I'm Only Getting Started, I Won't BLACKOUT!

Alright...so I know that it is Halloween...but I am a little slow on the blog updating and I really wanted to post about my absolute favorite game of the entire football season...college level at least...because let's face it...absolutely nothing can beat a Baltimore Ravens/Pittsburgh Steelers showdown haha.

The Blackout game is my absolute favorite game of the entire season bar none! 

This year we played Cal, and we walked all over them. It was the greatest thing ever.

I don't know if I could adequately put into words how much I love the blackout game...and I'm not even sure I fully understand why I love it so much myself, I just look forward to it ever year, it's the NCAA football version of Christmas for me I guess haha.

I just think seeing the whole stadium in black instead of red is a really impressive sight. 

And the boys always look really, really good in their black uniforms...but that is besides the point.

This game was an incredible one to be at, our boys in red (well black for this game haha) looked very good.

As much as I love close, nail-biters; I really love a blow out too. It is always sooo much fun when your team just blows their opponent out of the water.

This isn't to say that Cal didn't put up a fight, because they did, they gave us a very fun game.

Our boys just wanted it so much more, they needed this win more than anything else.

It was so fun to watch them win, there are few things in this world that convey greater joy than a football player pulling off a big win with his team. You couldn't help but smile when they all came over to sing "Utah Man" to the MUSS.

Not only did our team as a whole perform well but individual players had a fantastic game as well.

Our cute freshman quarterback totally leveled a Cal Golden Bear.

Blechen was making the plays that we all know and love him for, it's so nice to have him back in the safety position; it was definitely a rough time without him.

Of course there's Star...he's just such a B.A. haha end of story.

And to top it all off our kick returner Reggie Dunn quickly became the hero of the MUSS when he returned 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter AND in the fourth...a feat, which by the way, has never before been accomplished in the NCAA (way to go Reggie!).

You know you must be pretty B.A. when the MUSS will chant your name every time you take the field!

I love the Blackout game and I really can't wait for next years haha (yes I am already counting down....no judgment)

And of course it wouldn't be a post about football on my blog without a bunch of pictures you only half care about looking at haha.

Sooo proud of them! 49-27!! What a win!

We love the Blackout game!!

Reggie Freaking Dunn!!! Century Man indeed!!

Cute Utes in the MUSS

Traditional game pic

#normal

Sometimes our MUSS neighbors are gross....

We are pretty much a big deal

Best friends since freshman year of high school! Absolutely love this girl!

I loooooove when they wear black! <3

And I have to leave you with this amazing clip! Like seriously since when is a quarterback this B.A.?!?!?!

I'm definitely a Wilson fan after watching this! Total BEAST!

Much love

And GO UTES

-L

The Unkind Kindness of Football

"There are moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads. Afraid, confused, without a road map. The choices we make in those moments can define the rest of our days. Of course, when faced with the unknown, most of us prefer to turn around and go back. But once in awhile, people push on to something better. Something found just beyond the pain of going it alone. Something beyond the quiet persistence of a dream. Because it is only when you're tested that you truly discover who you can be. The person you want to be does exist somewhere on the other side of hard work and faith and belief and beyond heartache and fear of what lies ahead."

This season has been a rough one for my favorite boys in red.
The past few games have been rocky to say the least and I have had a hard time watching them struggle.
I will admit to sitting there a few time and wondering over and over again "Why do these boys play this sport? It seems totally and utterly unforgiving"
And then I realized that football is basically the greatest sport there is.
I already know that basketball fans and baseball fans and even the occasional hockey fan will strongly disagree with me. But I am just telling the truth.
Football is the greatest sport. End of discussion.
It creates some of the strongest bonds I have ever seen.
Every football team is a brotherhood, those guys would die for each other if it came to that, and say what you will about that...any bond of that magnitude is an impressive thing.
The football bond is one that is hard to break, and truly, I would never ask someone to break it.
The beauty of humanity often times comes from our social bonds and from seeing other people's social bonds in action.

