BYU Football: A post Utah recovery guide

There are few things that sting more than a BYU football loss to Utah, and sometimes coverage of it on news and social media doesn’t help.

Hate is a strong word.

But I really, really, strongly dislike reliving the kind of BYU football game perpetrated last Saturday. Especially so soon after the crime.

Social media and online coverage are a boon most of the year. They feed the BYU fan’s endless hunger for news, stats, tidbits, analysis, rehash, anything with the Y brand involved.

Then the day after losing to that team, it all turns on you like venom-tweeting snake.

Perhaps it’s because I’m as subject as anyone to the blue goggle brand of optimism. In the blue tinted world, the Cougars finally de-back that monkey, break that curse, and ride on to victory and glory. I even picture in my head how it should  have worked out. And all those articles and stats and tweets thoroughly puncture that optimism, smashing us into a terrible reality.

BYU lost to Utah. Again.

Reviewing the game forces us to face some ugly truths. Taysom Hill is not unstoppable, and not just because of pressure; Jamaal Williams was stymied by Utah’s defensive line, and may be injured; an entire crew of referees can be so very, very fallible; but mostly, that BYU failed to secure a victory over their rival even after forcing an incredible six turnovers.

Those truths bring you low, hammering you down not unlike a safety most definitely leading with his shoulder, and not his head.

For me, I need some distance. It takes time and effort for me to rebuild my delusions of grandeur. Like most recovery processes, this needs to be accomplished gradually.

The path to fandom recovery begins with denial.

Now that your face has been pile-driven into the rock bottom of reality, it’s time to start finding your way back to the blue-tinted light.

I start by flat out hiding from the truth. I’m sorry, I’m not here right now, try calling back after I’ve killed all these virtual zombies. Oh, was there a game yesterday? I was busy finishing my ode to space westerns and cyberpunk. Whatever your escape, the important thing is to step back for a bit.

If you have an open wound, why pour lemon juice on it? Cover it up, stop the bleeding.

Once you’ve finished pretending you were in another country visiting your long lost twin, and avowed that the game existed, the next step is finding the good among all the bad. This is like using iodine on your wound. It hurts almost as much as the lemon juice, but at least it begins the healing process.

Start by admitting that positive things did, in fact, happen in the game. Go small and work your way up gradually.

So what was good from the Holy War 2016?

Realize that one game (even the Holy War) doth not a season make.

Well, presumable nobody died. That’s good. It seems no one had a season ending injury, either.

For once, the Utes turned it over more than the Cougars, even though they won anyway.

Promoters and television networks probably got a lot of money, as in neutral party eyes, it was an incredibly exciting game – with reversals and oddities and tension, and yet another last second finish. It makes it more likely the game will happen in the future.

At no point did the BYU coaches give up, or blame. They fought like crazy for a win. Kalani Sitake won even more fans when he got flagged protesting Kai Nacua’s fairly questionable (read: completely bogus) targeting ejection.

There is no one area of BYU’s team that was really bad. It was more like a guitar that is a bit out of tune. One or two of the strings need some tightening, but the whole can still make a good G chord with experience and adjustment, and a steady hand to keep the rhythm going.

Finally, realize that one game (even the Holy War) doth not a season make. UCLA, that never ending hype machine, is coming to Provo this week for the first time since they were destroyed 59-0 in 2008. It is the first home game of the year, and will return the thrill and pageantry and tradition that makes college football unique.

They are followed by West Virginia, and Toledo, and Michigan State, and Mississippi State… Plenty of games where glory, joy, and victory are there for the taking.

By all means, find your way to recover. Wear black. Spend extra time at the punching bag. Watch just the exploding bits of a Michael Bay movie by cutting out the 15 minutes of filler in the guise of character development. If you’re desperate, pretend to be an Alabama fan for a bit.

More from Lawless Republic

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• BYU Football: Have the Cougars hit an all time low?
• BYU Football needs to fix issues before Notre Dame
• BYU Football: Why fans shouldn’t be so worried about USF
• How to watch BYU Cougars football in 2022

But then remember that with a new staff, with the jangling emotions of a rivalry game, not all goes perfectly. Patience will win the day.

And you never know – the next game might be one of the best you’ve ever seen.