"The simple secret is this: put your trust in the Lord, do your best, then leave the rest to Him." -Elder Joseph B. WirthlinSince we have good connections to a San Jose State University Dean (Tim Hegstrom), we were invited to the U of U/SJSU football game Saturday night in the Spartan Stadium! As Ute Alums hobnobbing with the SJSU elite crowd we were politically correct and left our RED attire at home! And once you've been pampered with Football Viewing with the Jet Set (special parking, pre game reception, the box, fancy food) it's hard to think about returning to stadium seats with the Riff Raff!
The Utes won but it should have been a blowout and SJSU held their own. Utah is ranked 17th in the nation, has a 15-0 winning streak and won the Sugar Bowl last January. SJSU was crushed by USC last week 56-3 and then had to face Utah...tough times! The whole culture of College Football can be pretty fun! I like to follow BYU and Utah (my alum schools) and Stanford (especially now that the McNally brothers play for the Cardinal). Other than those teams, I stay slightly tuned during the Season and get a 2nd wind of enthusiasm when the Bowl Games start up.
But I wanted to post about a Touching Tribute the Running Utes gave LDS Apostle Joseph Bitner Wirthlin after he passed away in December 2008. Elder Wirthlin played football for the "U" in the 40's and remained a lifelong fan. President Monson called Elder Wirthlin the Self Appointed Chaplain of the Utah Team! Cute, huh! He'd speak at firesides and talk about Integrity on and off the field! He was respected and loved by the coaches, the players, and the fans! When Elder Wirthlin died they had decals with initials "JBW" printed for the team helmets! I couldn't find a good picture of a REAL team helmet with the "JBW" decal to post, but it's easy to visualize.
Elder Wirthlin's talks are always some of my Favorites! His last talk before he died is called "Come What May and Love It" (October Conference '08) and it is a CLASSIC! Seriously, worth rereading! All his talks are uplifting and inspiring! And you gotta love a team of big bruising football jocks who will proudly wear the initials of a Mormon Apostle on their Helmet!
