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Show Sports analysis . . . blab, blab, blab p.g. blab By MARCELLA WALKER Several people said they could not believe it that I had not said something in my column about the BYU loss to UTEP a couple of weeks ago. They all know what a devout fan of the Cougars that I am. I am also a very devout fan of the Pleasant Grove Vikings whose season came to an abrupt and rude halt last Friday afternoon when they came out on the short end of a 25-12 score and dropped out of the state playoffs. Let me speak my peace about P.G. first. This has been a great season for the Vikings. They came out and won their first five games, including a nice drubbing of last year's state champions, West High School. There were a lot of new faces this year. There was a new quarterback, new receivers, new offensive linemen. They did well and it is hard to fill the shoes of guys like Eric Thomas, Brad Kitchen, Scott Mosher, Mark Clements and other stalwarts from last year's team. The crowds for the games were great. The lights, making night games possible, have been a great asset in bringing the fans in the community out to the games. Pleasant Grove has gone to stale every year for the past few years. Other years we may have gotten a little bit farther along in the playoffs than we did this year, but we must remember it is only a game, an entertainment if you will, and losing is not the end of the world. As Pat Edwards wrote recently, the sun still came up the morning have said it all already. When everyone else was criticizing Bosco I was building him up. When everyone else was trying to out-coach the coach, I was defending him with all I had. That is the kind of a fan I am. When I love a team I am loyal and true blue to the bitter end. I keep thinking about that old Indian adage which says something to the effect that until we have walked in another person's moccasins moc-casins we had better not criticize him. I think about that when the fans boo Marc Wilson of the L.A. Raiders. The kid is out there doing a great job. He throws touchdown passes, he wins five in a row. The fans boo. What do they want? I think about that when the fans leave a game early so that they can beat the crowd out of the parking lot. The team has to stay until the final whistle, good fans should to. What if we went to the stadium and the team left when the game was only part way over? Supposing they were a long way ahead when they left? Who would win then by forfeit? See what I mean? It is like when you go to a high school game and your kids get embarrassed if you cheer. What do you go to a game for if not to urge on your favorite team? What do teenage girls go to games for anyway? They go to talk to teenage boys. I've seen high school girls stand and talk the entire game with their backs to the playing field. They wouldn't know the names of the teams nor the final score if asked them. ; That is unfair of me to infer tK all teenage girls do this. I know, genuinely love football, I have on "1! my own that does, and they tTm 1 watch the game and cheer n J right places. (They are the ones J 6 I remind the cheerleaders that th : have just cheered the offense bur ! is the defense that is out nn n!' field.) nthe . I was one of the ones .h genuinely loved the game when i : was a teenager and it was h 1 sometimes to watch the game an? i keep up on what was going on wha, ' with the distractions from my pais Of course we came from a dif ferent generation where the fa knew and chanted the cheers alo S with the cheerleaders and pep cu"b You could hear those cheers cle across town. When 2,000 voices iom ; together to yell the cheers it can d some rousing of the team. The cheerleaders and drill team ' and pep club at PG do a pretty go job but if the whole crowd joined it " would be beautiful. ';. Of course, one of the problems is understanding the words of the -'' cheers. I have a hard time un ' derstanding what is being said and ,; later on when I find out the true words I am amazed at how different they are from what I thought was being said. The cheers do have nice rhythms, though. Well, enough of all that. As I keep telling myself, football is just a game. Let's all remember thai i Now, what was that I just said1 i after BYU's loss to UTEP and it came up after P.G.'s loss to Logan last week. Coach Bluth and his associates have built a tremendous football program . at a small high school. People know now where Pleasant Grove is located who had never heard of it before. He has helped to put us on the map. Next year will bring another great team. The jayvee and the sophomores were so good this year that the talent they will bring to the varsity next year leaves no doubt that PG will be in the playoffs again and perhaps come out the state champion. Now, as to BYU, what can I say. I |