Copyright Salt Lake Tribune
Judging fans can be a slippery business, but BYU’s base appears to be making a positive impression on some opponents in the Big 12. Part of that is because the Cougars, both their fans and the school itself, are pleased to be in that conference. After wandering in a murky state of football independence for more than a decade, and hanging other sports in lesser leagues that never felt like a suitable fit, BYU has found a proper home in the Big 12 — for however long the current ever-moving status quo in conference alignments lasts. It’s true that no single group of people, especially emotional fans, act or are the same, thinking, moving and existing in lockstep. Some fans are jerks, playing their obnoxiousness out in social media arenas and in actual arenas, some are decent humans, some are polite and downright kind. Somebody once said that 10 percent of every fan base, much of that small percentage extremely loud, is nuts and the rest of the fans are good people, regular folks. I don’t know about that. But what is bubbling up in corners of the Big 12, if not across the board, is the manner in which Cougar fans are trying to fit in, trying to be good neighbors. Many fans of opposing teams at LaVell Edwards Stadium have taken note of the friendliness of BYU fans there. And that goes beyond school officials handing out free cups of ice cream from The Creamery to visitors during games. In some cases led by various individuals inside the athletic department, BYU fans have joined in with fans from other conference teams on charitable causes. One such matter was recently highlighted on podcasts and on The Athletic’s website, a difficult situation that sadly affected the wife of Texas Tech’s team barber — Ivan Ortiz. Maddie Ortiz was hit by a drunk driver and severely injured. A Go Fund Me account was established to help offset resultant expenses for the family. When BYU fans were made aware of Maddie’s story, according to a tweet sent out by Andy Staples, a good number of them shared the link and donations “skyrocketed.” Wrote Staples: “BYU fans are awesome humans.” The donations ballooned even more thereafter, highlighted by many others, people such as Kirk Herbstreit, who donated $5,000 to the cause. At last count, the giving total stacked higher and higher, beyond $100K. “It went from a hate week to everybody’s supporting each other now,” Ivan Ortiz told The Athletic. Some of the tweets under Staples’ post expressed great appreciation. Cam wrote: “108K now. This is how the world is supposed to work. Good people voluntarily choosing to help those in need.” Shaun wrote: “This is what it’s all about, right here!” Frederick Douglass@Andres_ond wrote: “Something much greater than football. ‘As I have loved you, love one another.’” Aaron wrote: “That is awesome. BYU fans are fantastic.” The Manhatter wrote: “BYU fans are as genuine and friendly as they seem.” Marty wrote: “BYU fans are kind and welcoming. Friendliest football environment I’ve ever been to!” A Utes fan wrote: “This was so cool, props to BYU fans who got this rolling.” Another user wrote: “Hate BYU. Love this. Good job, coug fans.” And many, many more. As noted up top, there are good fans, good humans at every school. And when good fans are, in fact, good humans, the world becomes a better place. And for BYU, the humanity, the goodness, in this case and in others, bounces back in the form of good will. Good on the Cougars. As competitive and biased and argumentative inside of sports as certain Cougar fans can be, sometimes in that aforementioned small percentage it can get a little stupid. At times like this, though, the overwhelming majority of BYU fans are represented in a way that gives aid to others and stirs a bit of hope for everyone in a world that needs it.
