BYU vs. Utah 2006
It was Thanksgiving 2006, and I was visiting my Mom for Thanksgiving. In my earlier years, I absolutely hated sports, especially football. However, two months before my journey up to see my Mom, I attended the Foothill vs. Cheyenne football game. This would be the night where I actually enjoyed watching a game of football.
Foothill was a good football team back then, but many believed Cheyenne would pull of the upset. I remember Foothill getting ahead really quick, and I just thought, "Wow. No way are we going to lose this." The next thing I knew, we were in a close, heated battle with Cheyenne, and it was then that I realized that I didn't really know anything about football.
With about a minute left, our team put on an excellent drive and scored with about 25 seconds left. I remember going NUTS, and thinking, "Wow. Football is actually pretty sweet! Foothill FTW!" What happened next? Well, Cheyenne returned the kick-off for sixty yards, and had a chance to score again with about 3 seconds left. Once again, I really felt stupid for thinking that the game was over. But we batted down the pass in the end-zone and ended up winning the game, and I thought it was awesome.
While on our way up to Utah, my Mom called us and told us to make sure we got there before 1 PM or so because the BYU vs. Utah football game was going to be starting around that time. I remember thinking, "Oh. A football game. I will watch this." This was the first BYU football game I watched, and I now look back on it and realize that I just witnessed one of the most heated rivalries in college football.
I thought the Foothill vs. Cheyenne game was crazy! But nothing is better than watching a BYU vs. Utah game. BYU ended up winning 33-31 when John Beck threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight-end Johnny Harline with no time remaining on the clock. It was the first time BYU beat Utah since 2001, and I just remember thinking, "What an amazing, powerful game." I have been a BYU football fan ever since.
BYU vs. Utah 2007
One year had passed, and I once again found myself in Utah, visiting my Mom. My cousin, TAB, offered me his sister's ticket for the game because she wasn't going to go. I was PUMPED. But then TAB had to call off the deal because he remembered that his dad would probably want to go, so he gave my Uncle Karl the ticket instead, which I was absolutely fine with. I could just watch it on TV!
However, my Mom no longer had the channel for the game anymore. I am going to be honest and admit that I lost a few hours of sleep over this fact. I was really looking forward to this game, and I just wanted to watch it with my own eyes!
But the family had other things going on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it. I had to think of an alternative! And then I remembered: "I am in Utah! The game will be on the radio."
And so my brothers Brent Nelson, Timmy, and I went on a hunt to find one. Brent was doing some shopping for his family, and so we checked out Costco and Target. Neither really had any good, cheap radios. Heck, I didn't even have any money!
But then a miracle happened. We went to Albertson's to get some food for my Mom. I remember looking around the store, suddenly realizing that it was probably very unlikely that I find a portable radio in a store like Albertson's. But as we were about to leave, I saw it: FM/AM Portable Radio (Price: $7).
But the fact remained: I was broke! Brent wouldn't give me any money, and so I had one choice: My younger brother, Timmy Nelson himself. I dunno how I did it, but I somehow got a good eight bucks out of the child, and I purchased this radio.
This was the first game I listened to via the radio, and it was awesome. (I--to this day--listen to most of the games on the radio.) The game analyst were hilarious! I remember listening to the pre-game show and just getting goosebumps! I was so pumped.
As the game went on, I informed Brent Nelson on what was going on. We were eventually separated, though, and so Brent would listen to the game in his car. It was the fourth quarter, and Utah was up 10-9. There was about 1:35 minutes to go, and we had a good 80+ yards to go before we could score. Max Hall fumbled the ball, but recovered it, causing a loss of eight yards. And then he threw an incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was then that Brent Nelson called me and told me that he was done listening.
But I still had hope! Third and 18? Easy enough. But then Hall threw another incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was now fourth and 18, and I just remember thinking, "It's over. Utah has gotten their revenge."....But then out of nowhere I hear Greg (one of the analyst) yell, "Hall launces it to Collie, and...COLLIE IS BY HIMSELF ON THE SIDELINE AND MAKES THE CATCH FOR A FIRST DOWN!!!"
I was drinking some milk in the kitchen at the time, and I absolutely lost it! Collie made a 49 yard reception, and the game was suddenly back in our reach! After back to back penalties on Utah, BYU scored on an 11 yard run by running back, Harvey Unga. I then called Brent and informed him of the news. At first, he didn't believe me, and he thought I was just messing with him.
Utah had enough time to win the game, but BYU batted down the pass in the endzone, and the Cougars ended up with a 17-10 win!
