The BYU/Utah Rivalry

I am a long time fan of BYU, and to a lesser degree, the University of Utah. (I know that's not supposed to be possible . . . yaddy, yaddy, yadda . . . My critics can believe what they want.) And, a few years ago, I had an experience that illustrates for me what is wrong with the BYU/Utah rivalry:

I was sitting in Rice-Eccles Stadium watching Urban Meyer, Alex Smith, Eric Weddle and Company take-on the Wyoming Cowboys. I was there to observe the Ute's outstanding execution and to cheer them on to victory. But, what struck me was how a certain group of vocal fans in front of me were there, apparently, for totally different reasons:

1) To hang out with their buddies.
2) Get drunk. (They smuggled in booze.)
3) Act rowdy. (They were throwing candy and peanuts at people below them in the stands.)
4) And, boo BYU -- who wasn’t even playing!

One of them wore a T-shirt depicting Calvin (from the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbs") urinating on the BYU logo. And, every few minutes they would stand up, toot a kazoo, and rattle off some cheer ending with the words: "BYU sucks!" In their minds, they probably liked to think of themselves as being "great Utah fans." But, the reality is that they were not even watching what was happening on the field. From what I witnessed, they could not have cared less about the University of Utah and the team that represents that fine school. Rather, what they were really all about was rebelling against the dominant Mormon culture, and using BYU as a surrogate for their expressions of bigotry.

That is what is so disgusting about the BYU/Utah rivalry -- the hatred, and the extreme incivility.

I wish that this was only a problem with a few "bad Utah fans." The truth is that there are thousands of BYU fans who behave in as equally reprehensible ways. For example, I was totally ashamed of the way some of them booed MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson when he presented the football team with its championship trophy last year. At least the small group of drunk Utah fans that I sat behind could blame alcohol for some of their boorish behavior. But, the sober BYU fans, who so poorly represented their school, can only blame their own lack of Christian ethics.

Apparently, too many of us are more concerned about watching satellite TV than we are with reading the scriptures. How embarrassing. May we all repent, regardless of the colors we wear.