Rise and Shout!

We are avid BYU fans. We have season tickets for football and men's volleyball. (Ray played for BYU's JV volleyball team many years ago). Ray's parents and his sister Amy and her husband Jim have tickets with us. I love it. 

Football season is fun, but volleyball season might even be better. Inside (thus warm) seats, bigger seats, closer seats to the action, and an exuberant crowd make for very fun games. Last night we played USC, and the crowd went wild at the very end when we spiked the final hit (we won 3-1). I was reminded of my first experience with college athletics.

BYU vs. USC, January 20, 2012 in BYU's Smith Fieldhouse

I was on the swim team in high school. I wasn't any good, but I enjoyed it and I really enjoyed the social life that went with it.

My junior year, out of the blue, our parents bought tickets for me and my sister Cheryl (she was a freshman) to go to the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.  The Championships were in Long Beach which was a couple of hours away for us. We drove down, just the two of us, and stayed the week with some friends of the family. We had tickets for every part of the Championships - all the qualifying heats for swimming and diving, and all of the finals.

That week was one of the most exciting of my life. I had never been to a college athletic event, much less one where several schools were gathered under one roof, all fiercely competitive with one another. We spent all day sitting on the bleachers watching every qualifying heat. As the swimmers took their place on the starting blocks the cheers began. U-C-L-A, U-C-L-A, U-C-L-A Fight! Fight! Fight! We are S-C!, We are S-C!, etc. etc. We were thrilled!

But we had no idea what excitement really was until the evenings, when the finals were held. Holy cow! You could not even hear yourself think for all the noise. Suddenly a team would break out in a cheer, then follow it with their fight song. Soon all the teams were cheering and singing. I tell you, my adrenaline is pumping right now just remembering it.

That week was one of the best, most fun of my high school years. Last night as BYU fans broke out in the fight song, followed by the Rah-rah-Rah-rah-rah! Rah-rah-Rah-rah-rah! Gooooooo Cougars! I immediately thought back to that wonderful week in Long Beach. What a great memory.