Who are you, and what made you a fan?

[hawkwing]

I grew up a few miles from Cougar Stadium. My grandpa and mom, were big football fans and I attended games regularly in our family season seats from the early 80s on. My family certainly was never big booster type material, but we always reached out and supported how we could and in turn got a great deal of love and respect from the Cougars. We have had Jimmy Mac over to our house for dinner, Ty Detmer, and others have stopped by. I've got to enjoy hanging out in the locker room after games during the Detmer years.

I took a date to the last LaVell Edwards coached game, I openly cried at halftime during the presentation. The girl was bored and wanted to leave. I told her she could take my keys and leave, but I was staying. It was the last time I ever talked to her. She was not the one.

My seats are currently in the South West corner of the endzone, but I sat on the 45 yard line for a few years in a row, I've enjoyed a game from the Loge (thanks to 1967coug), I like to travel to at least 1 away game every year, and love to go out to the bowl games when I can. I've cheered and supported the Cougars my entire life and will until the day I die.

I may also be the only poor BYU fan to have a nemesis among the big boosters.

[EM_Puma]

I was born and raised in northeastern Ohio where scarlet a grey ran through my blood. As a young boy (beginning about 8 years old), during the Woody Hayes years, I would hold up in my bedroom on game day and listen to most of the Ohio State blowouts as they blasted their way through the B1G every year waiting for the Michigan game. I hate everything Michigan and lament that Bo Schembeckler was from nearby Barberton, OH (The traitor. He even had coached at OSU under Woody). Most games were not televised so I listened on the radio and created my own stat sheets of each play. I still get tingly when I hear the Buckeye fight song. Bowl season sucked back then because the B1G had a no repeat rule so you could, at the best, only go to a bowl game every other year. If you didn't go to the Rose Bowl, no other bowl games were sanctioned. Pretty lame.

A couple months short of turning 19, my divorced mother found the LDS faith and I joined with her. I don't believe I had ever heard of BYU. The only thing I knew about Mormons was the mention of the group in three movies I had seen growing up (Jeremiah Johnson, Cat Balou and Paint Your Wagon). Somehow I got the understanding that I was "supposed" to be a BYU fan because I was LDS. There was very little exposure to BYU sports in Ohio in the latter 70's, generally only the bowl games. My first BYU game then was the bowl loss by BYU to Oklahoma St in 1976, 21-49.

I left on a mission to Chile at the age of 20. I was dating a girl in the Akron Ward before my mission. She had joined the Church the year before and she was waiting for me when I got back. We've been married for 32 years and have seven children--all brought up to root first for BYU and second for Ohio State. I am and always will be a Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavalier fan. I feel sorry for those that never grew up in an area where nearly everyone is a fan of one area team and not this convoluted BYU/Puketah stuff where fans have to co-habituate. Everywhere you would go in the area you would constantly be surround by like fans. Michigan fans were rolled in the ditches if found wandering through the area.

I was attending the U or Akron when I joined the Church and returned there after my mission. We then decided to take our three children and move to Utah to work and go to school. Originally I applied at Puketah and was accepted--even had student housing set up, but they later informed me that they were out of Pell Grant money, so I applied to BYU got accepted and the rest is history. I had no idea of the fierce rivalry before I landed at BYU and was very surprised. I had known the OSU/Michigan rivalry, but at least the people were separated geographically from each other. This comingling was something new. After three years at BYU where I had student FB season tickets, my wife and I got homesick for Ohio and our families and moved back where I finished a BS in accounting at the U of Akron. From there on work has moved me here and there. We finally moved from Ohio in 1994 and lived 7 years 50 miles west of Washington DC just across the border into eastern WV. We were transferred to Ft. Lauderdale, but was only there 1/2 year as the company I worked for and who had merged with two other similar companies went belly-up. We moved to Utah the week of 911 and have been here ever since. Because of 911 I got a job at the Church headquarters and I have worked here ever since.

I have attended three BYU bowl games. The Motor City Bowl, the Las Vegas Bowl twice, and I will be at the Fight Hunger Bowl in SF this month. I have attended away games in Charlottesville, VA; Boise ID, Las Vegas NV, San Jose CA, Logan UT and Seattle Washington. My blood runs both blue and scarlet and grey, but first and utmost I am a BYU fan. I've had season tickets some years out here for FB and BB, but I've gotten a bit lazier now with the games on TV. Yet I do get out to a few games in both sports and love the atmosphere of a college game. I actually did get accepted at Ohio State when I left BYU in the 80's, but I couldn't find a job to support my family nearby and that's why I finished my college days at the U of Akron.

