Standing Strong: BYU v. ECU

Acts 6:5 - "And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith ..."

This past weekend, I attended the BYU v. ECU game held at the Lavell Edwards Stadium here in Provo.

I was slightly torn about the game to begin with. Many of my dearest and closest friends were hardcore ECU fans or alumni back in high school. Most of them ended up attending ECU as students. Don't get me wrong, though. I definitely wanted my school to win. I just knew I couldn't crow as loudly as usual if BYU won. After all, I have relationships I strive to maintain.

As part of my experience, I trekked from the student section across the stadium to give the ECU fans look over. I knew it was a long shot, but if any of my friends had decided to travel across the country and forgotten to tell me about it, I wanted to see them.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone I knew was there. However, I was impressed by the ECU fan section.

One sliver of purple among a sea of blue. I had an incredibly difficult time getting a good picture of the section because they were swallowed up so much by the Provo pride. Despite the overwhelming opposition to their team's cause, the ECU section still managed to make themselves heard. Even from across the stadium, I could hear them cheer as loudly as they could whenever their team made a victory on the field. They made their presence heard.

It was one thing being a BYU fan, proudly wearing a giant 'Y' emblazoned on my shirt. I felt safe in the crowd. I was a member of the ROC. It was another thing to be a fan on the opposing team, especially when there was so few of them. Something about football games prompts thinly veiled hostilities between sides, and I felt it when I went up next to the ECU fans.

Regardless, the ECU fans didn't back down. They feared no backlash. They cheered and hollered and screamed for their team to succeed. They were fierce. They stood for what they supported regardless of the opposition.

Sometimes, life tries to crush what I believe, what I support, what I hold to be true. I know it can be easy to crack under extreme pressure from an opposing side. Despite this, I am grateful for the examples of people who stick to their guns and defend their position, whatever that may happen to be.

I am a strong advocate for being open-minded and acknowledging the good in every point of view. That doesn't mean we can't be firm in what we believe ourselves.