football

yesterday eric and i, and two of our boys, went to the byu vs. isu football game up in provo. i was thoroughly entranced by this culture w/in a culture, one i've never been privy to. we bought our tickets online at a really cheap discounted rate. when i met the seller "on the corner" at a 7-11 and made the "exchange" i witnessed my first "culture shock". the family was garbed in blue (requisite uniform for a zoobie fan), and had "byu" stickers and decals on their oversized white SUV. but the true experience didn't happen until 2 days later when we "arrived". k. for those of you who are familiar with this subculture, skip this post. this is for people like me....who never understood the whole football/alumni pride thing. we parked a block or two from the stadium, and joined a horde of other like-minded people. we're talking a mega crowd. all dressed in dark blue "byu" stamped hats, jackets, jerseys, shirts, etc. it was like a walking commercial. the crowds, the advertisements, the camaraderie, ...these things were all worth people watching for. but the biggest surprise to me were the little "fans". newborns were dressed and painted and completely garbed as if they were true blue byu seasoned fans. and in fact, they probably were. we met a family that eric knows at the local a&w where we caught a quick lunch. they had season tickets. i paid 12.50 for our discounted tickets. there were infants in their group. i'm sure that they had tickets as well. the seats were so cram-packed together that there's no way anything weighing more than 10 pounds could sit on a lap. and there were 100's of kids.
after we found our seat, i watched. and watched. i watched the football. i watched the players tackle and drop and run. i watched the cheerleaders kick and do little dances. i watched the band march w/precision during the halftime performance. i watched the teletron replay w/incredible inaccuracy the various plays. i watched the media circus w/their fundraising efforts in the endzone corner of the field. but mostly i watched the fans. i watched as they all in unison sang the alma mater song (i'm guessing) to the  marching band at various points during the game. i watched as the little kids using expensive seats played w/their byu-labeled football hats, or stadium approved vending food. i watched as the mascot cosmo shot t-shirts into an adoring crowd who clamored for yet-another school advertised item. i watched as the crowds responded to different things like with words taht were foreign to me as a newbie. it took three times of them singing the theme song before i realized that the words were displayed on the tron thingy. and it took another 3 times before i coudl "sort-of" sing along with them. i felt like a silent observer. it was an experience only familiar w/the first day of byu for me. where i felt like an outsider and really had no clue what i was doing.
i realized that there are some things in life that are simply passed on by virtue of genes. that there were children in that crowd taht would grow to be season ticket holders in their own rite. that it got me to thinking abt other "rich man sports"....take rodeo-ing for example. it doesn't matter how much of a dream it might have been, i wasn't likely to grow up to be a rodeo queen. my family never owned horses. and by the time i was able to afford my own, i would have been so far in skill behind the seasoned riders. i've thought that abt nascar. that not every little boy who dreams of speeding down the track in a souped up sports car has the opportunity to do so. and i learned that abt golf. playing 18 holes w/3 people would have cost over 50$, and that was after providing our own clubs, and even our own CART! these are lifestyles that are unfamiliar to many. a real cultural experience.
then i had the thought that i really am grateful to be a member of our church. to be in a place where genes don't matter. not taht our genealogy isn't important. but where we are and will be truly judged on our own choices. there have been descendants of prophets who have lost their way and are unable to lead those around them. there have been converts to the church who have performed miracles in Christ's name. we are all able to rise and shout, when the time comes. :) what a blessing that is.
all of a sudden, the loneliness of not fitting in is moot. and being a newbie or a zoobie is all part of the balance. :)