Generally speaking I only have one turn-coat child who jettisoned her BYU childhood and has embraced the Pukes, more so than anything just to do it as she isn't into sports. A few years ago she gathered all of my grandchildren one weekend and dressed them all in Puketah clothes and gave the whole family each a photo album of them in those retched clothes. I had to chuckle at her sense of humor and the album has been a great device to keep vermin out of the basement.

[frdbtr]

I grew up in South Eastern Utah, I wasn't a football fan until my mission (I was into motorcycle riding then, will still go riding instead of watching football if I can). I went on my mission to Tacoma Washington and there was a lot of buzz during Detmer's 90 Run and then it really got loud during the 91 Washington Huskies run to the NC. I got caught up in the excitement from the members from those and started watching football when I got home. I attended my first game at LES when BYU beat the tar out of Penn state and I have been hooked ever since. There was something in the magic of arriving at the stadium, having the voice of the cougars coming over speakers in the tunnels under the stadium and then watching the cougars whip a nationally ranked power like Penn state that just did it for me. I love the cougars, I root for the Huskies still when they don't play the cougars. I have watched all the replays that are on the BYUTV archive like the miracle bowl and Steve Young's win against Missouri. I was a fan of John Walsh when everyone else hated him, like my description says, I am a BYU blue goggled homer and always will be.

[Wolverine]

Wow, this thread has been fun and interesting. Seems EM_Puma and I have quite a bit in common besides our middle-agedness and complete and utter disdain for our boyhood teams. I do have 2 fond memories of Ohio while growing up in Michigan, the Toledo Zoo and Cedar Point. I have taken the entire family to Cedar Point twice over the years. Tough to beat the rollercoasters at CP. EM, remeber this? http://www.michigandaily.com/content/bf ... e-bowl-bid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
1973, #1 Ohio State and #4 Michigan play to a 10-10 draw and the Big 10 Board of Directors vote to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Broke my heart back then, and still helps to fuel my hatred for everything Scarlet and Gray to this very day Oh, and it doesn't hurt to have Urban in there to to fuel the hatred that much more Go Cougars!

[EM_Puma]

Wow, this thread has been fun and interesting. Seems EM_Puma and I have quite a bit in common besides our middle-agedness and complete and utter disdain for our boyhood teams. I do have 2 fond memories of Ohio while growing up in Michigan, the Toledo Zoo and Cedar Point. I have taken the entire family to Cedar Point twice over the years. Tough to beat the rollercoasters at CP. EM, remeber this? http://www.michigandaily.com/content/bf ... e-bowl-bid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
1973, #1 Ohio State and #4 Michigan play to a 10-10 draw and the Big 10 Board of Directors vote to send Ohio State to the Rose Bowl. Broke my heart back then, and still helps to fuel my hatred for everything Scarlet and Gray to this very day Oh, and it doesn't hurt to have Urban in there to to fuel the hatred that much more Go Cougars!

I had actually forgotten about the 1973 controversy until I saw a program about it on the BTN this season probably because as a Buckeye fan it was a happy memory. It does just slay me though to remember that one and only one team from the conference was allowed to go to a bowl game back in those days. How much that scene has changed.

Ah, Cedar Point. If you love roller coasters and have never been to Cedar Point, you've missed out on quite an adventure. Last year they had two of the top ten rated roller coasters in the US. Every time someone build something better, they then make something yet even more thrilling. As a child, we would make an annual pilgrimage to pay homage to their this shrine of amusement parks.

[srcougar]

I do not post very often on this site. But I honestly read this site every single day, sometimes a couple of times a day. I really appreciate all the people who post on here. I love this site. I have checked it daily for years and appreciate all you do. This is a really cool thread.

I grew up in Eastern Idaho. I went to BYU for three semester then transferred to UVU where I am in my final year getting my Bachelors Degree. I am studying Communications with and emphasis in Public Relations. I have been married for 4 years, no kids. My wife never really watched sports growing up. She loves going to games with me, and cheers for all the teams that I do. She loves me a lot. She never understood football. It took me three years to explain why teams punt on fourth down. She now knows all the rules and actually enjoys watching games.

My dad posts under the name Wolverine on this site. He is the one that told me about this site when I got home from my mission from Philadelphia, PA. I can thank him for helping me become a die hard BYU fan. I love watching BYU games with him more than anything in the world. Because of him I like the Broncos, Rockies, Avs, Nuggets. I cheer for Detroit team and Michigan. I love the Jazz and I hope teams from Philly do well. I know those are a lot of allegiances but BYU is number one for me. I have also been to Cedar Point in Ohio and think that it is an amazing place.

