Everything is approved for meeting the team at Million Air at the Provo Airport at around 1:40 am on Friday. We are to park in the field east of Million Air an meet them behind the gate. The address is: 3421 Mike Jense Parkway. Take Center Street west in Provo; turn left/south on 3100 W & go about 1.5 miles until you see Million Air and airport on the right; park in field on left. I am trying to get part of the band, cheerleaders, Cosmo, etc. to come. I Have contacted Darnell Dixon to ask him to announce it in the Daily Herald Sports section tomorrow & will notify all the sports radio hosts. Let me know if I missed anything.

Mr. Hannsen is taking the steps to make this year very memorable for both the players and the fans. Lets show our support and meet the team back in Provo after a  huge win tonight.

Coach Mendenhall has said time and time again that the most important thing in life is not football. He’s also wise enough to see that the only way that we will get enough publicity to get people interested in the Church is by winning football games. Coach has talked to the team on numerous occasions about the importance of playing from a different place so that when others watch us play football they will notice something different about us, then upon further inquiry we will be able to speak about how we live. There should simply be no separation from the type of person you are in your family, business life, church life, etc. I don’t care if you are a welder or a CEO, just go out there, put the shoulder to the wheel and be the best welder or CEO you can possible be. While you’re at it, do everything  possible to live an exemplary life with the intent that others can see the happiness living the Gospel brings.

During the 2005 season we started out 1-3 and we were going on the road to New Mexico.

Coach decided at this point to start doing firesides before every game. Most other collegiate teams in the country spend their Friday nights resting up for the game and going over last minute details. Coach has taught us, from the time he was named the Head Coach, that our spirituality was the most important aspect of BYU football. With a team that was struggling to win ball games, and a young and inexperienced coach feeling a tremendous amount of pressure from a very demanding fan base, this was a risky call. I want to send a shout out to all the fans that booed Coach Mendenhall in his first home game in 2005. I mean it’s alright if you are thinking to yourself, “I’ve watched a lot of football games in my life and I have never seen a team punt the ball from the opponents’ 40 yard line,” but to boo the guy…  more discretion could have been shown. All of you out there who are mad about the ticket price increase can thank those dudes that booed that day against Boston College.

So, back to my point, with the team’s back against the wall at 1-3, Coach decided to really show the team and the fans that this was truly the most important aspect of our program. He faced a lot of criticism from people (even within the organization) that thought that we needed to spend less time on service projects and the idea of giving away our Friday night pre-game time to put on a fireside, seemed a little too philanthropic to a lot of folks who wanted more W’s.

I think I remember Coach Mendenhall stating that this decision was the program’s tipping point. He showed the players that he firmly believed that if we focused on spiritual things and lost our program in the service of others, that everything would turn out alright. Up until this point we had heard Coach talk about the importance of doing the right things off the field but he made a declaration this day in Albuquerque, and it was the shifting of the tide.

That night in New Mexico the players and Coaches talked in front of maybe 25 people and it was announced in every church and stake in the area. Two years later when we returned to New Mexico, after 2 winning season the seats were filled in the largest Stake Center in Albuquerque. Since New Mexico in 2005 there has been a fireside before every single game and Bronco’s record as a Head Coach has gone from 1-3 to 28-7. Coach really believes that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important aspect of the BYU Football program and he demands (as he should) that the players strive to live up to the high standards established by the University and the Church. So if you’re looking for something to take your kids to on a Friday night, call up to the Athletic Department and get direction to where tonight’s fireside is being held.

Free Cougar Blue T-shirts @ our free tailgate this Saturday.  You must be wearing Cougar Blue.

http://www.cougarboard.com/noframes/message.html?id=4002466
I hope it is successful for you guys, just keep coming back here for your BYU football fixes.

1. We started out talking about how this is a must win for Coach Tyrone Willingham.  Ryan, the reporter, mentioned that if Willingham loses to a Mountain West team at home, it won’t be long until he is canned.  Well UW athletic director, get the firing squad locked and loaded.
2. We also talked about Jack Locker and how he didn’t quite look 100% against the Ducks.  All of the Huskies hopes and dreams are riding on this guys shoulders.  He is their offense and with his hamstring not fully recovered from an August pull, it put a damper on the running game.  Forcing the Huskies to throw, meant their very young receivers had to carry the work load against a very talented Oregon secondary.
3. It was funny to hear a Washington guy talk about their own team as being one that started to quit towards the end of the Oregon game.  As a player, it is always easy to tell when a teams “will” has been broken and they’ve quit.  You can see when a player just decides to simple play when the ball comes his way and their efforts are half-hearted.  I would imagine this would be one of the worst things to see as a coach.
4. The reporter was worried about our offense and how explosive it is, but Ryan thought that the young receivers might have better success against our secondary.  And there might be some truth to his madness, but I still think the match-up swings our direction.  UNI’s receiving core was supposedly very good, and we did a fair job of bottling them up.  With young receivers, and Jake Lockers questionable accuracy throwing the ball, I think Scott Johnson, Kellen Fowler, David Tafuna, and Brandon Howard will hold up and UW doesn’t have a passing touchdown.

The radio was fun, and they’ve asked me to come back next week.  I’ll be burning through the night to get the scouting report up tomorrow, and I have a few thoughts on the coaching situation at UW.  If you don’t remember…we used to have a little problem that looks similar to the situation in Washington.

August 4, 2008