Here is an invitation to all Utah County BYU Cougar fans...come see Beck in person tomorrow and wish him good luck in the draft next week.

I have invited him to come, and he will be in American Fork tomorrow Sat April 21st from 9-11am. He will be signing photos, and greeting fans. If interested call 756-8888 for info...he will be at 78 NW State St AF right next to the bakery outlet store.

We are trying to get the word out to the BYU Fans, would love to have huge crowd to show him our support.

GO COUGARS!!!!!!!!!!!

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5:45 AM
Woke up, then changed the alarm to 6:30

6:30
Woke up again, took a dump.

7:15
After a monster dump, flushed the toilet and sang Rise and Shout to wake up my neighbors in the apartment below.

7:30
Cops came by and confiscated my megaphone. Something about disturbing the peace and evidence. I'm not quite sure because I was still deaf from the fight song

8:00
Stopped at Radio Shack on the way to work to pick up 2 megaphones. You can never be too careful.

8:30
Some lady got pissed at me for refusing to give her coffee with her Egg McMuffin meal. Apparently she didn't realize that it was against the Word of Wisdom.

4:00
John Beck came in and ordered a Double Quarter Pounder and a Sprite (at first he wanted a Coke, but after I reminded him that it wasn't caffeine free, he finally relented and went with my suggested soft drink). I swiped the credit card slip from the Till, I can't believe I have John Beck's autograph!

7:00
Watched the directors commentary of the first season of Smallville. My buddy p-dawg couldn't believe that I had watched the directors commentary 43 times already. I think he's gonna try to catch me, so I am gonna watch it 3 times tonight.

1:30a
The cops came by and took my megaphone. I'm pretty sure the couple living below me are yewt fans. Why else would they call the cops every time I sign Rise and Shout with the help of a megaphone? Oh well, good thing I bought 2 of them.

3:00
For your information, it's not a good idea to put a megaphone up to someones door at 2 in the morning and yell Crowton Rules, Whittingham Drools. That yewt downstairs is a mean drunk and he beat me with my megaphone, then refused to give it back.

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Over the past week, I have faced a number of Ute fans who haved given me lectures on "How the refs won it for BYU, or "BYU BARELY beat Utah, when BYU was having a good year, and Utah was having a bad year". I have even heard someone go as far as saying "That last play was the luckiest thing I have ever seen in my life".

Well, I have decided to post a response to all of those argument, right now.

First off, Ute fans stating that the refs won the game for BYU, and that if the refs were different, Utah would've come away with the win. I whole-heartedly agree that the refs for that game were awful, downright horrid even. But they were bad for both teams. I could go on and on about all the holding/block in the back/late hit/off sides/or practically any other penalty that was commited by Ute players, but were never called. And for all you who think that the Pass Interference call on Utah near the end of the game was bogus, it was actually quite accurate. The unwritten rule regarding Pass Interference is that if the offensive and defensive player are playing the ball, then P.I. is typically not called, but the Ute defender never even looked at the ball, he only tried to prevent Jonny Harline from catching the ball, thus resulting in a well-deserved Pass Interference call.

Second, the score of the game. BYU did come into this game as the favorites, and they were supposed to "Destroy", a struggling Utah team. But the game turned out to be a very competitive, close win for BYU, rather than the predicted blow-out. For those who use this argument, I simply say, "WELCOME TO RIVALRY GAMES". They are always unpredictable, exciting, and they never turn out to be as predicted. EXAMPLE: Cal vs. Stanford. This is a HUGE rivalry game. Cal came in at 8-3, and Stanford was 1-10. Cal was expected to ROLL over this team, but Cal had a hard-time putting a bad Stanford team away, and it was a very close, nerve-racking win for Cal. In rivalry games, they are always closer than the "Experts" think, and upsets are common (as apparent when unranked UCLA beat #2 USC, another big rivalry). Never predict rivalry games, as they are indeed, unpredictable, and BYU-Utah was no different.

Last, but certainly not least, the final play. How can anybody who has a decent history of playing, or even WATCHING football for goodness sakes, not agree that the final play was nothing but the skilled attempt of one of the nation's best QB's, to throw a pass (while he was being tackled no less) all the way across the length of the field to a WIDE open reciever. VERY few QB's could make that play happen. The only luck I saw, was how the Ute defenders totally left a receiver alone in the end-zone. To all those who call it luck, I call you "Wanna-Be's". And to all of those who call this one of the greatest plays in College Football history, I say "Yes, yes it was".

