There is a tradition at the OBNUG household that every Thanksgiving we go around the table and share something that we are thankful for, beginning and ending with Marty Tadman. And then we stuff our faces.
This season, we came up with 50 reasons (and could have had 50 more) for giving thanks to the best football team a fan could ask for. Check them out:
- Marty Tadman.
- Kellen Moore.
- Our Fiesta Bowl DVD.
- Coach Pete not leaving us to go to a bigger, higher-paying BCS school. Yet.
- Ian Johnson's selflessness.
- Discount jerseys at the Blue and Orange store.
- All the OBNUG readers and commenters, for without them, we are nothing. Well, we are nothing different than the Idaho Press-Tribune website.
- Rod Gilmore doing another of Boise State's ESPN games.
- Playing in a conference with Robb Akey.
- This video:
- Oregon fans who have finally let go of the Ellis Powers - Jeremiah Masoli hit.
- Rival blog bets that we always win.
- Stories like this from Jason Whitlock because he pretty routinely always says what we are thinking, or at least, what we would be thinking if we were a large black man with a national readership.
- George Iloka's hairdo.
- Boise State's entire senior class.
- Ryan Clady pretty much being one of the best left tackles in football already.
- The Idaho Powerball, Verizon Wireless puffy phone, and the Carl's Jr. Star mascots.
- The resurrection of the Boise State defense from a non-descript quasi-liability to a dominant, play-making force to be reckoned with.
- Inoke Funaki for throwing so many interceptions to Brandyn Thompson.
- The Bronco offensive line for putting up with our pettiness all season long.
- TCU beating BYU, because the only thing worse than Utah getting into the BCS over Boise State is BYU getting in over Boise State.
- Brian Murphy's fragments. We can always count on them being there.
- WAC commissioner Karl Benson for being the inspiration behind our college football fantasy team nickname "Karl Benson Love Machine."
- Boise State's men's basketball for mattering that one time.
- Jeremy Childs.
- Whoever came up with those Boise State "New U Rising" ads. They're a trainwreck, but a well-made trainwreck.
- Jadon Dailey and his infatuation with the word "trickerration."
- Not running the "Q" offense.
- Justin Wilcox and Bryan Harsin - the two brightest coordinators in the country.
- Carl's Jr. for giving us 99-cent Famous Stars when we present our Utah State game ticket stub.
- Beating Idaho by a whole lot.
- Vinny Perretta's tan line.
- Our fellow Bronco bloggers who never cease to amuse and entertain us with their writing and pingbacks.
- Living in a free country where we don't have to watch David Augusto on KTVB's Coach's Extra.
- Being ranked in the polls.
- Shutting down Colin Kaepernick and putting to bed all those fears we had since last year.
- College Gameday for giving OBNUG's Nick a platform to promote the Broncos.
- Winning an outright WAC title. Again.
- Emails from readers, saying they like the site or pointing out all the typos we make.
- Depth at running back, wide receiver, safety, linebacker, and defensive line.
- Vinny Perretta's TD catch against Oregon.
- Only having one game this season on a Wednesday night.
- The future of Boise State football. And, while we're on the subject, Doug Martin.
- June Jones leaving Hawaii.
- Boise State's beat writers, like Dave Southorn and Chadd Cripe, for providing a lot of good information, and Dustin Lapray for providing comic relief.
- Kyle Wilson returning punts, among other things.
- Very few major injuries this season.
- Being one of only four unbeaten teams in the entire country.
- Graham Watson and her anti-BSU bias that helps drive us to become better people and better fans.
- Marty Tadman.
Can you add some to this list? Let us know in the comments or by shooting us an email.
Happy Thanksgiving, Bronco fans.