Jimmer Fever

There's been a lot of buzz about Jimmer. Haven't heard of him? Well, where have you been?

Jimmer is currently the leading scorer in college basketball AND he plays for MY Alma Mater. Well, I'm a fan. But who isn't? I guess "Michelle" isn't. (wondering who Michelle is? She's famous now. Read on!) She thinks it's "idol worship" (probably due to the Jimmer's giant head- literally speaking, not figuratively.

At the last game, a few students blew up a picture of Jimmer's head and proudly walked up and down the stadium stairs until an events staff member took it away. Who could blame them?)

Well, soon after "Michelle" wrote to the daily universe:

Letter: Idol worship

Mon, 02/07/2011 - 21:02

"I can’t walk across campus without hearing Jimmer Fredette’s name a dozen times. His name comes up everywhere: in class, at work, during lunch … really, people? Cut it out with the Jimmer worship. Last time I checked, idol worship was very much frowned upon in the scriptures.

Don’t you have a life to live? Then quit wasting it in front of the TV or in lines at the Marriott Center.

At the very least, stop trying to convert those of us who don’t follow BYU sports and don’t care that baseball and badminton are two different things. Pushing basketball on us isn’t going to make us like it any better.

I’m not blaming Jimmer for all this; was it Nephi’s fault in the Book of Mormon when his brothers worshiped him? As far as I’m concerned, Jimmer is perfectly free to live his dreams. If he reaches his goals and lives his dreams, more power to him. I would like the same courtesy from his fans: let me live my own dreams in peace, even if they don’t include ever sitting in the Marriott Center screaming my brains out."

Michelle Peralta

Apple Valley, Calif.

Michelle was so fed up with "Jimmer Worship" that she posted a comment whining about it on her facebook page. Response? Try over 600 responses. The letter and the Facebook thread drew national attention. ESPN.com found it hilarious, as did CBSSports.com. It was mentioned in the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Rivals.com and NBCSports.com. It was also published on this blog. Can you believe it? The responses to Michelle's Facebook post are pretty hilarious.

Examples:

"Have you heard about this guy named Jimmer Fredette? He is the one and true basketball player at BYU. If you are interested, I could send a couple of our representatives to tell you more about The Jimmer"

After reviewing Michelle's Facebook page and her photos, one person commented "Your husband looks like a Hispanic Jimmer."

"Wow, glad I finally finished reading this thread. Now I can brush my teeth, pray to Jimmer, and go to bed."

And the last comment: "Your facebook page has been Jimmered. If you don't know what that means, ask Tre'von Willis."

After that comment, Michelle completely deleted her facebook page (go here to see it). Poor girl. Probably borders on cyber bullying. Although, I'm not really sure what she expected...

All I know is, Randy and I are listening to the Air Force game now and will be at the BYU Utah game Saturday cheering on Jimmer (and all of our other favorite team members). We've caught the fever. Go BYU!