Sorry Utah, but the bragging rights are ours. Don't bother rationalizing, you are only making yourselves look like.....well, you know.

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Thursday, October 26th

11:28 p.m.  
Going to bed anxious for tomorrow morning where we head out to Colorado Springs!

Friday, October 27th

4:45 a.m.
Woke up for the trip. Should be leaving to pick up Derek around 5:30

5:00 a.m.
Showered and finalizng some the last few things I need packed. Just so excited for this trip. Never have I been east of Utah so this will be a great trip.

5:31 a.m.
Ben sleeping in Part II. Nah not really but Derek did sleep past his alarm but luckily his mom was up to get him awake. Unlike Hansen who we waited for like 30 minutes and then he screwed us over in the end but that's a whole other story. So I just picked up Derek and he is finalizing a few things and we will be on our way

6:11 a.m.
Passed BYU's campus on I-15. I'm psyched!

7:32 a.m.
Stopped in Fillmore to stretch and get a bathroom break. Approaching I-70

8:58 a.m.
Been on I-70 for awhile just stopped in Richfield to get some McDonalds breakfast. I'm probably going to get a Deluxe Breakfast

11:57 a.m.
Arrived at Colorado border. We just took some pics which will be posted later. We had a long boring haul from Fillmore to here. Were going to probably stop in Grand Junction which is 40 miles from here. Denver is about 270. The trek continues.........

12:25 p.m.
In Grand Junction, looking for a place to get gas and couldn't find one for about 10 minutes. Saw some BYU fans in front of us. They had a BYU hitch on their vehicle. Off to Denver now.

4:30 p.m.
Arrived in Denver, saw Invesco Field, Pepsi Center, and Coors Field off of I-25. We are heading to Colorado Springs. There is a ton of traffic.

5:20
Arrived in Colorado Springs and there still was tons of traffic. Listening to BYU fight song, and "Coming to Your City" College Gameday version. Very excited and happy to be here in Colorado Springs, but need to find the hotel.

6:30 p.m.
Finally found the Best Western Hotel off of Chestnut street. All of Colorado Springs is confusing, the streets are just names and its annoying. Also, there is no ESPN and no wireless internet connection so I'm very angry about that. Off to get some food, something we haven't done since Richfield (look at 8:58 a.m.)

7:45 p.m.Found a Applebee's there isn't many restaurants in this Colorado Springs area, its very confusing. I had a Quesadilla Burger which surprisingly was good, along with Mountain Dew, and a side of Mozzarella Sticks. Saw some BYU fans in there as well, one of which had a massive beard. Derek had a Western Burger and surprisingly he put an extra condiment on his burger something he usually doesn't do. Waited a long time for service. The waitress was lame. Saw a Denver Pioneers bball program that said DU vs. BYU on the wall.

8:30 p.m.
Head over to the Academy to see the stadium, and we couldn't due to the heightened security at the entrance. There is only one way into the stadium so we will be coming early tomorrow. Now looking for entertainment.

9:25 p.m.
We found nothing. Colorado Springs is worse than Orem. This place has really nothing, Denver will be much better. Came to find out that the Applebee's we went too was right by our hotel and we didn't know. It was funny. Were desperate to find entertainment but there is like i said nothing. Were back at the hotel here in the lobby typing this due to no wireless internet. This will be it for the night. I will post some stuff for tomorrow.

Saturday, October 28th. GAMEDAY!!!!

6:45 a.m
Woke up. Very excited for the game. Its already fairly warm weather outside projected to be around 62 degrees today. Now getting a shower.

7:21 a.m.
Head down to lobby for free breakfast. It had waffles, bagels, toast, cereal, biscuits 'n gravy and many juices, a decent breakfast for free.

7:56 a.m.
Just checked out of the hotel. Going to head over to the stadium at around 8:30. Due to their only being one entrance into the campus were getting there early. No ESPN so we can't watch Gameday. I will do some updates from Falcon Stadium on the Sidekick in the Gameday thread. Derek looks very tired right now but hes okay. GO COUGARS!!!