(Brent Nelson and I later listened to the BYU vs. North Carolina (UNC was #1 at the time) basketball game via my radio, and that was pretty sweet! We almost beat the #1 team in the country!! It was awesome.)
BYU vs. Utah 2008
Another year has passed, and I am more excited than ever, as everyone already knows! :) This will be the biggest game out of all three. This is the first time BYU and Utah play eachother while both being ranked since 1994. It's been 14 years!! And I believe it is the first time they play eachother while bothing being ranked in the top 15. It'll be a great game, and I know BYU can win it!
Now--I really wanted to watch this game, but I didn't have the channel. So the original plan was to watch it over at my friend's house with some friends. Good idea, but...I always seem to turn against my friends when it comes to football games (See: Last year's betrayal when I actually went to the BYU vs. UCLA Vegas Bowl game with my brother, after I had planned to watch it with my friend and her family.)
This year: My brothers Luke, Logan, and Brent Nelson really want to watch the game, along with my Dad. So my idea: I'll just invite them over to Scott's house to watch it with us! But that wasn't going to work, because there was already going to be a bunch of people over there, and he doesn't have a very big living room.
My new solution: Talk to Dad and order the channel! And so I got with my Dad the other day, and I asked him if we could call the cable company and order the channel for the game. He said, "Oh, are you not going to Scott's house anymore?" I told him that I wanted to watch the game with Brent Nelson and the rest of the family, and he just said, "Alright, give them a call, and let me know how much it costs."
And so I called, but they eventually had to talk to my Dad. Dad talked with them for a few minutes, and hung up after a few thank-yous. Dad informed me that we now had the channels, and I was excited. I went into the blue room and tested it out, and it was awesome!
I am really excited to watch this year's game with my Dad and my brothers, and it's going to be sweet!! I informed Scott today that I probably wasn't gonna go to his house, and he wasn't very happy about that (especially since I planned it), but I am sure he will have fun with everyone else. :)
And so...on Saturday, make sure all y'all wear blue and support the BYU Cougars! We need to win this game to win the conference title for the third straight year!! ;)
It was Thanksgiving 2006, and I was visiting my Mom for Thanksgiving. In my earlier years, I absolutely hated sports, especially football. However, two months before my journey up to see my Mom, I attended the Foothill vs. Cheyenne football game. This would be the night where I actually enjoyed watching a game of football.
Foothill was a good football team back then, but many believed Cheyenne would pull of the upset. I remember Foothill getting ahead really quick, and I just thought, "Wow. No way are we going to lose this." The next thing I knew, we were in a close, heated battle with Cheyenne, and it was then that I realized that I didn't really know anything about football.
With about a minute left, our team put on an excellent drive and scored with about 25 seconds left. I remember going NUTS, and thinking, "Wow. Football is actually pretty sweet! Foothill FTW!" What happened next? Well, Cheyenne returned the kick-off for sixty yards, and had a chance to score again with about 3 seconds left. Once again, I really felt stupid for thinking that the game was over. But we batted down the pass in the end-zone and ended up winning the game, and I thought it was awesome.
While on our way up to Utah, my Mom called us and told us to make sure we got there before 1 PM or so because the BYU vs. Utah football game was going to be starting around that time. I remember thinking, "Oh. A football game. I will watch this." This was the first BYU football game I watched, and I now look back on it and realize that I just witnessed one of the most heated rivalries in college football.
I thought the Foothill vs. Cheyenne game was crazy! But nothing is better than watching a BYU vs. Utah game. BYU ended up winning 33-31 when John Beck threw a 15-yard TD pass to tight-end Johnny Harline with no time remaining on the clock. It was the first time BYU beat Utah since 2001, and I just remember thinking, "What an amazing, powerful game." I have been a BYU football fan ever since.
BYU vs. Utah 2007
One year had passed, and I once again found myself in Utah, visiting my Mom. My cousin, TAB, offered me his sister's ticket for the game because she wasn't going to go. I was PUMPED. But then TAB had to call off the deal because he remembered that his dad would probably want to go, so he gave my Uncle Karl the ticket instead, which I was absolutely fine with. I could just watch it on TV!
However, my Mom no longer had the channel for the game anymore. I am going to be honest and admit that I lost a few hours of sleep over this fact. I was really looking forward to this game, and I just wanted to watch it with my own eyes!
But the family had other things going on that day, so I knew I wouldn't be able to watch it. I had to think of an alternative! And then I remembered: "I am in Utah! The game will be on the radio."
And so my brothers Brent Nelson, Timmy, and I went on a hunt to find one. Brent was doing some shopping for his family, and so we checked out Costco and Target. Neither really had any good, cheap radios. Heck, I didn't even have any money!
