Everyone knows that society is a complex combination of social norms, laws, rules, and regulations. We cannot exist as a group, a government, or a species without organization and boundaries. They provide safety, order, and protection.
If a guy knocks on your door wearing no pants, it's not smart to answer. If an adult has sex with a child, they're going to jail. If a truck is driving down the street, you don't want to jump out suddenly into the crosswalk. If you drive 15 miles over the speed limit, you very well may get written a ticket.
But when it comes to sports, these things tend to get left behind. The NFL is filled with violent, abusive individuals. The NBA is permeated with selfish me-first personalities. I get sick of it. And that's where Brigham Young University comes in.
The Cougars are a breath of fresh air for me. They stand for something a little different when they compete. Sure, they're a little odd, a little peculiar, but so am I. When they say, you can't be unmarried and have sex and play football here ( http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/13256720/oldschool-byu-wins-with-honor-code-and-without-sex ), I say, wow, it's great to see an institution actually honoring moral values! When a team of players refuses to play a post-season game on Sunday ( http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700026094/BYU-womens-rugby-team-enjoys-national-support-for-forfeiting-rather-than-play-on-Sunday.html , http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700026097/BYU-teams-have-long-history-of-resting-on-Sunday.html ), I think, isn't it amazing to see individuals standing together for something?
Maybe I'm alone on this one. I think it's pretty safe to say I may be in the minority. But to me, choosing to do something because you feel that it's right, that's a pretty special choice. And that's why a lot of kids choose to go to BYU. That's why a lot of those people honor their commitment to the school and its honor code. And that's why I can't help but cheer for the Cougars.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Why I'm Proud to Be a BYU Sports Fan
Thrown out by Mars @ 10:41 PM 1 Thoughts
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
We Have A Winner!
The Madness is over! And with the Duke Blue Devils beating the Butler Bulldogs in a National Championship Game for the ages by a mere two points, it's time to crown the Queen of the Dance! Without further ado, congrats to old family friend Wendy Chapman, who finished with 1190 points to end in the 99th percentile of the millions of brackets filled out nationally! Great job Wendy!
Our other loyal Dukies this tournament finished in 2nd and 3rd place respectively: Work buddy Jon Bowers and our own Star Hulet! Congrats to these two as well! Star was still in 19th place in my last blog, so let this be a lesson to you all on just how important the last couple rounds are in this game!
The best non-Duke believer this tournament was my brother-in-law, Tyler Erickson, who placed 4th. Kansas let him down, but the rest of his picks were spot on. Keep in mind, this was Tyler's first year playing too! Good work!
Also beating me these year was Bryant Casteel (for the 2nd time in his 2nd attempt) and my cousin Rachel Roller (also in her 1st bracket ever!). Rachel's jump was from 28th place to 7th. Ridiculous!
And for the record, the top 3 finishers for those who had neither Butler nor Duke in the Title game were myself, my sister Kiernan, and my wife Lauren. So there.
And here's the complete standings:
1 Chapman 1, W. Chapman 1190
2 adenbowman 1, J. Bowers 1060
3 starkid55 1, S. Hulet 1000
4 tbone-88 1, T. Erickson 840
5 wikidnurse 1, M. Nielsen 790
6 nullFX 1, B. Casteel 780
7 RollingPenguin 1, R. Roller 730
9 MarsSis19 1, K. Andrews 690
11 MrsElderMars 1, L. Andrews 680
13 MarchMadnessFanatic 1, J. Armstrong 670
14 ojosazules112 1, L. Christensen 660
15 Dannysaur 1, D. Abenroth 650
16 Mars Mom, S. Andrews 640
17 Doug Abenroth 2, D. Abenroth 630
18 Maranda1283 1, M. Anderson 620
19 BarackObama, E Mars 590
21 Stevan_A 1, S. Andrews 580
randerson415 1, R. Anderson580
23 wammabammajammakelly 1, K. Casteel 530
24 Ojai Steve 1, S. Erickson 510
25 BYUroundy 1, a. roundy 500
27 Rusty , R. ANDREWS 490
29 Andrew002002 1, A. Smith 470
30 valarab 1, v. abenroth 440
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=42986&entryID=617892
Another big thanks to all who participated, helping make this my biggest and best group of friends and family making NCAA picks ever!
I'm already looking forward to next year. I think we can grow even bigger next time! Some people I'm looking at hopefully joining the game in 2011: Garrett and Adam Erickson, Steve Wolfanger, Joel Roller, Dan Warren, Eric and Breann Farlow, Emily and Mike Bishop, Deana Christensen, Sam Burgess, Adam Zockell, Annie Traynor, Stephen Joel Jensen, Ryan and Laura Lillywhite.
Thrown out by Mars @ 7:23 PM 0 Thoughts