Stand By Your Man

So, BYU lost an extremely frustrating and horribly interception-ridden game to our rivals from the North. The game, the rivalry, the loss - it's all got me thinking this weekend about what it means to be a fan. After the game, though most of my heart was telling me it would only make me feel worse, I logged on to my favorite Cougar blog, Deep Shades of Blue, and read the many many comments of fans and detractors discussing the game. I was right, it did make me feel worse. But not really because with each comment I was reminded of the terrible game, but because I read so many comments trashing the coaching staff, Max Hall, the defense, the offense, the Utes, and anyone else that could be blamed for the so-called "meltdown." Too many people placed the blame entirely on Max Hall's shoulders and called for his immediate benching, and even went so far as to suggest quite vehemently that "any other quarterback" was better than Max Hall. And what all this led me to question was--these people call themselves fans? To me, being a fan means standing by your man - whether that man is Bronco Mendenhall, Coach Anae, Max Hall, the entire defense, offense, or the entire team. How is it going to make Max Hall play any better if we're all pointing fingers and booing him? Why do these couch-potato coaches think they can make better decisions than the real coaches who a.) know the players, b.) know the game inside and out, and c.) know the competition? Yes, I was disappointed and frustrated too, yes by the fourth interception I was shouting at Max too. But now that the game is over, I'm still a Max Hall fan, and I think he can come away from this, improve, and be the quarterback to beat the Utes (and everyone else) next year. Maybe it's a little naive of me, but I think it's better to stand by our team and buoy them up in what has to be a much bigger disappointment for them than for any of us.