Avery Johnson was unable to lead Kansas State to a win over BYU in Provo on Saturday and did not play particularly well in the loss. Fortunately, the fans at LaVell Edwards Stadium were there to pick him up.
The home crowd was actively rooting for the visiting quarterback during their team’s 38-9 blowout win.
Johnson, a true sophomore, played against the Cougars for the first time in his two-year college football career and traveled to Utah for the first time as a student-athlete. He was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere. Not often does a signal-caller go on the road and have a good time in an ugly loss.
BYU fans are different!
The Wildcats were at no point the target of heckling or taunting. They never felt unwelcome.
Johnson described the environment as “weird,” but in a good way. He felt as though the Cougars actually wanted him to do well and have fun. They welcomed Kansas State with open arms.
That was probably one of the weirdest environments I’ve been a part of. 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.
– Avery Johnson, via the Kansas State Star
BYU fans packed the stadium for warmups and stayed all of the way through the fourth quarter. Instead of mocking Johnson for the loss, they told him to stay positive.
After the game people were saying, “Good job” or “Keep your heads up.” 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.
– Avery Johnson, via the Kansas State Star
The coolest gesture of sportsmanship continues to take place off of the field. Johnson is actively raising money for his former high school principal in hopes of beating stage-four cancer.
Thousands of Cougars fans bombarded his donation page prior to kickoff and helped him get closer to his goal of $20,000. They went even bigger after the victory and his donation total has exceeded more than $40,000 as of Tuesday morning. And it’s mostly through small dollar amounts, which is a testament to the large number of people in/around Provo who are contributing.
BYU is also known to go above and beyond for opposing fanbases. Visitors are often delighted (and baffled) to receive ice cream and other sweet treats gifted to them during the game.
Even though Avery Johnson is 0-1 in Utah, he had a great time anyway. He thinks, at least… It sounds like it is going to take some time to fully digest his unique experience.