BYU Basketball, Red Cream Soda, and Wondering If We Would Get Towed
By Todd Cannon
Tressa and I bought Season Tickets to BYU Basketball this year. It reminds me of when Dad used to buy Season Tickets and take us kids to the Basketball Games. I know he did not buy enough to take everyone to every game so we had to take turns. I think he had 4 tickets although sometimes I think maybe he had 5, 1 for him and that 4 of us kids got to come along. I'm pretty sure the number 4 factored in somewhere.
Dad would always buy everyone a treat before the game. I remember some of the favorites being Cracker Jacks (back then you got something more than a sticker as a prize), Giant sized Red Delicious Apples, and popcorn in a small BYU megaphone. When you finished your popcorn you could punch out the small end and use it to cheer at the game. Then after Halftime (Dad liked to watch the Halftime show) when the concession stands where not as crowded Dad would go and buy everyone a drink. They had Red Cream Soda. For a long time I never saw or heard of Red Cream Soda anywhere else. This was my usual choice. Even now when I drink Barq's Red Cream Soda (the only kind I can usually find) it reminds me of BYU Basketball games although I don't think they have actually served it there for a long long time. And in case anyone wonders, while I cannot tell you what the difference is, and maybe it is all in my head, Red Cream Soda tastes different than regular Cream Soda. And, no, I will not do a blind taste test. If this is a delusion of my mind it is a harmless one and one I enjoy and I am unwilling to spoil it with a Scientific Experiment.
After the game we would hang around and listen to the band play and wait for the traffic to die down. Often we would still be there when the players came back out after showering and dressing in their street clothes. We would always park on campus near the big white bridge that went up to the Marriott Center and walk over on the bridge. I don't remember if Dad always said this or if it was just at one of the first games I went to but I remember him saying something like. "I hope I'm parking in the right place. I don't want to get towed." I spent the entire game wondering if we would get towed. Not just the first game but as I remember it I wondered for years at each game if we would have a car to drive home in or if we would get towed. I also remember thinking that BYU should do a better job of marking the places you were allowed to park for a Basketball game if even Dad, who worked at BYU, was unsure where parking was allowed and where it wasn't.
One other favorite thing for me after the game was hearing the Victory Bell ring after a BYU win. The Bell used to be over by the path that would take you down to Helaman Halls and/or the Richards Building, so we would drive over in that direction after the game and roll down our windows to hear it ring. Now it is right by the Marriott Center and we hear it ringing as we walk to our car. Harrison and Gordon have come to several of the games with us this year and I always point out to Harrison when we hear the Bell ringing that it is ringing because BYU won. Traditions like that are important to pass on.
Tressa and I bought Season Tickets to BYU Basketball this year. It reminds me of when Dad used to buy Season Tickets and take us kids to the Basketball Games. I know he did not buy enough to take everyone to every game so we had to take turns. I think he had 4 tickets although sometimes I think maybe he had 5, 1 for him and that 4 of us kids got to come along. I'm pretty sure the number 4 factored in somewhere.
Dad would always buy everyone a treat before the game. I remember some of the favorites being Cracker Jacks (back then you got something more than a sticker as a prize), Giant sized Red Delicious Apples, and popcorn in a small BYU megaphone. When you finished your popcorn you could punch out the small end and use it to cheer at the game. Then after Halftime (Dad liked to watch the Halftime show) when the concession stands where not as crowded Dad would go and buy everyone a drink. They had Red Cream Soda. For a long time I never saw or heard of Red Cream Soda anywhere else. This was my usual choice. Even now when I drink Barq's Red Cream Soda (the only kind I can usually find) it reminds me of BYU Basketball games although I don't think they have actually served it there for a long long time. And in case anyone wonders, while I cannot tell you what the difference is, and maybe it is all in my head, Red Cream Soda tastes different than regular Cream Soda. And, no, I will not do a blind taste test. If this is a delusion of my mind it is a harmless one and one I enjoy and I am unwilling to spoil it with a Scientific Experiment.
After the game we would hang around and listen to the band play and wait for the traffic to die down. Often we would still be there when the players came back out after showering and dressing in their street clothes. We would always park on campus near the big white bridge that went up to the Marriott Center and walk over on the bridge. I don't remember if Dad always said this or if it was just at one of the first games I went to but I remember him saying something like. "I hope I'm parking in the right place. I don't want to get towed." I spent the entire game wondering if we would get towed. Not just the first game but as I remember it I wondered for years at each game if we would have a car to drive home in or if we would get towed. I also remember thinking that BYU should do a better job of marking the places you were allowed to park for a Basketball game if even Dad, who worked at BYU, was unsure where parking was allowed and where it wasn't.
One other favorite thing for me after the game was hearing the Victory Bell ring after a BYU win. The Bell used to be over by the path that would take you down to Helaman Halls and/or the Richards Building, so we would drive over in that direction after the game and roll down our windows to hear it ring. Now it is right by the Marriott Center and we hear it ringing as we walk to our car. Harrison and Gordon have come to several of the games with us this year and I always point out to Harrison when we hear the Bell ringing that it is ringing because BYU won. Traditions like that are important to pass on.
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