Episode 49 – The Morning (or Mourning) After
An open letter to the
Dear
First of all, and on behalf of
The fans of other teams in other conferences would find it odd that three wins short of the conference championship qualifies as a “good season,” but that is how we roll around here.
I was a bit disappointed that you had a chance to beat The Team to the South and choked it away in the final minute (again!), but no hard feelings. Those pesky Cougars are pretty tough, and they have been ranked both years, so it’s easy to see why you may have been intimidated. Of course, UCLA was ranked as well, and you managed to obliterate them from the field, but this isn’t the same situation. Better luck in 2008, when you get them on The Hill.
Thanks go especially to Coach Kyle Wittingham and his staff of football experts. It was a bold season strategy for your team to look really good in some games and really poor in others. I don’t know as much about the sport as you guys, so from my perspective it just seems like you didn’t prepare the team properly. But, you won seven games in a row and were a blown defensive coverage away from beating your arch-rivals, right? So whatever you were doing was clearly working well. Besides, we don’t expect championships as fans of
Speaking of the blown defensive coverage, I would like to thank Brice McCain for being an NFL prospect. I heard this several times from several different national commentators (well, the Versus and CSTV guys, but still), and it really raises the credibility of the program to have such high caliber players. I would think a professional-level player wouldn’t leave the other team’s best receiver to try and cover a poor-running quarterback who stands a zero percent chance of shambling for 18 yards, but that’s just my take on it. I am sure a high-caliber football mind, like yours must be, knows better.
I also want to give kudos to Louis Sakoda, for being the very best player on the team. Usually when the kicker/punter is the most clutch player on the roster it can be a bit nerve-racking (See BYU circa 2003-04), but you pulled it off. Maybe when Brent Casteel comes back from season-long injury next year he can give you a bit more competition for that title.
Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you, Brian Johnson! We heard a lot about your good decision-making skills in the pre-season, and you didn’t disappoint. Well, except for the times when your decision was to attempt a pass of over 20 yards. As a fan, there is something disheartening about watching a ball sail eight feet over the head of a wide-open receiver, but don’t worry about that. At least they were incomplete and not interceptions (usually), so we weren’t as upset as we could have been. Besides, you still have that senior season to finally live up to your potential.
Anyway, that’s about it. There were some great times this season, and I am already looking forward to next year. Maybe one of these years you guys can go back to being consistently strong on both sides of the ball, although it is great that you are considered a “defensive” team. It would also be nice if you could challenge for the Mountain West title sometime, rather than losing it in a week four shutout at the hands of the worst team in the conference. But these are small, nitpicky things, and only suggestions. Besides, it’s only been a few years since
Thanks again, and good luck in your insignificant bowl game! Here’s to a good 2008!
With no bitterness whatsoever,
Nate N.
Co-Host,
There is much, much more in the podcast, including the big rivalry game, the Utah Jazz, and college hoops. Visit us next week for an open letter to the BYU football team.
Our All-BYU Top 3 in
3. Max Hall
2. Jan Jorgensen
1. Austin Collie
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posted by Nate and Zach @ 10:50 AM
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