Go Cougars!

"It's another Sonic Drive-In third down," the announcer boastfully declares over the P.A. system.  The crowd wildly cheers for the home team to stop the opposing players dead in their tracks.

I remember the "good old days," before Edwards, when the Cougars rarely won a football game.  The Richards building now sits on the old field, which was easily visible on the right, as one passed by the old "Y" bell, descending down the steep concrete steps leading to the Smith Fieldhouse. 

There were no booming advertisements to annoy pure fans, but then, all we had was the 8-track system, remember?

Rarely did the Cougars win a game in those days, (1963-1965) but I attended games anyway, just because I enjoyed watching football.  When the new stadium was built, I was employed by the University to help move sod to the new field.  It was a great summer job, and in the fall I enjoyed watching games on grass that I helped plant.  

Advertising still had not made inroads to the P.A. system. 

Then magic began to happen.  In the mid-60's Tom Hudspeth was head coach and LaVell Edwards was a defensive line coach.  Virgil Carter was the first great BYU quarterback, then Gary Sheide and Gifford Nielsen came along in the mid 70's.  Edwards, having been made head coach, had things rolling. 

If you follow BYU football you know the rest of the story, and advertising is now a big, big, big, part of the game, for sure.

Last Saturday, I went for a half-time walk around the inside of the stadium, and to my surprise, Sonic Drive-in has no stands set up to sell their goodies.  They are missing a golden opportunity to make some big profits, for sure. 

After being indoctrinated so vigorously, fans would eagerly pay super inflated prices for a Sonic burger. 

Anyway, regardless of one feels about Sonic Drive-in third downs, it was our team's first year of independence, and it was fun to watch them on the home field with some of my wonderful family.  "Go Cougars."