Jimmer Fredette Came to Visit DC

Remember Jimmer Fredette?

He's the BYU player who lit up the college basketball world last season with his incredible scoring ability.

Last night, Emily and I attended the BYU Alumni event to watch the Washington Wizards play against the Sacramento Kings (the team that drafted Jimmer Fredette out of college).

Jimmer didn't get a whole lot of playing time, but every time he stepped on the floor there was a big round of applause from all the BYU alumni in attendance. And he did score 8 points in his 12 mins.

Observation: there were way more babies and little kids in the stands than normal. Typical BYU!

We had a fun night out seeing some NBA action, and, since we didn't care either way and actually left before the game had officially ended (to beat the metro masses), it was fine that the Kings came from behind for the win.

Now when do the Utah Jazz come to town...?

The State of Deseret's Holy War

Tomorrow is the BYU vs UofU football game, aka the Holy War. 

I've loved college football games ever since I was a little kid and my dad would take us. We'd bring our own little footballs and throw them around before the game, and we'd get hot dogs and hot chocolate and probably some candy, too. Dad would tell us about the game and point out what was happening. Eventually we learned the rules and strategies and even a little playing technique. We learned a lot about how and when to cheer, as well as how to be good sports about winning and losing.

This is bigger than most college football match-ups. There's a lot of history - both good and bad.

My college years were mostly spent at BYU, but I had a semester at the UofU right before my mission.

You can bet my cheering as a Cougar and as a Ute were equally zealous.

Now that I've graduated and actually live out of state, I can more-comfortably enjoy the game and cheer my little heart out. I want to see a good game. As long as it's a good game, I'm semi-ambivalent about who is the victor. Some of you may decry my apathy in that regard. That's your right, and you're entitled to an opinion.

I went to both schools and I love them both. Each has a rich tradition and history, and have fielded great squads on the gridiron. The past 24 games have been split right down the middle: 12-12. And often the games are extremely close, regularly with 4th-quarter comebacks and/or overtime. While ESPN has given BYU a 4-point spread over Utah, we all know that it's going to come down to a few big plays making the difference either way.

Whatever happens, I'm excited to see a good, close game tomorrow. Go BYUofU!

P.S. I hope none of my friends or family disown me after this post. I love you all! Also, while I appreciate comments, let's try to keep it civil...

The Boys of Fall

Today is a glorious day.

It's the first day of the college football season.

I love football. Doesn't matter if it's two-hand touch, flag, Pop Warner, high school, college, arena league, NFL, CFL, even lingerie league (though I haven't seen either of those last two). I just love the game.

Of all the organized leagues, I think I like watching college games the most.
These are highly-trained amateurs, most of whom are playing purely for love of the game.
Some are working hard and obtaining an otherwise out-of-reach college degree.
But they play with heart and it's always fun to watch.

If you aren't pumped yet, here are a couple nuggets to get your juices flowing:

Here's wishing the best of luck to the BYU Cougars, UofU Utes, and all the rest this season.
Let the games begin!

Norm Nemrow, BYU Accounting Legend, Retires

Last night I received my Summer 2011 edition of the BYU School of Accountancy newsletter.

The front page had a title that brought back a flood of memories from my days in the Tanner Building.

Professor Norm Nemrow has retired.

If you've never heard of Norm, he's kind of a modern-day legend on BYU campus.

He created and stars in the Accounting 200 (Intro to Accounting: The Language of Business) class CDs. That means anyone who does a major or minor in business or decides to take the course as an elective--no idea why anyone would do that--has spent hours and hours looking at Norm's face and hearing his voice expound on the basics of accounting.

Pretty much, if someone on BYU campus is focusing intently on their computer, there are four possible explanations:

1. Perusing the Facebook photo albums of their current co-ed crush,
2. Checking out Jimmer Fredette highlights,
3. Shopping for both modest Shade Clothing and the sexiest Victoria's Secret bikini available,
4. Or watching Norm (hopefully on between 1.5-2.0 speed).

Best of luck to Norm as he goes forward into retirement. His legend will live on (at least as long as Accounting 200 uses his CDs).