BYU Basketball

BYU basketball is AMAZING. I love it with all my heart. I have only missed one away game (I had to take a finance test, which I aced), and I watch all the away games on tv. We usually get to the games at least an hour and a half early so we can sit in the first five rows. For the Utah game, Jenny and I headed over Thursday night to set up camp. We ended up sitting on the ninth row at midcourt. It was INCREDIBLE. The energy was crazy. Last night was senior night. We had Air Force at home, and it was a sellout. I had seats on the front row of the student section with my awesome friends. It was great. While the players were warming up JT saw me taking a picture of him, so he posed for me. He is hilarious.

We should have put Air Force away easy because they haven't won a single conference game, but for some reason we struggled. Overall we were 3-22 from the 3-point line on the night. Awful. Jackson Emery was our saving grace. He had six steals and 15 points. He also had an amazing dunk, which I took an amazing picture of. Jimmer and Lee also shot in double figures. Jimmer is awesome. He is my favorite on the team, and he is definitely the overall fan favorite.

So we ended up winning the game 54-49, and with that we won a share of the conference championship. We tied with Utah and New Mexico, but we will be the #1 seed heading into the tournament because we beat #4 San Diego State both times. So after the game the players cut down the net, and then they were presented with the trophy, and then the players came up into the student section! They were high fiving all of us, and JT went crowd surfing. I high fived Lee, Michael Reed, and Archie. Also, Jenny dared me to slap Archie on the butt, and I did. He didn't even turn around. Funny funny. Then JT grabbed the microphone and told us all to go out and ring the victory bell with them.

Well, then thousands of us started rushing out there to meet the team. When I got out there all the players were standing around the bell, ringing it and chanting BYU as they jumped up and down. I was taking pictures, but I couldn't get too close. Then they started heading back inside, but I tracked down Jimmer and got a picture with him! It was great. I told him how great he was and he told me thanks and gave me a really big smile. This was the third time I have met him, but now I actually have the picture to prove it!!! Anyways, it was basically one of the greatest nights of my life, and I think we are going to go down to Vegas next weekend for the tournament! I LOVE BYU basketball!!!

SYTYCD

SYTYCD. An acronym that many people do not recognize. I feel bad for that large group of people. So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) has literally changed my life. Besides that important fact, the show is just awesome. You get to see ridiculously amazing dancers doing all different styles of dance. This show is basically what inspired me to start dancing--the little dancing that I now do. Nonetheless, it has also given me a great appreciation for dance. The dancers make it look easy, but dance is actually very difficult. Most of them have been working their whole lives to get to where they are today, and they will never make very much money as professional dancers. I really respect the fact that they love something enough to work that hard at it.

Last year, the season I got hooked, my friends and I decided that we just had to see the top ten dancers on tour after the season was over. The closest the tour was coming was to Reno, NV, so we bought tickets and drove there to see the show. Boy was it worth the drive. Neil is beautiful, and seeing the table dance in real life was beyond words. Also, the dance where Danny shows off his leg was pretty much beautiful. I just loved it. I went camera crazy at the show because I basically wanted to relive every moment.

This season I didn't feel quite the love and attachment that I had for the dancers of my first season, but the show was still amazing. And the best part was that the top ten tour was coming to Utah! We once again bought tickets, and we just recently attended the show. The dancers put on an amazing show--dancing and humor inbetween dances. I think my favorite dance from this season was the bleeding love dance with Chelsea and Mark. I don't really care for either of the dancers, but something about that dance just speaks to my soul. I love it. Well, enough about words. Enjoy the pictures.

Love=Seattle Mariners

Hmmm... I am thinking I should make a post on here. Plus, Paige told me to, so I guess I will. Since my address proclaims my love for the Mariners, I figure I should put in my two cents about them. I became a Mariners fan at the age of four when I moved to Everett, Washington (just north of Seattle). The first live game I ever went to was at the Kingdome on Edgar Martinez night--incredible. I would forever be hooked on that feeling that one gets while attending live sporting events-that natural high if you will (well, most of the people there are drunk, but whatever...). I was there during the highlife. We had Griffey, A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Edgar, and other cool people like Dan the Man, Jay Buhner, and Joey Cora. While I was there we had our first winning season, first playoff appearance, first playoff series win, and plans for a new stadium were started. Good times. Seattle was in love with the Mariners as was I. I will never forget the AMAZING game 5 of the 1995 ALDS when we beat the Yankees at home in 11 innings. Edgar hit "the double" and Griffey booked it all the way from 1st to score the winning run. Beautiful. (I recently bought that game on iTunes so I can enjoy the magic whenever I wish.) Then I left Washington, but the Mariners continued to shine. Safeco Field was opened and it was incredible. Then we acquired Ichiro--the best right fielder in the league and probably the fastest guy in MLB. I will never forget when he threw out that guy at third all the way from right field. It was his second or third game, and then I knew he was for real. 2001: We won 116 games, hosted the All-Star game and had 6 all-stars from our team. The BEST season ever besides the fact that we once again lost to the Yankees in the playoffs. Well, ever since then it has basically gone downhill. 2002 and 2003 both ended with September collapses that led to the Mariners barely missing the playoffs. 2004-2007 we have never really been too close to making the playoffs. 2008: As of the All-Star break we are 20 games back in our division at a whopping .389 win percentage. Sad as can be, but my love for the Mariners is true; I will support them till the day I die. Ichiro is still the stud he always was. A couple of years ago he broke the single-season hit record. I think the old record was 257 and it had stood for 84 years (George Sisler I believe). Ichiro ended the season with 262 hits. He is well worth the money the Mariners pay him. Every year that he has been in the league he has batted over 300, had over 200 hits, made the All-Star team, and been a gold glover. Incredible. Well, there you have it. My unconditional love for the Seattle Mariners.

Cocky Athletes

So I realized (and when I say realized I mean actually thought about this in depth because I already knew I felt this way) the other day how much I can't stand cocky jocks. They walk around in their fashionable apparel as if they are the coolest thing since sliced bread. Well, as much as I detest this attitude, I am responsible for contributing to it. I, the lover of sports more than anything else, treat these athletes as if they are God's gift to the world. Why do I do this? I get caught up in that world of athletics, the skill these athletes put forth in their respective sports. What is to be done about this? I have no idea. When people are practically worshipping the ground they walk on, athletes are bound to be cocky. This being said, I have great respect for those athletes who can still be humble amidst all the show of fanfare. You few, keep leading your normal lives and give us reason to hope for the rest of your kind.