the tug-of-war brought a new wave of cheers from the players-turned-spectators, which then inspired further and faster movement of the ribbon to the left. Everyone loves an underdog.
Here was a football team that looked like a Family Home Evening group, only bigger. Here were friends and brothers playing for the sheer joy of and camaraderie of playing.
When the little ribbon finally crossed the cone on the left, players on both sides fell in exhaustion, and the crowd erupted in celebration of the unlikely and inspiring victory.
The players retired to the sideline, talking about professors and homework while drinking Powerade.
Rigorous practices are even more challenging for newer players. Some of them will be cut before the spring.
Like many others, Criddle said he dreamed of playing football at BYU since high school. He imagined he would play cornerback, and his friend would play safety, comprising the greatest defensive backfield tandem BYU had ever seen. Upon graduation, Criddle was recruited by several smaller colleges, but not by BYU.
?I knew ultimately that I would regret it, if I didn?t give Division I a shot,? he said.
He played for two small colleges in Arizona, focusing his training to improve his speed and carefully dieting. Two summers ago, Criddle attended BYU practices as a walk-on.
?When you serve a mission, you immerse yourself in the language to learn it,? Criddle said. ?That?s what it takes physically to excel in [Division I] football.?
It?s a commitment players make and fulfill daily. The players agree their love of playing the sport motivates them to sacrifice and push themselves.
?As a walk-on, you?re in an uphill battle the whole time,? lineman John Barrett said.
Despite watching games from the sideline, he said running out of the tunnel at LaVell Edwards stadium as part of the team made it all worthwhile.
?With 65,000 people cheering in the stands, it?s an unbelievable feeling,? he said.
