BYU home opener...

Against in-state arch nemesis...
UTAH!

Every year we feel it's important to rival with Utah fans {The Gledhill Family} during rivalry week. Because we care? NO. Because it's fun? YES!

This year though was different. It just wasn't the same! We aren't even in the same conference with them anymore! BYU is Independent and UTAH is in the Pac 12. I mean really, what kind of rivalry is that? And rather than playing them the last home game of the year, we played them the first home game. So weird... on so many levels!

Anyways non the less we still felt it was important to do something. Of course we didn't have all season to think about it or any time for a REAL 2011 rivalry to heat up, so we did what any tradition keeper does for the sake of keeping a tradition alive... we made them a poster! {That is what tradition keepers do? Right?}

Keep in mind that we have been watching a lot of Gnomeo and Juliet around our house lately and have been quoting a line or two. And this one particular part of the movie just seemed to say it all!

However it wasn't until after we made the poster that we realized that not everybody watches Gnomeo and Juliet around the clock like we do. And that perhaps our clever poster won't even make any sense to ANYONE! Or even worse... It might not even be appreciated!

Well lucky for us the Gledhill's do a pretty good job of acting like they think we are awesome weather we make any sense or not... So there you have it,
RISE UP BYU!!!

David and I took Ethan and Bradon to the game. Minutes before we left Carsten, Reagan and Talan with a sitter, Carsten got invited to go to the game with our good friends the Ingram's. The Ingram's are big UTAH fans and had to really swallow some of their pride to allow a BYU wearing jersey sit in their car and grace their presence, not to mention sit in the visiting UTAH section of the stadium. And for that we are grateful! Thanks Ingram's for your generosity and for protecting our son amongst all those wild UTAH fans! You guys are the best!

We got to the game early enough to enjoy the party atmosphere outside the stadium before the game and were in our seats for all the pregame stuff too. The National Anthem was AMAZING! There just isn't anything like an American flag that covers an entire football field!

Fireworks exploded...

The players entered the field with nothing but the warmest of welcomes...

And the game began...

Anything and everything that could go wrong for BYU did! But despite the awful display of football, going into half time it looked as though BYU wasn't necessarily out of it.

At half time both BYU and UTAH's band's preformed separately and then together. And I have to say that BYU's band won that competition HANDS DOWN! Now I don't know if it's really a competition, but if it is, or if it was... BYU won!

I didn't get a picture of it because I was probably too enthralled with the performance, but they formed a football player that moved and then kicked a field goal! As the band members ran across the field as if to be a leg/foot, they kicked a huge football that was being carried by cheer leaders {or possibly flag girls} that traveled across the field and through the field goal made out of more band members! I've seriously never seen such an exciting half time presentation in all my football game going half time band watching days! Way to go BYU band! You ROCK!

Bradon being Bradon!

And then the rest of the game was an embarrassment! Turnover after turnover! So many turnovers that Arby's offered free turnovers for everyone with a game ticket stub the next day! Seriously the game became comical it was so bad! Maybe that's why the half time band show sticks out in my mind as being so wonderful! And don't get me wrong, they were wonderful!

After the game we spotted Jimmer with his girly friend down on the field! The basketball star with the cheerleader, it's like a match made in heaven!

On the way out to our car we came across some unruly UTAH fans making fun of our Rise Up BYU flag on our car. Poor David couldn't help himself and had to put the poor lads in their place. Surprising us all he screams out, "Bottom feeders!"

Let the rivalry live on!