BYU’s ‘Super Saturday’ warrants an extension of attention

Walking into the house late Saturday after hosting the basketball postgame show on BYUtv, I came across something I had never seen before — and may never see again. The lights were dimmed, the fire was on, the kids were asleep and there was my wife, lying on the couch — watching a football movie.

Granted, it was the Kurt Warner “American Underdog” classic, which has plenty of scenes worthy of the Hallmark Channel, but nonetheless, it was a football movie. Dianne didn’t grow up in a sports family and often wonders if I even have a real job.

After a quick glance around the room to see if I was on “Candid Camera,” reality started to sink in — this was just one more improbable event in a most improbable day.

First, the BYU women’s basketball team beat Cincinnati 69-57 for its first road win as a member of the Big 12 Conference. Star player Lauren Gustin, who is the nation’s leading rebounder, scored 21 points and pulled down 20 rebounds.

Not long after that, freshman pitcher Gianna Mares bedazzled Missouri-Kansas City for a 3-0 victory in the season-opening Paradise Classic in Manoa, Hawaii. The win was BYU’s fourth of the tournament.

As the sun was shining on the softball team, four BYU runners made history on the indoor track at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sami Oblad, Lainey Jones, Annalise Hart and Emily Ellis shattered the school record in the 4×400-meter relay by 3.5 seconds.

The wave of success carried over into men’s volleyball at the Smith Fieldhouse. No. 8 BYU routed Long Island 3-0. The Cougars tied a season-high with nine aces to improve to 9-3 on the season.

Somewhere during volleyball’s third and final set and more than 2,991 miles away, senior Aleia Agbayani belted a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give softball a 3-2 win over Hawaii. The Cougars conquered the three-day tournament and left the islands with their first 5-0 record since 2010.

Not long after Agbayani’s heroics, Jaxson Robinson buried a 3-point shot at the Marriott Center with 51 seconds left to give the BYU men’s basketball team a 69-64 lead against Kansas State. The No. 21 Cougars held on for a 72-66 win to improve to 17-6 on the season and 5-5 in the Big 12.

The hoped for, but unexpected, wave of Saturday outcomes brought me back to the present, where I watched my wife being captivated by a football movie. Yes, this was a strange day, like a visit to the bizarro world — but it was all very real.

I did what any right-minded man would do. Despite the early church meetings that were now just hours away, this was a moment that might never happen again. I snuggled in and we watched every second.

The movie’s finale had Kurt Warner celebrating a victory at the Super Bowl. I kissed Dianne on the forehead and whispered, “All right, now you are ready for tomorrow’s big game. Good night.”

I drifted off to sleep bracing for a Taylor Swift question or two, but they never came. It was truly the end of a most unusual day — even a Super Saturday.