It was a great victory over the Falcons and I was very happy.

The rest of SaturdayAfter the game, me and Derek went to Denver and we stayed at a Marriott. Very sweet.

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(AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

I LOVE THIS GUY!!!!!!!

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I don't know about you, but whenever BYU has a bye, I get depressed. I know there are plenty of other games to watch, but it's just not the same. But hey, UNLV in 10 days!

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I really feel that this TCU game is going to have the impact that the Nevada game in 2002 caused, but in a positive way.

This game is going to be a memorable one and a game that Bronco Mendenhall can a put a stamp on saying that it turned the corner on the program and led to the frequently mentioned slogan amongst fans..."Return To Glory."

But we all need to realize that BYU still needs to come out strong and like John Beck said they hope to play better against a San Diego State team.  BYU still has alot to prove but we all need to remember that the road games are going to be difficult in conference.  BYU is always like a bowl games for teams in this conference and the Cougs will always face hostile crowds, but I know if BYU executes at a high level there is no doubt in my mind they can win out.

But back to the TCU game....I'm so happy for this team and the coaches; particularly John Beck, Curtis Brown, and Bronco Mendenhall.  For Beck and Brown they finally got a signature win and started to get the critics off their backs.  And for Mendenhall all of his hard work is starting to pay off, he was a great hire.  I have this fear that when he starts to have success here at BYU he might potentially leave BYU for another school.  Mendenhall is not a total BYU guy so ya never know.  BYU administrators just need to up his freakin pay and give him a dang extension!

But this is a great time for all the Cougar fans who have stayed loyal and true to the team, because now is when all the loyalties pay off and its a great feeling as a die-hard fan.

Well I'm off to bed and going to get up early for College Gameday...yes!  I love College Football Saturdays, especially this weekend where there is no pressure about a BYU game knowing that we already played won.  Its a great feeling actually I enjoy it.

Go Cougars!

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Wear white on Saturday!

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We should not fix a problem we didn't start.

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Am I the only Cougar fan out there that thinks we need to do away with the haka before the games?  I guess it is done as a form of intimidation, but so as to avoid a taunting flag it is done facing our fans.  So the team is being tough and scary but within the confines of the rules?  It seems pointless and borderline embarassing to me.

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The game was very exciting, despite the long rain delay with only 6 minutes left in the 4th. I actually work the games, so I didn't see enough of the game to give a rundown, but it was quite exciting for my first game in the stadium.

Cougars win, 49-24! I'm looking forward to the next home game...and hopefully it won't be quite as wet as this one was!

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st 2006

Finally!  The Cougar Football season is upon us and the much anticipated first game against Arizona in Tucson is a trip that I couldn't refuse to miss and it is finally here!

This diary will just be chronicling how my trip is going with interesting tidbits of info, stories, and pictures.  So check back frequently for updates!

The Crew:  Me (Mitch), my Dad, Ben, and Danny

1:14 a.m.
Just woke up and I'm not even tired.  I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas to arrive because I was just thinking of how exciting this game is going to be so I couldn't sleep.  Finishing up some of my packing.  Eating a bagel and glass of OJ.  My dad is still asleep I will get him up at 1:30 I can't believe he isn't already up.  This is better than Christmas!  Should be on the road to pick up Ben and Danny around 2 am.

2:30 a.m.
Finally getting on the road now going towards Tucson!!!

3:20 a.m.
Ben was being called on a persistent basis but no answer was being reached. Me, my dad, and Danny were getting anxious. Went to the door angered at the fact that a fellow Coug fan was not ready for Christmas morning. 10 minutes later no sign of Ben so I resorted to calling his house and waking the parents. Ben came out and was still stalling by going to the garage to get something he then came back and we finally headed off. We were finally on I-15 at 3:41 am

4:02 a.m.
Drove past BYU. The excitement continues to build. We have all forgiven Ben now for not being ready.

4:27 a.m.
Listening to College fight songs and NFL Films songs.

5:19 a.m.
Were just on I-15 in the middle of nowhere. Ben is already starting to fall asleep. I would have thought he already had plenty of sleep.

6:30 a.m.
Fell asleep and took nap

7:20 a.m.
Woke up from nap and stopped at the Highway 9 gas station.

