On the TUNNEYSIDE of SPORTS September 21, 2015 #559 Up next…Keeping faith in yourself!
After further review…The story of the 2015 Brigham Young University football T*E*A*M is still a work in progress. The twist of fate responsible for the Cougars’ auspicious beginning this season is one typically told toward the end of a bruising season. Let me explain.
BYU’s starting quarterback, Taysom Hill, is a senior and highly respected in college football ranks. In the season opener against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Hill broke his foot (it’s called a Lisfrance sprain) and is lost for the season. Enter Tanner Mangum, a redshirt freshman.
Mangum, was a widely recruited quarterback from Eagle, Idaho. Seven major college football schools were offering scholarships, but Mangum chose BYU. Then he spent two years performing his Mormon mission, the last three months in the Antofagasta region of Chile. He hadn’t suited-up for four years, and now, with starting quarterback Hill on the bench with a broken foot, Mangum walks onto the hallowed football gridiron in Lincoln to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
With 48-seconds left on the game clock, the Cougars were on their own 24-yard line behind in the score 28-27; Mangum drove his team to the Cornhuskers’ 42, with a single second remaining. From there he launched a “Hail Mary” (a traditional Catholic prayer, but a suitable tactic for Mormon or Methodists in desperate situations) toward the end zone, where 6’6” Mitch Mathews out jumped two Cornhusker defenders for the winning catch. BYU wins 34-28 and Nebraska loses its first home game opener in 30-years! This is playground fantasy stuff!
Mangum is not done yet. The next week, now the starting quarterback, he is facing the Boise State Broncos in LaVell Edwards Stadium – home field of the Cougars. Hmm, three short months ago Mangum was in Chile working for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Mangum struggled against the Broncos most of the game, as the fourth quarter began, Boise State lead by 10. But Mangum and the Cougars never gave up! With only 45 seconds left, Mangum threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Juergens. Cougars win 35-24. Guess it doesn’t matter whether your name is Mitch or Mitchell as long as a guy named Tanner is throwing the football. Back-to-back Hail Marys!
The essence of this is Mangum giving credit to faith in himself . He describes his early season success as “keeping your cool and doing the best you can so you can help others around you.”
Will you maintain faith in yourself so you can help others?
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