Few things create as much fanaticism as a group of grown men wearing tight clothing and hitting each other. Yes, it is football time. For some reason even the smell of grass seems to change. It could be the anticipation of glory moments, moments which are often created on the field and live forever in fans’ minds.
Football is the most popular sport in America. Don’t believe me? Let me throw, pun intended, a statistic your way.
According to a poll of 2,331 adults by Harris Interactive this year, football is once again more popular in the U.S. than “America’s pastime,” baseball.
Of course football is popular to most Americans. And if you are still reading this, then most likely you are a fan. The question now becomes: Why should I love BYU football?
“I get to watch men run over and hit each other for three to four hours, and I don’t have to break it up or call the police,” said Christian Fox, associate university broadcasting counsel, and avid BYU football fan.
For many, some of the most intense and memorable experiences revolve around sporting moments.
Fox said his favorite BYU football moment came during the 2006 meeting between BYU and the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“I was sitting with a small sliver of BYU fans when Jonny Harline caught the winning touchdown from John Beck with no time left in the game,” Fox said. “We went crazy while the rest of the stadium just sat there in shock.”
James Blair, founder and CEO of Power-Glide foreign language programs in Provo, said listening to 65,000 people responding as one is exciting.
“At the stadium you can see things develop and you can anticipate what [will] happen,” Blair said. “The excitement builds as plays unfold. We know we’re going to mix it up on offense and play risky, aggressive, exciting defense.”
He said attending games with his father for more than 20 years is his favorite thing about BYU football.
Jeff DuBois, faculty member in the Communications Department at BYU, who also attended BYU during his undergraduate years, said his most memorable moment came against Utah in the 2009 game.
“I was there when Max Hall made the winning pass to Andrew George in overtime,” DuBois said. “I rushed the field and I ended up behind Hall during the interview. It was a really cool moment.”
Memorable moments happen in seconds, but they extend throughout history, especially in the hearts of those who experienced them.
Here are more memorable moments of BYU football:
— BYU’s 14-13 win against top three nationally ranked Oklahoma Sooners and now NFL quarterback Sam Bradford.
— The 1980 Holiday Bowl. BYU’s first bowl win came against Southern Methodist University. Quarterback Jim McMahon brought the Cougars back from a 45-25 deficit to win by one point by throwing a heart-stopping hail mary pass to tight end Clay Brown with no time left on the clock. This is known as “The Miracle Bowl.”
— The 2006 win over in-state rival University of Utah. Beck to Harline in the end zone as time expires.
— The 1984 Holiday Bowl against Michigan featured the Cougars with everything on the line. The 24-17 victory clinched the national title for BYU.