8:12 a.m.
We were on Highway 9 and all of a sudden we saw a Zion National Forest . My dad was panicing cuz he thought we went the wrong way so swear words started to fly lol we went to the booth and asked the lady if this was the way to Phoenix and she said yes but in order to pass we had to give this woman who looked like a man 20 bucks to go through my dad angered by paying that to drive on windy roads and tunnels gave the 20 knowing Cougar Football was on the horizon.

9 a.m.
Stopped in Kanab after the long haul through Zions National Park. We were reading up on the Media Guide and Phil Steele's to get our football fix during lame driving conditions.

10:17 a.m. (MST)
In Arizona Finally! We are now on Pacific Time my sidekick II switched over. Stopped to see this dam in Paige, AZ. Saw a fellow Cougar fan there who was driving from Alberta, Canada.I will now post on Pacific time

10:39 a.m. (PST)
Stopped at a Chevron in some town that was like the Rose Park of Arizona. We are 50 miles outside of Flagstaff.

11:12 a.m.
Starting to have rain showers going into Flagstaff.

11:22 a.m.
In Flagstaff, Arizona now home of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Go Jacks on September 9th!!! :-)

11:38 a.m
Went to Burger King and had a waitress there named Linda who was a die-hard Diamondbacks fan and she told us that she had worked at Burger King for 10 years.

12:17 p.m.
On the Historic Route 66

2:10 p.m.
In Phoenix finally were heading to our hotel now.

2:10-2:59 p.m.
Circling around Phoenix airport with my dad crying to go to the restroom and complaining about his aching knees.

3:00 p.m.
Arrived at Courtyard Marriott near Phoenix Airport. My dad got out of the Chevy Impala and almost fell to the pavement with cries of pain in his knees. He was blaming the long travel and his age compared to the rest of us. (NOTE: he is 40)

3:09 p.m.
Finally in the room and went to clean up then got on laptop and updated this. Currently it is 4:27 pm Arizona time.

4:45 p.m.
Went over to Arizona State University very fun. Saw Sun Devil Stadium which had alot of construction going on in front. Also saw Wells Fargo Arena home of the hoops squad which is right by SDS. Went into the Student Center underneath the stadium and they had a thing similar to BYU's Legacy Hall which was very cool. Also went into Sparky's Fan shop and I picked up a ASU t-shirt.

6:00 p.m.
Left ASU and went to see more stadiums. Saw Chase Field home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and U.S. Airways Center home of the Phoenix Suns. Both of these venues had tons of construction around so we couldn't go walk around. It was difficult even getting around to those venues, Phoenix is under alot of construction right now.
    

7:21 p.m.
After looking at Sports venues, went looking for some food. The temperature at this time was a blazing 106 degrees. We looked around Mesa a bit (hoping to see Mountain View High haha) but decided to go back to ASU and went to Ruby Tuesday's. Our waiter there the same accent as the French driver from Talladega Nights. It was hard to understand him he sounded like he had peanut butter under his gums.It was cool we were watching Nevada @ Fresno State I'm so happy to see College Football back. This Ruby Tuesday's was decked out in ASU stuff and Pac-10 pennants really cool.

8:48 p.m.
Left Ruby Tuesday's and me and my crew were on Mills Ave. and we noticed some of what ASU had to offer. :-)

9:10 p.m.
Went to Walgreens so Ben could get some batteries and my Dad needed some Rolaids for his aching back now. He is in severe pain considering he is 40 years old!!!! haha

9:33 p.m.
Back at the Courtyard Marriott and we all decided to take a quick swim in the pool since it was still 100 degrees at this time. Hopefully Tucson won't be as bad on the heat tomorrow. Now it's 11:10 p.m. and I'm in the lobby of the Courtyard typing this up. Expect more tomorrow as we travel to Tucson for the season opener!

---------------------------
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd 2006 (GAME DAY!!!!!)

7:45 a.m. (PST)
Woke up this morning at 7:45 and saw College Gameday on the Television. No mention of BYU vs. Arizona during the entire show. Corso picked Notre Dame to beat Georgia Tech for whatever thats worth. Were about to head out to brekfast then go to Glendale to see the Cardinals new stadium, after that head down to Tucson for the big game.

