I wholeheartedly envy BYU fans.
What goes through the minds of these thousands upon thousands of Cougars? It’s an unsolvable question that constantly clouds my thought process.
The beauty of being a fan of the navy blue and creamy white is truly in the eye of the beholder. So, what has left me in complete and constant awe of this Utah County contingency?
A bulletproof, foolproof and Ute-proof logic of supremacy, invincibility and flawlessness.
BYU’s men’s basketball team has done something that its football team couldn’t8212;eclipse a record of 6-0.
Dave Rose and his Cougars are 9-0 after whipping the Boise State Broncos out of the Marriott Center, 94-56.
It’s what we, as students at the U, have grown accustomed to for a painful amount of time.
The chants of “perfection” and “unbeatable” have begun to rumble from of the south once again.
After enduring a couple months of Lou Holtz’s complaining about the early-season praise of Bronco Mendenhall and BYU’s national championship aspirations8212;cough8212;the state of Utah has hopped on the bandwagon of BYU’s most notorious thug, Lee Cummard, GQ wannabe Jonathan Tavernari and the pride of Glens Falls, N.Y., Jimmer Fredette.
Make no mistake, BYU is and has been a very respectable and ever-growing basketball program in a decent Mountain West Conference. They are 9-0, compared to hated counterpart Utah, who is now 5-3, and the Cougar basketball team is beginning to exhibit the same overblown pride as the gridiron righteousness of football players Austin Collie, Dennis Pitta and not-so-righteous Max Hall. BYU’s basketball team will prove that Provo is a hard place to emerge victorious.
So, with all the facts laid out as straight as University Avenue, BYU is in fact having an impressive year. Like it or not, the trio of Cummard, Tavernari and Fredette is good8212;damn good. Because of the damned-goodness, the Cougars are unbeaten once again.
A 61-27 second-half obliteration against the Broncos on Wednesday night was what caused the undefeated drum to be beat once again. Similar to the Cougars’ 10-2 football squad, Rose’s crew has played a schedule about as easy as finding “Pac-Man” Jones at a strip joint.
Through the first nine games, Long Beach State, Rice, Northern Florida and Cal Poly have been the non-conference foes that BYU has defeated heading into a more-than-impressive MWC this season. Aside from the visit to Tempe, Ariz., on Dec. 20 to face ranked Arizona State and a visit from perennial ACC powerhouse Wake Forest on Jan. 3, what other quality teams will the Cougars play?
Bada-bing, bada-boom.
In turn, what makes Cougar fans that ecstatic over regular-season domination?
It’s simple8212;postseason aspiration endeavors haven’t been successful since Danny Ainge graced the Marriott Center hardwood.
The same can be said of Mendenhall’s bunch. Anyone recall the Heisman curtain calls after Hall devoured UCLA 59-0 or Jake Locker “broke” the rules as the Cougs escaped Seattle by the skin of their teeth against a Huskies squad that eventually went 0-12?
The longest home winning streak in the nation lies within the alleys of Provo at 52 consecutive wins. Cougar alumni and the current student body could, in fact, wholeheartedly believe this squad has the chance to run the table. I have heard it, and from more than one Coug, too.
A more-than-fair warning to BYU fans: the cute arrogance of Tavernari or the Ginobili-ness of Cummard will hold no weight against the likes of Sun Devil sophomore James Harden and a line of 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Ditto for Deamon Deacon guard Jeff Teague, who is a regular on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.
This is no homer article for the Utes. They are 5-3 and deserve to be 5-3 with their play. But one cannot argue, on any level, the difference in opponents Utah and BYU have faced off against this year.
A 38-point victory against the second-best team in the WAC is just peachy, but as the ancient proverb states, pride comes just before the fall.
Chris Kamrani