I am the type of fan that is always cautiously optimistic when it comes to BYU. I understand that there are a lot of limitations that the teams are always facing, but I always try to tell myself, if such and such happens we can win this game. Yeah, I would love for BYU to win no matter what game and sport it is, but I understand thats not gonna happen.

I don't remember the exact moment I became a die hard fan, but the first seasons I remember following a little bit was the last few years for Lavell. My first football game I attended was they BYU vs Notre Dame game in 2004. It was magical for me. It was my senior year in high school. It was amazing. I still get similar feelings with every football game that I go to. That same year I went to my first basketball game. We played Air Force and got killed by twenty. It was still amazing. So many fans left that I snuck down and sat like three rows behind the bench. I had such a good time that day, that it was that day I decided to apply to BYU. I got accepted and am so grateful I did. I was able to meet my wife and make so many friends since I have lived here in Utah. So I can thank BYU sports for helping me make major life decisions which have turned out great!

My favorite BYU moment for me personally was being able to go to Denver to watch Jimmer and BYU play in the NCAA tournament. Me and a couple of my friends drove over and watched all the sessions. The game against Gonzaga was made sweeter since we sere surrounded by Gonzaga fans who were silent in the second half just shaking their heads.

Thanks for this thread and thanks for everyone that posts here. I love reading the posts every day. Go Cougars!!!

[NDCougar]

My story is much more boring than all these and pretty simiple. Born at BYU, raised in Utah. Grew up with parents/family as Cougar Club members, I went to everya game in the state of Utah that BYU played in from 1st grade through HS. My family is blue googled family, continue to support the school and without going into details is very involved in the school and specifically athletics (externally, no one works for BYU). Growing up I met Coach Edwards many times, met Young (knew his family and have spent the holidays informally with them in Utah), Detmer etc etc; we are close friends with many former players.

I have always been LDS, always planned on a mission. I served a mission and had a great time, best experience of my life. I have always been around LDS kids, 99% of my childhood friends were/are LDS. Prior to my mission I was accepted to BYU but went right on the mission, but I had no plans to attend and planned to study outside Utah for a different experience. On my mission I softened a bit to BYU and was set to enroll. My Mission President had some advice that made it clear to me that I should re-evaluate my decision. With that I decided to attend Notre Dame, I was a BYU fan first then ND. BYU has a great sports program and there is a lot of passion, but I changed into an ND fan first and will be.....BUT will always cheer for BYU except when they play ND (I could cheer for BYU over ND if it helped BYU and the game meant something to BYU in the NC/BCS hunt......unfortunately BYU is never there).

I go to 3-4 BYU games a year. I live in the NE so it is not as easy. I married a BYU as she was wrapping up school and she moved to ND so I could finish. Our kids (under 10) all cheer for ND and are die hard. They have met the players and coaches, it drives my Dad CRAZY......I am the black sheep. He is now an ND fan at a distant second. I still love the Cougars.

[AmmonCougar1]

I enjoy threads like this as it gives me a snapshot of the kind of people I'm communicating with on a fairly regularly basis.

I was born in Bountiful, UT and raised in North Salt Lake. I became a casual BYU fan in the early 80's and really started cheering when they won the NC. About that same time I was kind of forced by my friends to choose between the utes and the Cougars and the friends that were kinder to me were Cougar fans so I chose them. Neither of my parents went to the "Y". In fact, neither have much education past HS.

I graduated from Woods Cross where I played soccer and ran cross country. In my senior year I had the unique opportunity of being a part of a group of students invited to check out the BYU campus. It was the last year (to my knowledge) that Seminary Council President's and Student Body President's were offered automatic scholarships to BYU. As Sem. Council Pres that was my only qualification. My grades 3.4ish and my act 24 certainly wasn't getting me in. So a bunch of smart kids and I were put up in campus dorms and given a tour of all the smart people classes like the cadaver lab and the honors English department. We also attended a BYU football game v. CSU which Detmer led BYU won 52-9. I was hooked. In interesting part about that campus visit was going to sit with the counselor and mapping out my future. When I inquired about them holding my scholarship while I served a mission I was told as long as I had a full semester of school prior to my mission then I had to use it or lose it...they would not hold it. I was stunned but due to the fact that I still had some money saving to do I couldn't afford to go there prior to my mission so I forewent the scholarship.