10:09 a.m.
We decided to go to Del Taco for breakfast. I'm updating on the Sidekick again. We went to see some of ASU's soccer and practice fields. Now were going to Glendale.

10:58 a.m.
Can't find the stadium right now so were gonna go to Tucson now. We will come back to see the Cardinals stadium on the way back.

11:07 a.m.
This national college football radio show just mentioned John Beck as one of the 4 best QBs in the nation. I'm now listening to BYU podcasts on my iPod

11:33 a.m.
Just had a near death experience. We are on I-10 heading to tucson and some lesbian truck driver who we nicknamed afterwards "Butch" was trying to make a lane change and she didn't see us, luckily my dad noticed her coming over and got out of it. My dad gave after speeding off furious gave the untraditional #1 sign. We are now laughing about it but at the moment it was crazy. About 75 miles outside of Tucson now.

12:38 p.m.
Were in Tucson and on the campus of UA now were heading to our new hotel in Tucson.

1:02 p.m.
Found Arizona Stadium and drove around the campus some more. Saw the McKale Center. Will take plenty of pictures and record some video clips tonight at the game.

1:23 p.m.
Looking for the Courtyard Marriott were staying at in Tucson. We had the address but we didn't have the exact South to go to. So we went to a Circle K to ask where to go. May I add, that my dad once again similar to arriving in Phoenix yesterday had to go to the bathroom again. The Circle K did not have a restroom and the dude didnt know where the hotel was.

1:24 p.m.-2:05 p.m.
Stopped at 2 more convenient stores until finally finding one with a restroom for my dad. We were still looking for the hotel. Had some struggles finding it, but were here now. A Burger King is right in the parking lot which makes Ben very happy.

2:35 p.m.
Were watching Cal vs. Tennessee in the hotel room and were getting ready for the game tonight.
  

3:58 p.m.
Parked the car in a parking lot about 1 1/2 miles from the stadium, took awhile to find a parking spot, not as convenient as the spacious LES but not bad the cost ($5). Getting anxious, the adrenaline flowing with the thought of Cougar Football finally here!

4:12 p.m.
Finally at the stadium. The first thing that jumped out at me is all the red and blue Arizona fans wear. The student body was mainly wearing "Zona Zoo" shirts. They had tailgaters pretty much all around the stadium. A few hacklers were saying the traditional..."Joseph Smith is a fake prophet!" "B Y WHO?" I saw a sign on my way to the stadium that said, "HEY BRONCO THE WILDCATS ARE GOING TO RIDE YOU LIKE A LITTLE PONY!" Very lame stuff. Didnt see many BYU fans at the stadium that early but I did start seeing them around 2 hours before kick. The weather is humid but not as bad as Phoenix weather.
Went over to McKale Center, Wildcats basketball arena which was pretty cool. I was stoked for the game.

5:19 p.m.
Walked passed the Arizona "Zona Zoo" who was lined up outside the gate waiting to get in and as they saw my crew decked out in Cougar gear they started to boo immediately. we were fully embracing the heckling proudly sporting the Cougar Blue like a badge of honor.

5:34 p.m.
The Arizona Stadium gates finally opened and we entered. The blue blood was flowing I was ready for BYU to take over the Desert by storm and make the Cats "BEAR DOWN"

5:37 p.m.
First impressions of the field; looked dry, they had new endzones no blue in it. It was a nice stadium, very colorful, but not as good as LaVell Edwards Stadium, but very nice. Here is a video from later when the crowd started to fill up of the stadium.

5:55 p.m
Walked up to our seats. We sat on the very last row which wasn't too bad. I knew that if we were lower we would probably have Jose Cuervo bottles thrown on us b/c we were ready to get AZ fans riled up. We saw former DL Ed Kehl from the '96 squad walking up to his seats, there to support his brother Bryan. The weather was nice as the clouds were starting to go behind the Press box. Here are some pics.

7:25 p.m.
BYU comes out onto the field. Its Cougar Football time! The day we have all been waiting for! Great moment to see. Here is the best I could capture from my seat. Its a digital camera. Just for the record Im the one yelling "GO BYU!" haha

GAME TIME!!!!!
Im not gonna post details on the game just how we watched the game in this blog entry.