Rise and shout in pain

Four days later, the drubbing BYU received in the "Holy War" still stings. It was awful. It seemed like the Cougars had never even practiced together before, and by the end of the game seemed to have given up completely. I'd go as far as to say I've never felt as bad at the end of a football game than I did on Saturday.

(This may not hold up; instant reaction, hyperbole, and revisionist history are big parts of being a sports fan. In a few years we'll have to see if this loss stings as much as the two 34-31 games and the ensuing ad campaigns.)

Just as disheartening...I'm worried that I may already be out of good Ross Apo puns. Among those I've already used?

--"That match-up was like comparing Apos to burnt oranges" (after his touchdown catch against Texas)

--"How do you like them Apos?"

--"Need a touchdown? There's an Apo for that."

I'm hoping Josh Quezada returns to his endzone-finding form of 2010 so I can create and sell some bootleg "Apo Juice" merchandise.

Since this year's game is my current worst football memory, I'm going to cheer myself up (and hopefully some of you too) by linking to my favorite football moments that I experienced through a variety of media:

Best Moment I Saw In Person: Big plays by Brandon Doman and Luke Staley resulting in a comeback victory against Utah in 2001. This was especially huge because BYU was still undefeated at that point, though they got drilled in their last two games of the season.

Best Moment I Heard on the Radio: In 2009, I was living with my parents, who are philosophically opposed to paying for TV, so I experienced Andrew George's game-winning TD in overtime only aurally. Still awesome though. Runner-up radio moment: BYU knocking off Miami back in the Ty Detmer days.

Best Moment I Read About in the Newspaper: Back when I served my mission in Scotland, there used to be a free newspaper available on city buses. I think it was called the Metro. (Some quick Googling confirms my memory.) One preparation day, my companion and I rode into Glasgow so he could shop for a kilt. While at the kilt shop, we observed the mediocre rock band Filter inadvertently embarrass themselves (I don't think I've ever blogged that story, but I definitely should).

On the way home, I was looking through the Metro, and on the second-to-last page there was a very short article about Super Bowl XXXIV, which was won in dramatic fashion by St. Louis over Tennessee. After recovering from the shock of how little attention was being given to the biggest American sporting event of the year, and the even bigger shock of the Rams and Titans reaching the Super Bowl, I realized it was former Ute Kevin Dyson who had been tackled just short of the goal line. And it made me happy.

Best Moment I Watched Online: When I moved to New York in 2007, I didn't have TV, but I found a site (which has since been shut down by the Department of Justice) streaming the BYU-Utah game. Watching Austin Collie make magic happen on a small laptop screen is still pretty outstanding.

Best Moment I Watched on Television (and likely my favorite football moment of all time): Harline is STILL open!

I'm happy to report that BYU did not fumble even once while I was writing this post. Things are looking up!