Why had I never thought of this before? I love BYU sports. While I may not have been a die-hard fan for my entire life, my dedication is all there. I’ve never really been an “expert” in something before. But when it comes to BYU sports (especially basketball, football, and gymnastics), I like to think I am. I know my Chrises from my Kyles and how to properly pronounce Charles’ last name (sorry, it’s not Ah-boo-oh). There’s also only one “T” in Hartsock, and Winder has a long “i”. Riley Nelson is majoring in Spanish, Jake Heaps’ wife's name is Brooke, and Cody Hoffman could catch any ball thrown at him, even while blindfolded and with Crisco on his hands. This array of knowledge puts me ahead of most ESPN commentators. So why can’t I write a blog?
By way of introduction, I’m Tasha. I graduated from BYU with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008. I attended all the football games during my 4 years at the Y, as well as a smattering of basketball and other sports, but I was more of the “average” fan. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I became “Fully Invested.” Maybe it was Jimmermania that put me over the top. Maybe it was my sweet camera and newfound love of sports photography (yes, I took the picture that accompanies this post. And I will probably share many more in future posts). Maybe it was my desire to find things to look forward to, something I actually enjoyed doing on a regular basis, yet didn’t feel pressured to check it off my mile-long “to-do” list (when “make a to-do list” is on your to-do list, there’s something wrong there). A priority—something to believe in. Enter Cougar sports mania.
I am still a little bitter about only being deemed the “alternate” to compete in the BYU’s biggest basketball fan competition in March 2011. I didn’t find out about the contest until “tryouts” were already over, so I missed my shot. I convinced the girl in charge to let me compete if someone else dropped out, but I ended up out of luck. After seeing the “competition” live, I’m even more bitter.
I sooo would have won.
This was my plan. Read this true (albeit not very eloquent) poem:
My name is Tasha, and I’ve been to every home game this season to cheer on my team.
I also dressed up as Jimmer Fredette for last Halloween.
I took a vacation day off work to see you beat Florida in the NC-Double A.
I even missed my mother’s birthday to be here on San Diego State game day.
I will be there at the tourney in Vegas this year to see you win it all!
I can even recite your entire roster in numerical order… while I juggle basketballs.
And then I would have proceeded to wow them with my skills (I guess I must admit they are mini, squishy basketballs. Although someday I will perfect working with the real thing). Not many people know that The Jimmer can juggle too… I surely would have won him over. Oh well. In my heart, I know I am their biggest fan. But it would be nice to have the autographed ball to prove it.
And for those of you who may believe I was only a fan because of Jimmer, I already have this year’s basketball roster (sans Jimmer) memorized, too.
So why has it never occurred to me until now to combine two of my favorite things—BYU sports and writing? Just like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know.
But what I do know now is that I’m putting this plan into action. Welcome to Tasha’s BYU sports blog. Hope you enjoy. :)
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