The day Jimmy Mac went scoreboard
All that taunting and trash-talking. All that stress.
Perceived by many as an ideological conflict, there have been years when that was much more the case. In the 1970s and '80s, BYU always won. It was easier to argue religion (or lack thereof) than arguing about the teams.
At least now football is the largest part of the debate.
Still, for players like former BYU quarterback Jim McMahon, it was never about religion, anyway. His religion was football.
In fact, it was his slightly unchristian gesture that launched a football tradition that remains popular today.
Gimmicks like the "Ickey Shuffle" and the "low five" may come and go, but McMahon's "scoreboard" taunt will live forever in the trash talk hall of fame.
Nobody knows for sure whether McMahon was the first to use "scoreboard" as a taunt. But some who were at the 1980 Utah-BYU game claim that's the case.BYU had won seven of the previous eight against Utah. The Utes managed a 1978 win, but that was just one of two they claimed in a 20-year span.
Cougar fans had begun calling the annual contest "Utah's bowl game."
In 1979, the Cougars shut out the Utes 27-0. But the following season things got worse for Utah. BYU was en route to a 12-1 record, and the outcome was never in doubt at Rice Stadium. BYU rolled to a 56-6 victory.
Late in the game, with the outcome long decided, a contingent of Ute fans was carrying on, having taunted McMahon with obscenities all day. That was no big deal to McMahon, who wasn't above cursing right back.
But this time, after throwing for one of BYU's eight touchdowns, he responded to the hecklers by looking their way and pointing directly to the scoreboard.
Enough said.
It was a move that has been repeated countless times since.
"I remember that he did it a couple of times that year," says his father, Jim McMahon Sr. "He did it at Utah, and he did it in another game I think it was a road game. I had never seen it done before."
Jimmy Mac had introduced the Beehive State and maybe the world to a new and colorful way of shutting up the critics.
Whether he was the first to go "scoreboard" is unprovable. That's like asking whether LaVell Edwards was the first to use the West Coast offense yes, no and maybe. There may have been others, but he helped advance it.
Recent comments
I too went to Byu but only to watch football games and never...
vaase | Nov. 20, 2008 at 9:41 p.m.
You incorrectly used the terms latter and former in your sentence,...
re:re:Ute 8:01 a.m | Nov. 20, 2008 at 4:21 p.m.
Jim McMahon didn't invent the Internet. Al Gore did. Jim McMahon...
Re: Possible Wildcat? | Nov. 20, 2008 at 3:15 p.m.
- Wednesday on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Integration is possible on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Herbert talks land issues in D.C. 12:59 a.m.
- Developer looking to buy RSL share 12:58 a.m.
- Civilians help S.L. officer make arrest 12:58 a.m.
- 5A teams best of decade 12:57 a.m.
- 'Love story' of crash victim ends 12:50 a.m.
- Fire damages Taylorsville home 12:49 a.m.
- American Fork band raises funds 12:49 a.m.
- 4A football: Mustangs vs. Tbirds 12:46 a.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
263 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
149 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
After beating the Knicks in New York on Monday night, Jerry Sloan was...
BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said this morning that placekicker Justin...
So are you saying that women's soccor should evolve into this type of...
The Church has never been about hating gays, or any other group. It has only...
To which I add Amen, and Amen! [Thank you!]
this is going to so much fun? Gee who do i cheer for if REAL plays Galaxy? ...
The great QBs make defenses pay for bringing pressure. Hall offers up...
I completely concur, this exhibition game was supposed to be easy and a blow...
Maybe we should just back up 50 years and do away with all laws etc. passed...
So does Hall enjoy absorbing the contact as Call says, or in Hall's own...
Well put, let it die. A lot people who want the health care bill haven't...
If Jerry studies "game tape" he will see how to beat the Celtics, see Phoenix...


