My daughter had a volleyball match in Indiana yesterday evening. We stopped in Effingham, IL on the way home to eat. We ended up at a Chipotle, and about 30 guys wearing SIUE gear came in behind us. Turns out they're playing in Terre Haute tomorrow, and they were staying at a hotel in Effingham. I was wearing mostly gear for my daughter's school, but I did have a BYU jacket on.

I ended up sitting at one of the tables in the middle, and because it was so crowded, several players sat at the table with us. Of course they noticed my BYU jacket, and they actually initiated a conversation about the game.


Despite getting a beat down on the field, the trip to Provo was one of the highlights of the year for them. The most exotic place they usually travel to is South Dakota, and all their other games are in the Midwest within bus riding distance.

The guys I talked to said they're following BYU, and rooting for us to win out. Also said everything about the trip to Provo was positive - people and even fans they interacted with were all very nice.

Nothing earth shattering, but nice to see even when we beat down a lower division team, they end up becoming casual fans of BYU at least for this year.