BYU, Wyoming, Poinsettia & Armbands

[moksha]

This Wednesday BYU will be playing the University of Wyoming in the Poinsettia Bowl 2016.

This reminds me of how Wyoming once had the winningest team in the old Western Athletic Conference and how that all changed due to the racial purity policy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Up to October 17, 1969, Wyoming football had won 31 of their last 36 games. They were on a role. Then their destiny was altered because the black players on the Wyoming team decided to wear black armbands in protest of that LDS Church policy. The Wyoming coach, who was from small town Idaho, would not tolerate such an insolent act of consciousness and decided not to condone that act of free speech. He tossed the black players off the team. The conservatives of Wyoming applauded this decision. Two weeks after this incident, Stanford University severed all sports competition with BYU indefinitely due to its racial policy, with Stanford's President noting that there were only three black students out of an enrollment of 25,000.

Wyoming went 1-9 the next season. Black players stayed away and Wyoming continued in the cellar for the next decade. So when they meet on Wednesday, BYU should remember how Wyoming stuck their red neck out for them and their racial purity policy many decades before.

[moksha]

With a 24-21 win over Wyoming, BYU proved themselves as true and reliable as the acronym NHM and almost as sweet as French onion sour cream on celery. There will be cheers and wild Jell-O abandon after the students return following Christmas break.

[RGiles]

With a 24-21 win over Wyoming, BYU proved themselves as true and reliable as the acronym NHM and almost as sweet as French onion sour cream on celery. There will be cheers and wild Jell-O abandon after the students return following Christmas break.

I love finding a random NHM reference lying around. It looks like the Lehi family camped here.