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YzzazzI wrote this story 10 years ago or so on the old Cougarblue site, so apologies to any of you old timers who read it before, but in light of many things that have crept up this season so far: PAC vs. Indy worries, disappointing injury/losses, and now the poll about most hated team in state, I thought I'd post it again here on cougarcorner. Much more worthy a place for it to reside anyway.
I had an experience while helping out as a parent assistant on a local Jr. High football team. We were lining the boys up in a standard 1 on 1 get-off-the-block drill. Two kids get in a stance and when the coach blows the whistle they smash pads and helmets to see which one can throw the other out of their way. The winner is the kid who is able to move forward.
There were three or four of us dads that happened to be on hand to help with this drill that day, and one of the reasons we were there was that another dad had been asked to lead this drill by the head coach. This dad was a friend of the coach and was himself, actually, a former member of Ron McBride's staff (don't ask I won't write his name here but I will say it wasn't K-Whit). The dude was retired now and his youngest son was on the team so he showed up to watch and the coach put him to work.
Being fans of the sport that we were, the other dads and I gathered around to watch and learn from a veteran of the game. He lined up the boys and explained the drill. It was the first time these kids had hit anybody that day, and being the youngsters they were the first two off the block were rather tepid in their impact.
The coach mildly scolded them for their lack of effort. Then he turned around to us dads and, with a wry smile, said something like the following in explanation:
"we see this all the time when recruiting up and down the Wasatch front. These mormon kids are just too polite, they can't bring themselves to get aggressive on the field."
He leaned in a little to us and said, "we call this the BYU effect!" and chuckled as he went back to the drill.
For whatever strange reason, the coach had lined this drill up directly over a patch of mud where the grass was worn away. That meant one player lined up the edge of the grass at my left hand, and the other on the edge at my right hand. At the point of impact things could get slippery.
The next pair that lined up and he growled as he gave his instruction, "Now I want you both to get after your man. You do whatever it takes to get past that guy!"
The players got into their stances and both looked eager and itchy to jump the whistle and light up their opponent. When this old coach's whistle sounded, both of the boys exploded at each other, but in a millisecond, the right-hand player deftly rolled his shoulders to avoid the left hand player's grasp. The right-hand player perfectly executed a juke as he ran past to the other edge, while the left-hand player fell directly into the mud.
I realized I was among fellow cougar fans as all of the dads around me reacted similarly to how I had in stifling a laugh. In a priceless moment, the guy next to me leaned over, and with the old coach scolding the clean-jerseyed player in the background, said, "and we call THAT, the Utah effect."
I can't help but recall that zinger as I watch Utah grub away in the mud of the PAC and wonder who should win that philosophical debate? It seems very unlikely that Utah will ever have a chance to win a PAC 12 championship and go on to play in the playoffs. Surely you can make the argument that BYU's indy schedule represents "whatever it takes" to get past their guys and into the final four. At this point you can make a case for either side. Perhaps there isn't a winner to this notion.
Rationally I can see that since football is by nature a game of aggression, the BYU Effect should be a real thing and a real detriment. I think the biggest reason I am a BYU sports fan is that down deep I keep hoping there is another way. That somehow smarts and skill and dedication to a cause can win over the sheer brute force of athleticism and recruiting for that alone.
I dread that somehow there will come a fateful day when Utah and BYU will meet in a playoff game or, heaven forbid, the NC game, and that Utah will win and it will be ugly and demoralizing, and the Texas A&M game where Ty drug both his dislocated arms off the field will look like a picnic compared to the national embarrassment it would bring.
But I tell you this. That if such a horrible day were ever to come, I would be honored to have cheered for Bronco and his teams as they faced it. Bronco has been an excellent ambassador for the school and the cause behind it, and I couldn't be more happy with the way he continues to search for excellence in the football program. I will always remain true blue.
FWIW, that is what I call the BYU effect.
I had an experience while helping out as a parent assistant on a local Jr. High football team. We were lining the boys up in a standard 1 on 1 get-off-the-block drill. Two kids get in a stance and when the coach blows the whistle they smash pads and helmets to see which one can throw the other out of their way. The winner is the kid who is able to move forward.
There were three or four of us dads that happened to be on hand to help with this drill that day, and one of the reasons we were there was that another dad had been asked to lead this drill by the head coach. This dad was a friend of the coach and was himself, actually, a former member of Ron McBride's staff (don't ask I won't write his name here but I will say it wasn't K-Whit). The dude was retired now and his youngest son was on the team so he showed up to watch and the coach put him to work.
Being fans of the sport that we were, the other dads and I gathered around to watch and learn from a veteran of the game. He lined up the boys and explained the drill. It was the first time these kids had hit anybody that day, and being the youngsters they were the first two off the block were rather tepid in their impact.
The coach mildly scolded them for their lack of effort. Then he turned around to us dads and, with a wry smile, said something like the following in explanation:
"we see this all the time when recruiting up and down the Wasatch front. These mormon kids are just too polite, they can't bring themselves to get aggressive on the field."
He leaned in a little to us and said, "we call this the BYU effect!" and chuckled as he went back to the drill.
For whatever strange reason, the coach had lined this drill up directly over a patch of mud where the grass was worn away. That meant one player lined up the edge of the grass at my left hand, and the other on the edge at my right hand. At the point of impact things could get slippery.
The next pair that lined up and he growled as he gave his instruction, "Now I want you both to get after your man. You do whatever it takes to get past that guy!"
The players got into their stances and both looked eager and itchy to jump the whistle and light up their opponent. When this old coach's whistle sounded, both of the boys exploded at each other, but in a millisecond, the right-hand player deftly rolled his shoulders to avoid the left hand player's grasp. The right-hand player perfectly executed a juke as he ran past to the other edge, while the left-hand player fell directly into the mud.
I realized I was among fellow cougar fans as all of the dads around me reacted similarly to how I had in stifling a laugh. In a priceless moment, the guy next to me leaned over, and with the old coach scolding the clean-jerseyed player in the background, said, "and we call THAT, the Utah effect."
I can't help but recall that zinger as I watch Utah grub away in the mud of the PAC and wonder who should win that philosophical debate? It seems very unlikely that Utah will ever have a chance to win a PAC 12 championship and go on to play in the playoffs. Surely you can make the argument that BYU's indy schedule represents "whatever it takes" to get past their guys and into the final four. At this point you can make a case for either side. Perhaps there isn't a winner to this notion.
Rationally I can see that since football is by nature a game of aggression, the BYU Effect should be a real thing and a real detriment. I think the biggest reason I am a BYU sports fan is that down deep I keep hoping there is another way. That somehow smarts and skill and dedication to a cause can win over the sheer brute force of athleticism and recruiting for that alone.
I dread that somehow there will come a fateful day when Utah and BYU will meet in a playoff game or, heaven forbid, the NC game, and that Utah will win and it will be ugly and demoralizing, and the Texas A&M game where Ty drug both his dislocated arms off the field will look like a picnic compared to the national embarrassment it would bring.
But I tell you this. That if such a horrible day were ever to come, I would be honored to have cheered for Bronco and his teams as they faced it. Bronco has been an excellent ambassador for the school and the cause behind it, and I couldn't be more happy with the way he continues to search for excellence in the football program. I will always remain true blue.
FWIW, that is what I call the BYU effect.