I hope it works this time!
I thought I ought to finally contribute rather than just enjoy others posts. Last Sunday we held a fireside where Barry Lamb was the speaker. There were maybe a hundred people in attendance. Living in Alaska, sometimes I feel starved for BYU football news. I expected him to speak using a lot of football stories and that Id get a huge BYU football fix. He spoke on becoming a Disciple of Christ and it could have been given for the most part by anyone because there were only a few references to football. But those few references were intriguing. He said he was hired by Coach Edwards and after Coach Edwards retired, BYU hired another coach and that under him, BYU football forgot who they were and began following the ways of the world. He said that things were just wrong and bad which resulted in hiring a new coach. Under the new coach BYU football began a very painful process of getting back to what BYU should be all about. He said that some players didnt feel they could be part of this return and left the team, and that some of them are even now successful in the NFL. He then told us that BYU is not a talent based team. Yes, players need to be good enough to be D1 players but that their talent level cant compete with the UCLAs. He then spoke about their goal of helping their players become Disciples of Christ or whatever God the player believes in. Then he spoke about the inner strength this gives a man and said that when this change happens in a life, (Becoming a Disciple of Christ) it gives a person or a player something extra, something that allows BYU to play, compete, and win against teams with more talent. He then spoke of the last few seconds of the UCLA bowl game and that coach Mendenhall called the players together and turned to the coaches after looking at the players and said that Were going to win! Look at our players. The players were not hanging their heads accepting this sure defeat but were asking among themselves which one of them was going to get the block! He said being a disciple of Christ does not mean you will get the block but helped them believe they could do it. It gave this team something extra deep in their hearts. He smiled as he spoke of the 3rd and 18 play against Utah where Collie caught the pass and later spoke to the press about living his life a certain way on and off the field and feeling that he then expected to make plays. His quote to the press caused BYU and Collie to get all kinds of negative publicity, but he said the funny thing is that the coaches are teaching that every day to the players and that the coaches believe it as well!
After the fireside he told the folks that if the LDS Church is going to have a football team they will do it well and then expect excellence. He said 6 and 6 or 7 and 5 seasons will not do that they need 10 and 2 seasons. In the Q and A session he talked much more about the team.
I left feeling more proud than ever to be associated with BYU and grateful we have Bronco as our coach.
