The dream of every diehard sports fan is to be in attendance for their favorite team’s most glorious moments. You want say, “I was there!" On a crisp night in December 2005 at Staples Center, with one of my best friends MJB, we deliriously watched Kobe Bryant drop 62 points (in 3 quarters!) on the poor Dallas Mavs. The Lakers won 112-90. I was next to another buddy, Steve D, on September 13, 2008 at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, UT, witnesses to the Cougars’ destruction of the Bruins visiting from UCLA, 59-0. I even got to meet Cougar running back Harvey Unga later that night! What a weekend that was! And, only a few weeks ago at Dodger Stadium, we marveled at Matt Kemp’s monstrous 3-run blast (his 38th of the season) that seemed to disappear into the nighttime sky above center field! It was high-fives all-around! This past weekend another “I was there” moment was etched in my book of sports memories. Once again, with my brother-in-law, Edwin K, we were nestled in our perch up high in the south end zone at Lavell Edwards Stadium as the Cougars faced in-state rival, Utah State. BYU has struggled this season, but the hope was for an offensive breakout. Meanwhile, the Aggies had been snake bit, coming from ahead to lose two heart breakers earlier this year to Auburn and Colorado St. The Aggies easily could have been 3-0 coming in to this match-up. For almost three quarters it was more of the same for both teams. USU was rolling and the BYU offensive attack, misled by QB Jake Heaps, had been mediocre at best, as the Aggies had built a 24-13 lead. The silence inside the stadium was deafening. Most of the scattered Aggie fans were jubilant. Although, the 20-something Aggie next to me muttered, “I can feel it. We’re going to blow it.” To which I responded, “No way, we suck.”….. At that moment everything changed…….BYU head coach, Bronco Mendenhall had seen enough.
He benched Heaps and brought in the southpaw senior from Logan, UT, Riley Nelson, much to the delight of the BYU faithful, who had also seen enough of Heaps. In just over one quarter of play, Riley ran and passed the Cougars to two scores and a dramatic come from behind victory. The win was punctuated by a 96-yard drive in the game's final 2:36. The crowd was chanting, RI-LEY, RI-LEY, RI-LEY! He did not disappoint as he fearlessly lowered his head, hair flowing from under his helmet, scrambling for first down after first down, launching a 40-yard prayer that was answered by WR McKay Jacobson. And then, the winning score on a ricochet pass caught in the end zone by Marcus Matthews with only 11 seconds remaining. BYU wins, 27-24!!!!!!!!!! The Aggies had blown it again! We went wild, Edwin and me high-fived, we were numb in the frenzy, while the Aggie next to me put his head down and wept. Another moment, captured in time!!!!!
Epilogue: As Edwin and me made our exit from the stadium, we listened intently to post-game Cougar Talk on the local radio waves. Of coarse, the big question was, who will start at QB next week? The consensus of fans, teammates, and assistant coaches is Riley. My vote would be to keep Jake Heaps in headphones and with a clipboard for the remainder of the season. We'll find out right before kick-off this Sat night.........Having not seen the national broadcast on ESPN, we missed J.J. Di Luigi's temper tantrum on the BYU sideline. After is near disastrous dropped fumble, J.J. was caught on camera banging his own head twice with his helmet in frustration, after which he clearly dropped the dreaded F-bomb. At anywhere else along the College Football landscape, a lost fumble is much worse than uttering the F-bomb on national TV, but at not at BYU. Ouch, Honor Code Violation! Then we have Riley Nelson's hair. If you have watched an NFL game lately, you certainly have noticed that long hair hanging out of the helmet is all the rage, i.e. Steeler Troy Polamalu. This fad is now sweeping college football, as well. Riley is in the groove! But, wait a minute, not at BYU. Honor Code Violation! I feel Riley's pain. While attending BYU in the 1970's, I was constantly in hot water because of long hair. C'mon, it was the 70's! I got narked on by some dweeb who worked at the bowling alley in the Wilkinson Center and was subsequently summoned to the Office of University Standards. In preparation for my inquisition, I borrowed some of my wife's hair product and slicked my hair back like Pat Riley, (Those dang Riley's) taking special care to keep my long locks glued behind my ears. Upon my arrival at the office, after a short wait I was invited into the Big Kahuna's office. Big Kahuna said, "OK, do a 360 for me." I twirled. I felt like a Victoria Secret model! Then Big Kahuna said, "Get outta here!" I was never bothered by them again. Heck, I liked the way my hair looked that day so much that I have been wearing that way ever since. However, I never had much of a modeling career. Thank you Big Kahuna! Good luck J.J. and Riley! Hope things work out as good for you as it did for me. Go Cougars.
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