I served in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission from 1992-1994 and LOVED it! I met my wife on BYU campus as EFY Counselor training sessions in April 1994 and we were sealed by her Grand Dad's cousin, Tom Monson in Sep. 1994. (yep, the same Monson we all know and love. It's my only claim to fame and it came through marriage)

I graduated with my BA from Weiner State in Ogden and was fortunate to be hired to teach seminary and was assigned at Skyline Seminary in Idaho Falls, ID. We have lived in Ammon since 1998 and have enjoyed living here and raising our family here. We have 5 kids. Our oldest son is 3 months into his mission in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission currently assigned in Gillette, WY freezing his nubs off! My next two sons are in 10th and 8th grades and are both very good soccer players. And our two daughters are 10 and 5 and have me wrapped around their finger.

My wife's only flaw (besides settling for me) was that she was raised red. But she has not interfered with my teaching the kids the true and living way to cheer. They all say their favorite color is "Cougar blue!" I even bargained with naming rights for our youngest girl so that my wife would finally let the kids wear BYU gear to my in-laws home!

That's about it! I look forward to hearing more about more of you. Hope I didn't bore you too much with stuff about me!

Go Cougs!!!
J. Child
Ammon, ID

[frdbtr]

My story is much more boring than all these and pretty simiple. Born at BYU, raised in Utah. Grew up with parents/family as Cougar Club members, I went to everya game in the state of Utah that BYU played in from 1st grade through HS. My family is blue googled family, continue to support the school and without going into details is very involved in the school and specifically athletics (externally, no one works for BYU). Growing up I met Coach Edwards many times, met Young (knew his family and have spent the holidays informally with them in Utah), Detmer etc etc; we are close friends with many former players.

I have always been LDS, always planned on a mission. I served a mission and had a great time, best experience of my life. I have always been around LDS kids, 99% of my childhood friends were/are LDS. Prior to my mission I was accepted to BYU but went right on the mission, but I had no plans to attend and planned to study outside Utah for a different experience. On my mission I softened a bit to BYU and was set to enroll. My Mission President had some advice that made it clear to me that I should re-evaluate my decision. With that I decided to attend Notre Dame, I was a BYU fan first then ND. BYU has a great sports program and there is a lot of passion, but I changed into an ND fan first and will be.....BUT will always cheer for BYU except when they play ND (I could cheer for BYU over ND if it helped BYU and the game meant something to BYU in the NC/BCS hunt......unfortunately BYU is never there).

I go to 3-4 BYU games a year. I live in the NE so it is not as easy. I married a BYU as she was wrapping up school and she moved to ND so I could finish. Our kids (under 10) all cheer for ND and are die hard. They have met the players and coaches, it drives my Dad CRAZY......I am the black sheep. He is now an ND fan at a distant second. I still love the Cougars.

Someone needs to move this one to the "how I became traitor and a ND fan" oops, that thread isn't created yet

[NDCougar]

My story is much more boring than all these and pretty simiple. Born at BYU, raised in Utah. Grew up with parents/family as Cougar Club members, I went to everya game in the state of Utah that BYU played in from 1st grade through HS. My family is blue googled family, continue to support the school and without going into details is very involved in the school and specifically athletics (externally, no one works for BYU). Growing up I met Coach Edwards many times, met Young (knew his family and have spent the holidays informally with them in Utah), Detmer etc etc; we are close friends with many former players.

I have always been LDS, always planned on a mission. I served a mission and had a great time, best experience of my life. I have always been around LDS kids, 99% of my childhood friends were/are LDS. Prior to my mission I was accepted to BYU but went right on the mission, but I had no plans to attend and planned to study outside Utah for a different experience. On my mission I softened a bit to BYU and was set to enroll. My Mission President had some advice that made it clear to me that I should re-evaluate my decision. With that I decided to attend Notre Dame, I was a BYU fan first then ND. BYU has a great sports program and there is a lot of passion, but I changed into an ND fan first and will be.....BUT will always cheer for BYU except when they play ND (I could cheer for BYU over ND if it helped BYU and the game meant something to BYU in the NC/BCS hunt......unfortunately BYU is never there).

I go to 3-4 BYU games a year. I live in the NE so it is not as easy. I married a BYU as she was wrapping up school and she moved to ND so I could finish. Our kids (under 10) all cheer for ND and are die hard. They have met the players and coaches, it drives my Dad CRAZY......I am the black sheep. He is now an ND fan at a distant second. I still love the Cougars.

Someone needs to move this one to the "how I became traitor and a ND fan" oops, that thread isn't created yet

Ha, traitor is a tough category to put me into given I am a big BYU supporter/donor (at times a season ticket holder despite living cross country) personally etc.....but sounds like you were speaking with my father.