What the Pop-Tarts Bowl Taught Me About My Personal Mental Health

I’m a huge BYU fan. Always have been.

I’m also an author, a writer, and a social worker. I don’t say that in a look-at-me type of way. I say it because I genuinely enjoy taking sports and translating them into life lessons, especially around mental health. Sports make things tangible. They make abstract ideas real.

So if that’s your jam, keep reading.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl was awesome. It got a ton of national attention, it was chaotic in the best way, and it was cool seeing people rally behind BYU Cougars football. Games like that are why we love college football. Emotion, momentum, frustration, belief. All of it wrapped into one night topped of with Kalani karate chopping a pop tart. What a sport.

But instead of breaking down the whole game, I want to focus on one thing and one person.

Bear Bachmeier and the Next Right Thing

I’ll be honest. I’ve had my doubts about Bear Bachmeier. I’ve seen the ups and downs. I’ve seen the inconsistency. I’ve questioned decisions, reads, and execution, just like a lot of fans do.

But what stood out to me in the Pop-Tarts Bowl wasn’t perfection. It was something much more important.

It was his ability to do the next right thing regardless of the mistakes made.

There were mistakes everywhere in that game.

• A dropped punt by Cody Hagen

• The defense getting caught on a fake field goal

• Questionable moments in play-calling

• An interception thrown in the end zone trying to force something that wasn’t there

Mistakes across the board. By everyone.

I’d even argue that Kalani Sitake, who I don’t know personally at all, would be the first to say that nobody played a perfect game. And I personally believe that no one will ever play perfect.

And here’s the point to that for all of us to remember, including myself: mistakes are going to happen.

Bear wasn’t trying to throw an interception. Just like in real life, we’re usually not trying to mess up. We’re not trying to eat poorly. We’re not trying to snap at our kids. We’re not trying to avoid responsibility or cut corners. But when we get led by our feelings: fatigue, frustration, ego, fear… that’s when things start to slip and we can compound mistakes and put us in a rut.

Feelings vs Principles

This is where the mental health lesson hit me.

When we live by feelings, we react.

When we live by principles, we respond.

Bear made mistakes. So did the team. But they didn’t spiral. They didn’t fold. They didn’t abandon who they were trying to be.

They reset.

That matters.

Thats culture and philosophy.

BYU had plenty of excuses that night:

• Their quarterback got hurt early

• They were missing LJ Martin

• There was outside noise about coaches leaving

• Momentum swung back and forth

Sound familiar?

We all have excuses in our day-to-day lives. Fatigue. Stress. Circumstances. History. Past mistakes.

But excuses don’t change the principle.

Hard work still matters.

Consistency still matters.

Honesty still matters.

Integrity still matters.

Bringing It Back to You and Me

I see this in my own life all the time.

Sometimes I get lazy.

Sometimes I cut corners.

Sometimes I’m not fully honest with myself.

Sometimes I don’t put my whole heart into my work.

That’s on me. But the lesson isn’t shame. The lesson is awareness. The lesson is asking one simple question:

What’s the next right thing? What is the right call?

Not perfection.

Not quitting or self handicapping, which I am king of.

Not fixing everything at once.

Just the next right thing.

That’s what impressed me about Bear Bachmeier and this BYU team really the whole season. They didn’t play perfect football. They played principled football. They stayed grounded. They stayed present. They stayed ready for the next snap.

And that’s a mental health skill.

Final Thought

So here’s what I’ll leave you with:

Where in your life are you being led by feelings instead of principles?

Where are you making one mistake and letting it dictate the rest of your day?

Where could you pause, reset, and simply do the next right thing?

That’s what the Pop-Tarts Bowl taught me, not just about football, but about my own mental health.

And honestly, that’s why I love sports and get inspired by this stuff. One love, Go Cougs.

Read a book.