K-State QB Avery Johnson describes BYU football atmosphere as weird ... in a good way
By Kellis Robinett
Updated September 23, 2024 5:04 PM

Manhattan
Avery Johnson may never forget his first trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium.

Even though the Kansas State quarterback was unable to lead his team to a victory on Saturday, he enjoyed playing in front of a rowdy crowd of 64,201.

Why? Because BYU fans were surprisingly nice to him and his teammates throughout the entirety of a game that the Cougars won 38-9. Unlike most road games, K-State players didn’t hear any taunting from the home fans.

“That was probably one of the weirdest environments I’ve been a part of,” Johnson said on Monday. “It was like their fans were encouraging, almost. Most of the time the fans try to heckle you or say bad things about you before the game. But all their fans were encouraging. It was just a different environment to be in.”

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BYU fans pride themselves on their sportsmanship and try to be supportive of both teams, even though they are cheering hard for the Cougars.

That much was obvious on Saturday when fans packed the stadium long before kickoff and stayed until the bitter end of a blowout. They rarely booed anything that happened on the field.

The BYU marching band even played the K-State fight song during pregame festivities.

Johnson was most surprised by the fact that BYU fans complimented him for starting a fundraiser for his former principal at Maize High, Chris Botts, who is in a fight with cancer. He said BYU fans donated to the fund and helped push it well over its goal of $20,000.

As of Monday afternoon, nearly $30,000 had been raised.

“It just goes to show that there’s a lot of great people in this world,” Johnson said, “and it’s bigger than football.”

Johnson said BYU fans were so nice to the Wildcats that they stayed late and complimented them on their way off the field and into the locker room.

It’s fair to say he is not expecting that when K-State plays its next road game at Colorado.

“After the game people were saying, ‘Good job’ or ‘Keep your heads up,’” Johnson said. “It was just weird, because fans don’t say that after the game, especially after they beat you like that. Definitely something I have never been a part of and never experienced. I probably won’t experience something like that again.”

This story was originally published September 23, 2024, 3:04 PM.