Go mighty Cougars!

I should have written this earlier, but it's been a crazy week. Last week saw the return of college football, and all was well in the (sports) world again. Ever since I heard that BYU was in talks to play Oklahoma in their season opener for 2009, I was worried. That worry grew when Florida defeated Oklahoma in the BCS championship game, and Sam Bradford and Co. announced that they would return for another season. Only winning a championship could motivate players guaranteed millions in the NFL to return for another season. With that kind of motivation, I figured the entire Oklahoma team would have a chip on its shoulder all season.

However much I feared Oklahoma, I never wrote off BYU's chances because in college football anything can happen. That fact became the basis of my hope that BYU could pull of an incredible upset. Whenever people asked me how I thought the game would turn out, I would answer that the logical part of me thought Oklahoma would win, but the rest of me was holding onto that one beautiful truth that anything could happen.

It's gameday. Twenty-five people crowd into the living room of my apartment. The game is dead even. The atmosphere is electric. Everyone is cheering loudly. I jump to my feet and high five nearly everyone in the room after every great play. The little blue wind-up dancing robot leads us in our celebration dance. We run around the apartment complex and yell after each of BYU's two touchdowns and after the final whistle blows. Provo is full of celebration. We drive down the streets slowly. I honk my car's horn. We all yell and put our index fingers into the air triumphantly. Crowds of people are gathered on street corners, all of them cheering loudly and happily. A rally is quickly organized to meet the players when their plane lands in the early morning hours. The college football world is stunned, and Provo is content, ecstatic, and optimistic. College football is back, and the Cougars have burst onto the scene with one of their biggest victories of all-time.

It really was an intense and incredible game. I have never been in a better atmosphere for watching a road game on TV. Many props to everyone who watched the game in my apartment. I'll never forget the game or my experience watching it. I'd like to forget the monstrous bratwurst sandwich thing my roommate Jeremy concocted; it was delicious but later destroyed my innards. Earlier that day, before the game started, I was speaking with a friend who said she couldn't understand the appeal in watching sports on television. I tried to explain to her why I love watching sports, but I wasn't very successful. Had she watched the game with us, I think she might finally understand.

A few observations made during and after the game:

• DEFENSE! How great was the BYU defense? That goal line stand was epic. I am now very proud that my #1 jersey, which used to be Fui Vakapuna's number, is now being sported by Pendleton, the outside linebacker. He had a fantastic game and, along with Andrew Rich, the safety, was the most pleasant surprise of the evening. Let's hope the Cougar defense continues to play with such ferocity. Props to Coach Hill for calling a great game and constantly confusing Oklahoma's inexperienced offensive line and putting pressure on Bradford. Clawson is a beast.
• I feel like this game could be for Max Hall what the 2006 TCU game was for John Beck: a season and career-defining performance. Let's hope this victory will give Max the confidence and poise to take on other high-powered defenses (TCU, Utah). The nine minute fourth quarter drive was superb. It was later revealed that Hall called all of his own plays until reaching the red zone, and that impressed me a lot.
• Play of the game (other than the goal line stand): the fourth-down conversion during the epic fourth quarter drive. On 3rd and long, J.J. Di Luigi manages to pick up a couple yards on a draw play. Immediately the team lines up and snaps the ball, and Hall finds Pitta for what turns out to be a twenty yard gain. What impressed me most was the fact that the play was called in the huddle on third down. The team knew exactly what to do, and Oklahoma's defense was left reeling by BYU's perfect execution.
• This game was won by BYU. True, Bradford's injury changed things, but anyone who watched the game knows that BYU was outplaying Oklahoma even with Bradford in the game. Take away BYU's turnovers, and Oklahoma wouldn't have scored in the first half. Anyone wanting to play the injury card ought to remember that BYU was playing without Harvey Unga. While Kariya played spectacularly as Unga's replacement, Unga brings a whole new dimension to the BYU offense. Had he played, BYU would have won by a larger margin.
• It was just one game. True, but it was just one amazing game, one of the biggest in BYU's history. Go ahead and celebrate it. Too many wet-blanket pessimists have been coming out of the woodwork, trying to discount the victory and act as if we shouldn't enjoy it. It's not every day, or decade, that we beat a Top 5 opponent. As long as the players continue to prepare well and focus their attentions on the next game at hand, everything will be okay. There's no need to repress the celebrations. I, for one, think every second of the celebration was earned. I hope to celebrate many more victories this season. People need to enjoy life and not worry about protecting themselves from disappointment and pain. Every Cougar fan suffered through last season's losses, but this is a new season and a new team.
• I am a believer in this BYU team.

I have been way too excited for the next game against Tulane, and I am relieved that it is just over fifteen hours away. Go Cougars!