But then a miracle happened. We went to Albertson's to get some food for my Mom. I remember looking around the store, suddenly realizing that it was probably very unlikely that I find a portable radio in a store like Albertson's. But as we were about to leave, I saw it: FM/AM Portable Radio (Price: $7).
But the fact remained: I was broke! Brent wouldn't give me any money, and so I had one choice: My younger brother, Timmy Nelson himself. I dunno how I did it, but I somehow got a good eight bucks out of the child, and I purchased this radio.
This was the first game I listened to via the radio, and it was awesome. (I--to this day--listen to most of the games on the radio.) The game analyst were hilarious! I remember listening to the pre-game show and just getting goosebumps! I was so pumped.
As the game went on, I informed Brent Nelson on what was going on. We were eventually separated, though, and so Brent would listen to the game in his car. It was the fourth quarter, and Utah was up 10-9. There was about 1:35 minutes to go, and we had a good 80+ yards to go before we could score. Max Hall fumbled the ball, but recovered it, causing a loss of eight yards. And then he threw an incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was then that Brent Nelson called me and told me that he was done listening.
But I still had hope! Third and 18? Easy enough. But then Hall threw another incompletion to Dennis Pitta. It was now fourth and 18, and I just remember thinking, "It's over. Utah has gotten their revenge."....But then out of nowhere I hear Greg (one of the analyst) yell, "Hall launces it to Collie, and...COLLIE IS BY HIMSELF ON THE SIDELINE AND MAKES THE CATCH FOR A FIRST DOWN!!!"
I was drinking some milk in the kitchen at the time, and I absolutely lost it! Collie made a 49 yard reception, and the game was suddenly back in our reach! After back to back penalties on Utah, BYU scored on an 11 yard run by running back, Harvey Unga. I then called Brent and informed him of the news. At first, he didn't believe me, and he thought I was just messing with him.
Utah had enough time to win the game, but BYU batted down the pass in the endzone, and the Cougars ended up with a 17-10 win!
(Brent Nelson and I later listened to the BYU vs. North Carolina (UNC was #1 at the time) basketball game via my radio, and that was pretty sweet! We almost beat the #1 team in the country!! It was awesome.)
BYU vs. Utah 2008
Another year has passed, and I am more excited than ever, as everyone already knows! :) This will be the biggest game out of all three. This is the first time BYU and Utah play eachother while both being ranked since 1994. It's been 14 years!! And I believe it is the first time they play eachother while bothing being ranked in the top 15. It'll be a great game, and I know BYU can win it!
Now--I really wanted to watch this game, but I didn't have the channel. So the original plan was to watch it over at my friend's house with some friends. Good idea, but...I always seem to turn against my friends when it comes to football games (See: Last year's betrayal when I actually went to the BYU vs. UCLA Vegas Bowl game with my brother, after I had planned to watch it with my friend and her family.)
This year: My brothers Luke, Logan, and Brent Nelson really want to watch the game, along with my Dad. So my idea: I'll just invite them over to Scott's house to watch it with us! But that wasn't going to work, because there was already going to be a bunch of people over there, and he doesn't have a very big living room.
My new solution: Talk to Dad and order the channel! And so I got with my Dad the other day, and I asked him if we could call the cable company and order the channel for the game. He said, "Oh, are you not going to Scott's house anymore?" I told him that I wanted to watch the game with Brent Nelson and the rest of the family, and he just said, "Alright, give them a call, and let me know how much it costs."
And so I called, but they eventually had to talk to my Dad. Dad talked with them for a few minutes, and hung up after a few thank-yous. Dad informed me that we now had the channels, and I was excited. I went into the blue room and tested it out, and it was awesome!
I am really excited to watch this year's game with my Dad and my brothers, and it's going to be sweet!! I informed Scott today that I probably wasn't gonna go to his house, and he wasn't very happy about that (especially since I planned it), but I am sure he will have fun with everyone else. :)
And so...on Saturday, make sure all y'all wear blue and support the BYU Cougars! We need to win this game to win the conference title for the third straight year!! ;)
3 comments:
Haha... I remember that first year, you thought Grandma and Grandpa Watts were a little out of control with how sacred they treated the game, now look at you! I am so glad you guys got the channel, I just wish we had it, but I would probably be so nervous I'd make myself sick!
Haha. Mom...I dunno about everyone else, but I don't ever remember thinking anyone as out of control....;)
And I know how you feel. Brent Nelson and I are taking a risk watching this game. The last time we watched a game together, we lost! And..yeah, whenever it's BYU vs. Utah, it can get a little scary. ;)
Brent wouldn't give you 7 bucks? What a butt.
Post a Comment