F.A.M.I.L.Y.

Forget About Me. I Love You.

I know that BYU basketball season is about to tip off. I know that BYU football season is in the midst of one of the greatest starts in Cougar football history and continues that run tomorrow. I know that there are a thousand BYU storylines that could be talked about in this newsletter, but my heart was touched by something completely different tonight, and I feel compelled to share that with each of you.

One of the best stories in all of sports is the story of Ogden High School's head football coach, Erik Thompson. The eighth-year head coach has the Tigers in the playoffs and tonight they picked up a big win over region foe Union to advance to the next round. Before Thompson arrived at Ogden, the Tigers had three straight seasons without picking up any wins - 0-10, 0-10, 0-9. With the win tonight, Thompson's team moved to 7-3 on the season and advanced to the next round of the playoffs.

But it's not the win or the progress of the program that was inspiring. Thompson is a heck of a football coach, but he's an inspiration to everyone. If you don't know, Thompson is battling ALS. This year has been particularly challenging for Thompson. He is now in a wheelchair and coaches form the booth. It's different from the way he's always coached, but he's still finding success on the field.

He has a mantra - F.A.M.I.L.Y. It stands for "Forget About Me. I Love You." This mantra has become a pillar in the Ogden community. The entire community has rallied around Thompson and rallied around the football team.

When I arrived at the stadium to call the game tonight, I found my way to the top of the press box to get ready for the game. As I was walking up the stadium stairs and climbing the ladder to the roof of the press box, I noticed that there wasn't a ramp for Coach Thompson to get there. I kept looking around the backside of the bleachers to see if there was something that I had missed, but there was nothing. There was no ramp.

When warmups ended and it was time for Thompson to make his way to the booth, I watched a team of men rally around him. They lifted up the wheelchair and carried him up the stairs to the press box.

Nobody asked questions. Nobody complained. Everyone just helped one of their football family members in need.

F.A.M.I.L.Y. immediately came to mind.

Thompson has used the phrase for a number of years. I've always assumed 'Forget About Me. I Love You' was a mantra for Thompson himself. I figured it was his way of deflecting the attention away from him and his diagnosis and putting the focus on the those around him. But that isn't it. It's a mantra for an entire community.

When everyone has a 'forget about me' mindset, it's really easy for the 'I love you' component of things to stand out. The Ogden football community showed a lot of that tonight. There was a lot of love.

Love for the Ogden Tigers.

Love for Coach Thompson.

Love for the community and for those people around them. There was love.

The banner in the picture above hangs from the press box. "In this FAMILY no one fights alone."

I was struck by the profoundness of the phrase, but it was infinitely more impactful when I saw the people of Ogden in action. There was true, genuine, and unconditional love at the football game. It was a feeling that was so strong that I couldn't get enough of it.

Coach Thompson refers to his players as his "Redwood Trees." I didn't know this about redwoods, but the enormous 300-foot trees only have roots that go 6-12 feet into the ground. The enormity of the redwood tree isn't supported by one tree's roots alone. Instead, redwood roots grow out laterally. They connect with other redwood roots. That interconnectivity is enough for the beautiful redwood tree to support itself and support the other trees around it.

Tonight I saw a community's roots intertwined with one another. I saw a community lifting up the redwood tree that is Coach Erik Thompson. It was an inspiration.

Tonight's football game was the first high school football game I've ever called without Dusty Litster by my side. He's still battling brain cancer. The game was great and the call went well, but my mind was fixated on my friend tonight. It didn't feel right to be on a high school press box talking about local restaurants and breaking down plays without Dusty.

But it's been relieving to see the number of people that have rallied him throughout the last year. Literally thousands of people have donated time, money, or other things to Dusty and his family. He is a redwood tree of a human being that is currently being held up by the intertwined roots of thousands of other redwoods beside him.

This week has been a particularly challenging week for me. There have been situations that have been hard. I have felt every emotion - jealousy, fear, anger, frustration, love, happiness, guilt, and just about everything else you can imagine. It's been challenging and it hasn't been very fun.

But tonight I felt a little more courage than I had when I walked into the stadium at Ogden High School. Tonight I felt inspired.

Sometimes it's our roots that will carry the burden of supporting the redwood trees around us, but sometimes, it's each of us who will need to find someone else's roots to cling onto. Both roles are equally important. There is no pride when you need someone else's roots.

Dusty Litster is one of my personal heroes. I missed his movie references that I never understood tonight. I missed his laugh. I missed hearing how excited he got to celebrate seniors in one of their last football games ever. I missed how much he loves high school football and how much I love spending time around him. I missed Dusty tonight.

Coach Thompson is an inspiration. His attitude and the way he has taken an impossibly difficult situation and turned it into an inspirational opportunity for thousands of people is commendable and awesome.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Dusty or to Coach Thompson tonight, but their roots helped me in the midst of a really difficult week. I'm grateful for each of them.

Be someone else's roots this week. And if you find your own redwood tree swaying a little bit, find someone else's roots to cling onto.