Don't Know Jerome Myles...But I Believe He's Got A Bright Future

 During the "Horse Latitudes" of college football (or what I call summer...), the only real news available are snippets...tidbits of information about teams, conferences, and especially players. Most of it are social media posts from Monday-morning quarterbacks who proclaim the team(s) they follow will not only excel in the upcoming year, but will in it all.

Since that's all there is, I take notice.

I heard about a local high school football player Jerome Myles when he de-committed from Ole Miss, igniting the hope of many around the country that he might end up at their school. He recently posted a list of his Top 10.

Simply amazing.

The young man has the opportunity to attend the best college football teams in the nation. If he signs with any of them, does good, and stays healthy, he's golden. When I look at his post, it's almost unbelievable, considering how difficult it is to be recruited from these schools. 

It's also an honor for the U of U that they're considered a choice. It is a local school, of course, but in many pre-season polls, Utah is considered by many to be a Top 10 school. 

Like I said, I don't know him. I hope he makes the best choice for him and his family. My selfish side hopes he chooses that local option, but if not, I hope he says healthy, doesn't get too full of himself, and uses his God-given talent to bless his family, his fans, and himself.

Looks like he's got a bright future, indeed.

It's March...Wish It Was August

Many sports fans love March. It makes sense...there's a little tournament nicknamed "March Madness." Normally, I enjoy following the tournament. This year, I don't know if there will be any local teams involved so I may skip it.

In the past couple of years, I've skipped a lot of sports...

Like, all NFL games, almost all NBA games, all MLB games.

Removing sports in my life isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have many friends who follow no sports whatsoever. They use their time doing other things, like writing books. Unfortunately, I haven't spent my time away from sports writing like they do. If I used the time like they do, I've have written millions of words filling volumes of books.

A few blocks from our house there's a semi truck dealership. There are several trailers parked on the lot...one of them is unique. It's the semi trailer for the Utah State University football team, and it's beautiful. I am an Aggie fan. They're my second-favorite local college football team. I will root for them every time they play...unless, of course, they play my favorite college football team. Then, sorry USU...got to be true to my school.

It's March, an incredible time for sports fans, if you like the sports being played right now. But give me August, and even though it's way too hot in August, it's my favorite time of the sports year.

U Of U Football, T-Minus 51 Days...And Counting!

For college football fans, the next few weeks are the longest of the year. It's like kids surviving April and May before their summer break. It's so hard! Especially since there's so much hype out there. How will the teams be? Will they exceed expectations, or not live up to them?

On Thursday September 1, 2016, the best university football team in the state of Utah (going by statistics for the past decade or so...) will take the field. That's also the first day of this year's Salt Lake Comic Con, another event I'm highly anticipating.

I've been a U of U football fan since I first attended school there in 1987. It's been a long and many times, tough three decades for us Utah fans. For those unfamiliar with the University of Utah football program, saying it's been an up and down program is an understatement. Utah dominated for the first half century of their existence. Then came the meteoric rise of the university program in Provo. I grew up watching BYU roll over everyone, including the hapless Utes. Oh, those games were brutal!

Just brutal.

But a change has taken place over time and Coach Whittingham has turned the program into a respectable force. Yes, in 51 days the boys in crimson and white will put on the pads and do battle. How will they do? We'll just have to wait. And the waiting--right now--is pretty tough to handle.

The Tie I Didn't Wear To Church Today...

Back on October 4, 2014, I wrote a blog post in which I expressed some thoughts concerning a local sports team. It was after a tough, tough home loss where they lost more than the game, they lost several key players. The link to that post can be found: HERE. That post generated a comment from a friend and fan of the team. I'm glad he wrote it. 

Turns out, it was just the beginning of a nightmare four-game losing streak. If you live in the local area and follow sports, you've heard all about it. When I wrote my post three weeks ago I had no idea things would turn so poorly for them. But, sports can be a fickle mistress. 

In other local sports news, another local team has fared much better in the month of October, which, for die-hard fans of BYU and who dislike the Utes, only adds to the agony--salt in the already painful wound. Last night around 11:50pm mountain daylight time, many happy fans stormed the home field as the boys from Utah defeated their counterparts from the University of Southern California. I was too worked up to go to sleep right after the game, but this morning as I dressed for church, I wondered if I should wear "the tie."

I was given my University of Utah football tie several years ago. Since then the team I follow and root for has been at times one of the best football teams in the country and one of the worst teams in their own conference. I've experienced the ups and downs that many of my friends who rise and shout are feeling now. Sometimes after a big Utah Utes win on a Saturday, I'll don my tie and wear it with pride while sitting among my neighbors.

Today, though, it just didn't seem like the thing to do. During the dark days of Utah football, it's not fun to be reminded of mediocrity. No, I'll wait for another day. The next several weeks are going to be brutal for my crimson soldiers. They might not win another game and I may have missed my chance to wear the victory tie, but that's okay. There's always next season. Yeah, we'll get 'em next year for sure!

True Blue--Oh, The Agony...

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How can they lose? After all, it's only the Aggies. And Utah State hasn't won in Provo in what...36 years?

There were many reasons to be confident. A top-25 ranking, a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, and a home crowd used to seeing their boys in blue run over lesser talented teams.

The problem was, no one told the Utah State Aggies that they were supposed to come in, lay down and get run over. For Cougar fans, this one's going to hurt, and hurt for a long, long time. Hurt longer than Taysom Hill's broken leg, longer than the other injuries suffered by Leavitt, Kersley, and Fua. 

Longer than it took for fans traveling north of the Point of the Mountain to get home. Gone are the national title hopes, the Heisman, the undefeated season, and the dreams of many, many people.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt so bad if BYU faithful weren't so...well, faithful. They believe in an almost impossible dream of their soldiers returning to past glory, when losing came as often as a blue moon, and conference championships were almost guaranteed.

It's my opinion that those days are gone and most likely, not going to return. The Y can't (or won't...) compete with the power teams, the ones willing to do almost anything to win. Sure, they can beat up a top-10 team now and again, but they are no longer the dominant football team in Utah and haven't been for twenty years. There's other considerations, too. They won't play on Sundays. And it's questionable that they'll ever join a power conference. 

Then again, I have absolutely no credibility to these claims--I'm just a person who watches games and blogs everyday.

Congratulations to the Aggies! They pushed around the big boys, and contrary to many BYU fans, had a great chance of winning that game even if the BYU quarterback hadn't broken his leg. They came and they conquered and it broke the hearts of Cougar fans everywhere. Last night, we were all Aggies!

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* Photo used without permission from: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/alabama-football/byu-we-want-bama-sign/

∆ Photo used without permission from: http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Utah+State+v+BYU+pZ4gFZ1-mPNl.jpg

College Football...the Agony & the Ecstasy...

College Football...the Agony & the Ecstasy

Officially, the 2011 college football season began Thursday night, but today was when the entire nation turned on their TV sets, phones, or computers and became caught up in the action.

For most games I don't really care who wins, especially on the first week. Things get serious as the season progresses. I usually root for all local teams to win. Today's results were bitter sweet...oh, so bitter sweet.

In years past, I would listen to as much sports radio as possible, but it gets really taxing to get all caught up in the hype. But, on game day, I don the crimson and white and cheer on my team. 

Most games have concluded. I'm sure as many fans are wondering what could have been as their are fans reviling in what was. We go to bed thinking about the possibilities that next weekend bring.