Mormons Like the BYU-Utah Football Rivalry

For Mormons who like football and even for some who do not, the BYU-University of Utah rivalry is the stuff that defines fall. