Bye bye Sweet Sugar

I have been thinking about this post for awhile. I still am a little bummed about the whole affair and I think that is why I have let a few weeks go by without posting anything. Life is interesting in the twists and turns that it takes and the end to 2008 was no different.

On Thursday, December 11th, I went to bed having decided that I was going to go to the Sugar Bowl eventhough it looked like I was going to be heading down by myself. I was excited thinking that the Utes had a good chance and promising after the Fiesta Bowl of 2005 that I wouldn't miss another opportunity to see the Utes in a BCS game if it happened again. Of course, Michelle has posted about what happened on December 12. As Grace said, "Well this sucks!" Indeed it did. Instead of waking up for work and waiting to buy tickets online, my day started at 4 AM with a flooded basement, a sick child, and a rush to Home Depot. With the water rising and getting near our furnace the decision was made to buy a generator. I got to Home Depot about 20 minutes after they opened and they had already sold out most of their generators. Long story short, $900 later I had a generator and was running the essentials in the house, but instead of sweet, sweet sugar, I was dealing with some raw power. In the end I guess it worked out. Instead of the satisfaction and high of the biggest Ute victory, I get the satisfaction of knowing if (when) we have another ice storm I'm all set. I can power our well pump, furnace, refrigerator, tv, and internet. What more do you need?

I also got to watch the game with my brother Brian. That turned out to be fun and we enjoyed watching in HD from the comfort of my living room. While it was fun to watch the game and see the Utes dominate a "strong" SEC opponent, it was bittersweet. Over the last couple of weeks I have read a lot of sports writers around the country and the Utes still don't have the respect they deserve. While it was nice to reap the rewards of a big BCS payout it really is shallow knowing that the Utes will never get a chance for a national championship. I am a proponent of a 16-team playoff. Reduce the regular season to 11 games and then only 2 teams will play 15 games (1 more than most play now). The bowls games can still be in play for the majority of the teams left out of the playoff and the big bowls can be used for the 16-teams to maintain semi-neutral playing field. Of course it won't happen since those in power with all the money see no reason to spread the wealth.

Now when is it that someone besides from the PAC-10 will be playing home-and-away game with the Utes? Yeah, that is what I thought.

You know you watch too much football when...

1. Your 5 year old daughter has a favorite team from a place you never have lived (Philadelphia Eagles, at least it isn't the Patriots)
2. She knows enough about their road/home jerseys to correct her dad about where they are playing (green jerseys for home, white jerseys for the road)
3. She wants to eat lunch in front of the tv to watch the game
4. She vehemently screams no way when the Giants block a FG and return for a touchdown ("Dad, that isn't legal is it?")
5. She gives high fives after good plays
6. Even after falling asleep in the second half, as soon as she wakes up she immediately asks for the final score

Big smile after the Eagles scored.

Diary of a Utah Fan-Deja Vu

Last year I was sitting on my couch and watched the improbable touchdown that BYU had to win the game with no time left. This year, I was in Pittsburgh listening to it on the internet and was pretty much discouraged by the way the offense played the entire game. When the Utes went ahead 10-9, I was hopeful but thought, "There is too much time left." Sure enough. BYU drove 88 yards thanks to 30 yards of penalties and 49 yards on a 4th and 18 play. How do you give up 49 yards on 4th and 18?

Slightly different path, but the same result. A BYU win with hardly any time left on the clock. The game was a mini-season. Alternating between stellar defensive play, inept offense, big plays given up by the defense, enough offense to keep us in the game, but not enough defense when it was most needed.

At least I can say, wait until next year.

Diary of a Utah fan

Today was one of the few times that I have been able to watch the Utes as they had a game on CSTV. The Mountain West breaking away from ESPN and forming their own station has been disastrous in my opinion. The fact that the mtn. is jointly owned by CSTV and Comcast just isn't good. In my opinion it is Comcast that is keeping the mtn. from being on satellite tv. They want way too much money for it. So fans everywhere suffer. I wish that I could have enjoyed the game more, but the Utes just wiped the field with the Cowboys. Not a game at all. A 50-0 victory, but the Utes sure have frustrated me this year. They lose 27-0 to an awful UNLV team and lose at home to Air Force, but have now run off 6 straight wins. A win over NM and BYU and the season will be complete.

Are you ready for some football?

If there is one good thing about being Mormon and living on the east coast it is being able to watch the entire schedule of football games. Church is from 10-1 which means that I am generally home by 1:30. I miss a few minutes of the first quarter and then it is all football from 1:30 until midnight.

Of all the sports I enjoy playing and watching, I most enjoy NFL football. Michelle will tell you that I would watch any game that is on. Probably true. I can't stand the Patriots and yet have had to endure many games of their's over the last 3 years. While I cheer for the Steelers, I will watch any game. I won't do that with baseball or basketball, but football has a hold on me. It is the one sport that I wish I would have played in high school.

As I mentioned, one of the down sides to living in Boston is having to watch the Patriots games. This despite the fact that often (especially this year) better games are being played elsewhere. Still, I am of the philosophy that a bad football game is better than no football game. Perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon because I don't know if I would watch a Miami-St. Louis game.

Today I finally got to watch a Patriots game that I enjoyed. It was the first time in NFL history that teams a combined 15-0 were playing each other. While I was cheering for the Colts and was disappointed by the 24-20 loss, at least it was finally a good game. Of course that thing that concerns me now is that my Steelers are the only real obstacle left for the Patriots. Hopefully they can come into Foxborough and pull off the upset and keep them from going undefeated.