I LOVE BYU.

You may or may not have heard about BYU in the national news this week.... Our basketball team is currently ranked third in the nation. On Monday, the day this ranking came out, one of our best players came forward on his own and confessed to breaking the honor code, and was dismissed from the team for the season. This caused an uproar in the national media over BYU's "outdated," "unfair" honor code. Many people were outraged and mocked BYU for it. Many others praised BYU for valuing integrity in this world of crumbling morals, a world where certain teams allow domestic abusers and criminals to play for their teams (ahem, UNLV). At BYU, honor means something. At BYU, we don't just talk the talk, we stand by our principles, no matter what may happen to the scoreboard.

Basketball right now is HUGE. It is the best team BYU has ever had. They had/have the potential to make it all the way in the NCAA tournament. To lose one of our key players at this point is unheard of. Some ask, why not postpone his dismissal just a FEW weeks? Because that's not what's important here. Basketball does not come in front of our values, even when it's painful.

Some say, why don't they just forgive him? They have. We still love him. We miss him. They players see him as a brother. They had him sitting on the bench with them on Saturday. They let him help cut down the net when they won the championship title. He is forgiven, but there are also consequences. Players agreed when they came here to keep certain standards to be able to play on the team.

I had some Facebook friends post derogatory things about BYU this week. I'm not much of a fan of Facebook confrontations but I had to stand by my school. I ended up being attacked for my standards by certain people online, and sworn at and mocked.

I want to state as clearly as possible: I AM PROUD TO BE A BYU STUDENT. And I always will be.

One of the arguments against me was: A) BYU students aren't allowed to have fun and B) We aren't allowed to watch Youtube. To disprove both of those claims, I present you a gem from the game yesterday.



The entire student section surprised the Marriott Center with a dance and it was SO MUCH FUN. And its on Youtube. Boo yah. Do you see me?


Here's a wider angle:



I may or may not have teared up when Jimmer and Jackson left the court for the very last time of their senior season yesterday. They are my heroes. They are great players, and great guys.

When I first came to BYU, I knew it was a good school and I liked it here. But inevitably, as I take classes, and meet more people and am surrounded by the amazing atmosphere of this campus, I love it more each day. My heart bursts with pride for BYU!

JIMMER.
One word to sum up this year.

GO COUGS! And good luck boys in the tournament!