For the Love of the Game

When we got married, Dan planned to be a broadcaster. More specifically, a sports broadcaster. Even more specifically, he wanted to be a sports radio broadcaster.

I thought he looked more like a weatherman, but maybe that's just me.

BYU's communication program really had him working through their system which was much more TV focused than radio. So he wrote news stories, filmed and edited video that he shot, and put together his own packages for his classes, and he also wrote for the University newspaper, the Daily Universe. His senior year he was an anchor on the BYU News. I actually never watched him because I was always in class and those were in the prehistoric days before DVR. Looking back now I don't know why I never timed the old VCR; what I wouldn't give to have some of that footage. The snippets that have manged to stay on our computer are pretty fun to watch. He was actually super good and had it not been for the "small market"/ $18, 000 per year salary required to get started, he could be working in the news biz today, I'm sure.

But like I said before, he was really only in it for the sports. When we got married he was more than just a BYU fan (though he will always tell you that is where is heart is and always will be). But he loved sports. He was current on most of them, and could talk at length about anything sports related.

He landed an internship at the Sports Radio station in Salt Lake. My favorite story about that time was when he fell asleep one early morning and accidentally aired the New York City traffic he was supposed to be covering up with commercials during the Don Imas show. He was also there for every Jazz Girl interview. It became a joke between us, actually. I teased that Sports Radio was all about beer and women. He would disagree. But on more than one occasion, I would ask who was on the show that day and he would have to answer with, another Jazz girl.

Sometime during those months I think he concluded that maybe this wasn't the path for him after all. Which is a really great feeling for someone about to graduate. Of course, shortly afterwards, he decided on graduate school and all is well.

So this was all just a very long introduction for the idea that as the time has gone by, Dan's sports love and knowledge has waned and faded for most things and it's as if he has channeled all that extra energy into his already bloated love for BYU sports, specifically football. It's pretty intense, which is also a pretty accurate word to describe the feelings that have been felt here at our house this season.

But even with the ups and downs, BYU football has taken us to some places we never would have gone otherwise.

Our first stop was Austin. And I guess it is inaccurate to say we never would have gone there, because it's definitely been on the list, but this got us going.

I talked our old buddies, the Princes, into meeting us there. Hooray! We rented a little duplex, which was definitely not the Hilton, but it did provide us a place to sleep and eat and allowed Jill and I to stay up past a reasonable hour and talk into the wee hours of the night.

We saw some of the local sights, Barton Springs, where I thought we would witness the death of this unconcerned duck:



He was fine, just like he knew he would be.





Everything about this picture makes me smile,


We rode the train at Zilker park,







And we walked and ate lunch on South Congress.
Austin is known for being "weird" and quirky which should seem like a perfect fit for me, but I must be honest and say that walking around in our BYU shirts definitely made us stand out. And while some people were very kind, I can't say that I didn't sense some hostility in the air and I don't think it was about football.


That evening the guys headed out for the game while Jill and I played babysitter.




We went back to the park and even managed to see the bats fly off of the bridge at dusk. The parking and walking was a little hairy and the kids were so tired and crazy we nearly lost them down the hill, but at least we can say we saw it.




These are perfect "whale pictures" which is a name my parents came up with many years ago when they picked up their whale watching pictures from the developer. Each picture showed a small dark object way off on the horizon. Not nearly as exciting as seeing the whale in person. But go ahead click on this picture, and you, too, can see a tiny dark fleck in the sky and know that you are seeing a bat.


Or don't. Cause like I said, it's way less exciting than seeing it in person.

The Princes ended up having to leave that night after a heartbreaking 1 point loss, so that Lee could be put in the bishopric the next morning. We woke up pretty tired and grouchy ourselves and instead of staying to see the sights a little more as planned, we packed it up and headed home first thing.

And yes, it would be safe to say that if we had won, the day and the mood would have been very different.

Next up, How I Risked My Life for BYU Football.