True Blue Pride!

So, the other day in Doctrine and Covenants class, Brother Bennet mentions the game and asks what the score will be. Some... guy... in the front row with a smug little smile (who advertises his jazz performance in classes) raised his hand. Quote: "I think we're all getting a little prideful so we're do for a loss." He still had that smug little smile on his face. I wanted to choke him with his own smug little tie. He's lucky I'm trying to be like Jesus.
Instead, maybe I'll sit next to him some day and see what we have in common. I do like jazz music... and then I might explain to him why my face was blueish on that particular day, and what makes me so... "prideful"... with my Cougars.
In the sporting world today, there is much to be seen as far as drama, scandal, egotism, irresponsibility, whining, quitting, back-biting, incontinence, disobedience to parents, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof... ok, maybe not so much the last one, but you know what I mean. Pardon the Interruption is one of my favorite shows to watch, and everyday there's something new: "Pac-man Jones gets in another fight... Cub fan sells his loyalty on e-bay... Josh Howard makes an idiot of himself again..." I could go on for days. Yea, it's that bad (but I still love to watch). Anyways, the point being that this is not universally the case. Most players and coaches are mature enough to act responsibly, but there are also a few programs that just stand out. For obvious reasons, BYU is one of them.
First of all, most of the players are returned missionaries. This means that they are generally more mature, self-motivated, and spiritual than your average college football player. It's always good to see Jan Jorgensen in my Intro to Teaching Seminary class in the morning. Secondly, they live the honor code... that's a given, being here at this university. When BYU recruits, they make sure that those who are candidates for playing here are willing to live the honor code. This actually cuts down their options to about 35 players a year nation-wide... but we saw what happened when this tradition was strayed from under Gary Crowton. I don't think I need to bring it up.
And of course, Bronco Mendenhall is the MAN! His ultimate goal is... get ready for this... to be expendable. Wait, what? Expendable? Who wants to be expendable? I guess if you catch Manny Ramirez at the right time, but other than that, most sporting figures want to be the opposite of expendable! It's all about "me" in this game, I'm the one making the difference, I'm the one making the headlines and the big bucks! Now of course, Coach Mendenhall wants to make a difference, but he is gradually putting more and more into the hands of the players themselves. From practice to in-game play calling, he gives them responsibility and experience so that if he should leave, the program would continue on without skipping a beat. Such a program would be long lasting and successful, and probably a more rewarding experience to the players as well. And we'll never have to worry about going through what the Oakland Raiders are going through. Al Davis is one ugly guy! I just had to throw that in.
Tradition, Spirit, Honor... I am proud of the Cougars not only because this is my school, but these are the good guys.
Wow, I'm so serious about this that I didn't even include the word pants. Until now.