I See… My Sacred Obligation to Support BYU Football

Enjoying exciting sporting events on the big screen can fill a huge void on the social calendar of many self-respecting males. My wife can testify that I am not one of the typical root beer-drinking sports enthusiasts who spends a lot of the weekend watching the big game and ruminating aimlessly on why somebody should have done something differently; in fact, I am notoriously awkward in pre-priesthood meeting sports small talk. An exception to this policy however, is my sacred obligation to support BYU football.

Tradition Spirit Honor

The sacred obligation I bear to watch BYU football on the basement big screen and encourage all my fellow brethren to join me comes from the sealed portion of the BYU Honor Code. In the sealed portion, it states that “Brigham Young University students who graduate the same year as the year that a school sports team wins a national championship are hereby bound by a sacred obligation to loyally support the activities of that sports team forever, or until events associated with the Second Coming render those activities meaningless. Violation of this policy will result in eternal expulsion from the ranks of BYU Alumni.” This is the only portion of the BYU Honor Code that binds you to certain behaviors long after you have left that institution; I suspect that is why it appears only in the sealed portion.

I graduated from BYU in December 1984, the same month that BYU crushed Michigan in the Holiday Bowl and was subsequently crowned as college football National Champions. My sense of tradition, spirit, and honor, therefore, demands that I spend much of my free time before, during, and after church meetings when other like-minded LDS males are present discussing the glories of BYU football. I do not take my responsibility lightly. Maintaining fluency in the language of BYU football is not merely a mid-life crisis escape or a satisfying part-time pastime; it is my dedication to my duty that demands my devotion.

So, on game day, if I’m not off earning a living or making today a better tomorrow for my wife, I’ll be situated in front of the basement big screen, either staring intensely at the Blue and White hammering their opponent into submission in a stadium framed by majestic mountains, or throwing popcorn at the screen to punish a referee for a bad call. You’re welcome to join me. I’ll be easy to find- I’m in the only house in town with a BIG BLUE Y FLAG PROUDLY DRAPED ON THE FRONT PORCH!! GO COUGARS!!