Every football player I have ever met are some of the biggest dreamers out there. Those guys have dreams so big that they would scare most other people, and I love them for it.
Not only are they big dreamers, but they inspire kids to dream, and I think that that is one of the greatest accomplishments a human being can achieve in this lifetime.
To be able to inspire a child...well, that's beauty in and of itself.

They deal with their losses with grace and dignity, because their big picture dream buoys them up. Something beyond the persistence of their dream keeps them driving forward. And I don't know about you but I find that pretty inspiring.
I think the way that these boys have handled these losses is amazing. If it were me, and I will be completely honest here, I would be totally and utterly demoralized. But these guys...they have a fire in their bellies. It's truly impressive to me, they have the fire to win, they have the fire to show the world who they are and what they are capable of.
They seem to have taken these losses and used them to fire their determination, proving that it is not until you are tested do you truly discover the person that you are.

I can honestly say that I am proud of this team and what they have accomplished on and off the field. So to any critic of them I say this: You go through the heartbreak that they have gone through week after week. You see all your hard work for months and even years come up a few inches short of getting your end goal. You have critics hounding after you day and night. And then tell me that the way these guys have handled themselves is wrong, that they haven't been working hard enough, that they aren't what they need to be.

I'm not making excuses for them...I'm not a football coach, I don't totally understand all the intricacies of a team, but what I do know is what I've seen with my own eyes. These players are human; meaning they have hopes, and passions and dreams that scare them. But unlike most other university students they are doing this under the public eye, under public scrutiny.

There's still a lot football to play this season and I'm excited to see what this particular Utah team has in store.
The Black Out game is this coming Saturday and I cannot wait!
It is the best game of the entire season, in my opinion. It is always cool to see the whole stadium decked out in black instead of our usual red.
I can't wait!

GO UTES!!

Much love.
-L

Just a few musings on a Sunday Night

You know that feeling you get on Sunday where you just had the whole day to yourself, and it's been great, and then you remember that you have to go to school the next day, and it just ruins the rest of the night? 

Well maybe I don't have school on Mondays....But I do have work...and that can also ruin the Sunday feeling.

I gotta say this Sunday has been a good one for me, one of the best that I can remember in a long time actually.

I went to a friend's ward today to support her because not only was she singing in her Sacrament meeting she was also teaching her Relief Society lesson so the least I could do was go and support her in that.

Not gonna lie, it's been a minute since I have attended all three hours of any church meeting, usually I am able to make it to Sacrament but then something usually calls me away, so I kind of forgot what a commitment it can be to sit through all of church like we are supposed to haha.

I'm glad that I stayed though, for some reason one particular speaker in that Sacrament meeting has been sticking in my head since I got home.

He was asked to speak on his impressions from the General Priesthood meeting of General Conference that happened just last weekend and he chose D. Todd Christopherson's talk. While his talk was really well done and delivered well, that's not the part that is sticking out so much to me. What I'm talking about was near the end of his talk he did something while unconventional it was extremely powerful to me.

His talk was focused on how men should stand up and work harder than they have been in the past couple of years.

He then asked all the Priesthood holders in the room to stand up.

It was an impressive sight to see all the men in the room standing.

He then said something to the effect of now look at those sitting around you, those are the people that need you. They need you to be worthy priesthood holders. They need you to be worthy men. They need you to stand up.

The spirit in that room was so powerful and I honestly got chills.

It was one of the most powerful meetings that I have had the pleasure of attending.

His words are sticking in my mind of our need for worthy priesthood holders.

And I feel so blessed to live in a time where there are so many.

The sight of all those men standing up in that meeting was a powerful one; one that will stick with me for a long time. It's an amazing time that we are living in where we have worthy priesthood holders literally surrounding us. It was definitely a powerful image.

All in all I guess what I'm saying is that I'm really glad I went to that ward today.

It's funny how the Lord is so mindful of our needs, isn't it?