My dad and I didn't have much in common for a while. We got along fine, but didn't have similar interests. I once went with him on a business trip, driving from Salt Lake to Los Angeles. The entire car ride we spoke for less than a total of ten minutes. We weren't angry with each other or anything. We just didn't know what to say.

The company dad worked for used a vendor that was owned by LE's BIL. They had become friends on a personal level. Dad commented to him about our car ride to LA and our lack of conversation. He said, "Does your boy like football?" Dad replied that I loved football and sports in general. He offered to have us come to BYU's game the next Saturday. Dad surprised me with the tickets. The next year (1983) we started getting season tickets surrounded by extended family of LE. After that, we always had BYU football to talk about.

Not only could we talk about football, but we developed a broader relationship and could talk about a variety of things. When dad died in 1993, he was a rabid BYU fan and he was bothered the fans in San Francisco had yet to appreciate Steve Young.

To answer your question, a lot of memories, but the one that comes to mind is the last game we attended together - the Holiday Bowl in 1991. I was back off my mission and my parents had moved to Southern California while I was in the field. One of the highlights of Christmas Break and the trip to their home was the Holiday Bowl. Detmer's last game. And having it end with an interception was a bit of a bummer. But Iowa was ranked #7 IIRC and a tie was a pretty good result for that year's team.