100 years ago, Cecil B. DeMille filmed the 10 Commandments in California, building a massive "Reformed Egypt" set that, after production, was simply buried in the desert. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230212-a-city-under-the-sand-the-lost-city-of-cecil-b-demille

40 years ago, BYU won the national championship in California, but the backlash of the powers-that-be has buried and subjugated BYU to be second-class citizens ever since without hope of being treated like everyone else. We've been in the wilderness ever since — even banished from what were annual trips to the Holiday Bowl in California.

But Jake Retzlaff is leading us to a new Promised Land and a re-emergence after 40 years that may end up with BYU deliciously appearing back in California in the Rose Bowl to win.

Jake was born in Corona, California. Note that Corona means "Crown." Fitting for a Prince. He is named after Jacob/Israel. In Hebrew, Jacob means to "follow behind" but also "to supplant" or "seize, take over." Jacob was renamed Israel ("God contended" or "Contends with God" or "Triumphant with God") after his famous wrestle. Jake has wrestled with, embraced and grown in his own faith after arriving in a strange land. He was invited by Kalani Sitake, himself descended from an ancient remnant of the house of Israel. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first indeed.

Jake's righteous mother hid him away at RIVERSIDE City College, so that he would not be discovered by roving, angry, unrighteous Scalley-wag recruiters after he had zero good D1 offers out of high school. Instead, he was kept safe and prepared for the day he would receive — and take a leap of faith on — a BYU offer and a chance to lead a team formed heavily from a mysterious offshoot of his own religion that fled generations ago deep into the desert.

In the holy year of 1984, and the week of the holy-of-holies Holiday Bowl 1984, David Lynch's movie Dune opened in US theaters. With heavy overtones of the Moses story, and strong parallels also to the LDS Brigham Young Exodus experience, that is no coincidence. Those with ears, let them hear.

40 years later, we are partway into a much more successful reboot of the Dune story with a new worldwide hit multi-part Dune film franchise.

When Dune Part One came out in 2021, starring a young, relatively unknown Jewish actor as a Prince forced to go into hiding amid prophecies of what he might be, Jake was also going into hiding, first at Golden West, and then at Riverside City College. Dune Part one was released in 2021 the Week that BYU defeated Utah in our last meeting, for the first win in many years.

Dune Part Two came out in 2024, with the same young Jewish actor's character rising into the Moses-like (or Brigham Young-like for that matter) role, fulfilling the prophecy, and coming into his own, mirroring Jake's struggle through 2023 and ascent into his destined role as starter to deliver BYU after 40 years. Obviously, the next BYU-Utah meeting will be EPIC with Jake leading us.

Faith promoting rumor: Timothee Chalamet is related to Jake and was seen wearing a Star of David JTR ring on Jimmy Kimmel recently ("Jews the Right!")

Notwithstanding the fact that BYU's success in the 80s and 90s (including 1996) paved the way for other subjugated have-not brothers like Boise and Utah to gain access to big bowls and the BCS and we then gladly cheered them to break the shackles of the Bowl Alliance and BCS and upset Oklahoma, Pitt, and Alabama, nevertheless, our own jealous brother Utah betrayed us and sold us into Eqypt over our anointed status and coat of many colors.

It's been a rough ride on the outside after their ugly jealousy nearly ruined the rivalry. But we rose up again, prospered, and still forgave and blessed those impoverished brothers, when they became homeless as the PAC fell apart and generously offering them a new home in the Big XII when they were starving. They have not repaid kindness for kindness so far.

Oh, and coming back to Cecil B. DeMille, the Reformed Egypt buried in the desert in California. Jake attend Centennial High School in the California desert. Centennial means "hundredth anniversary." 100 years after DeMille's reformed Egypt was built and buried, Jake is leading a group of strangers in a stranger land to a Big XII championship — a reboot of 1984 that will get bigger and bigger until with the help of BYU Pathways Worldwide it fills the whole earth.

And I don't have to tell most of this crowd the significance of Reformed Egyptian prophecies to Brigham Young, BYU, and our destiny.

By the way, stay tuned for the 2024 series Dune Prophecy, based on the Sisterhood of Dune, which has me excited for BYU Women's Soccer.

Did I miss anything here?