Sunday, February 5, 2012

The Biggest Fan

I've long considered myself worthy to be called a Cougar fan. A super fan, even. But yesterday I found myself cheering for my team while wearing a black and red shirt. Black and red. Oh the sacrilege!

Earlier in the day, my attire had been most appropriate.  Spirit wear, if you will, for Alyssa's gymnastics meet.  We'd travelled to Vancouver for her to compete in a gymnastics meet but that's just a side story here. (They weren't her best routines but she did end up placing 5th all-around.)


We went to lunch with a few of Lys' teammates and upon arriving at the restaurant, Caleb informed Jon that BYU was playing University of Portland, in Portland at 7:00 p.m.  What?  BYU playing 10 miles away?  What are we waiting for?


Because we are some of the few people left on the planet that don't have smart phones or iPads or any other ready access to the internet, we returned to the hotel we'd stayed in the night before so we could pull out our laptop and verify Caleb's facts that the Cougars really were playing just down the street.  Within minutes we were off to see if we could get tickets.  How did I not know about this game?  I must not be a super fan after all.

The tickets were four times the standard price for this Portland Pilots game due to the higher-than-usual attendance that an opponent like BYU brings.  Still, we were able to get 5 front-row bleacher seats.  The arena didn't open for another 30 minutes so we ran to 7-11 to load up on treats for the game.  When we returned with the goods, the players were just arriving.  We greeted them as they entered.



"Hi, Brandon!"

"Good Luck, Noah."

"Have a good game, Coach Rose."

Like they're our personal friends or something.



Caleb had been wearing his Angry Birds shirt all day but he dug into his suitcase and pulled out a BYU jersey that he'd worn the previous day.  'Cause that's what real super fans do.  They always have the right gear ready.  I hated that I was wearing black.


As soon as Caleb got inside the arena he shouted toward the players who were just beginning to warm up, "Hey guys, it's me, your biggest fan!"  That's right, the kid who studies ESPN and SI enough to know the details of the schedule and always carries a BYU shirt with him deserves to be called the biggest fan.


We had so much fun at the game.  But I wished more than once that my clothing would readily identify me as one of many, many BYU fans.  At least half of those in attendance, really.




We waved our arms wildly to distract free throw shooters and joined the crowd in Cougar cheers.  And now I know to always have a BYU shirt with me when we take a trip.  That's what real super fans do.  Apparently we only have one of those at our house.

Our victory pose

Go Cougars!

7 comments:

Granny said...

Oh what fun. I am so glad Caleb knew the game was in Portland. I think he just might have moved up in the race for the "Number One Fan in the Family."

Camille said...

This cracks me up! Go Caleb! I love Natty's face in the victory picture. She's die-hard!

Lucy said...

No doubt at all that Caleb is BYUs biggest fan, with you an incredibly close second (made only by the fact that you don’t pack back-up BYU wear for impromptu game cheering). Love that you got to see the game. It makes me happy to see your smiling faces.

Jen Childers said...

So fun that you guys went to the game! I have to agree that Caleb might be the biggest fan!

SuburbiaMom said...

Hands down--he IS the biggest fan!

Ben and Carrie said...

I think Caleb could qualify as the biggest SPORTS fan there is. BYU's biggest fan, too, of course, but the next best honor is the biggest sports fan ever.

What a fun, impromptu activity. Glad you had a great time. And I don't judge you on your black and red, Tara. Caleb might, and BYU might, but I don't.

Shad and Krista McOmber said...

LOVE this! Well done, Caleb, well done. (Shad also suggested that on Saturday we make the trek down to Portland... yes, even with a newborn!)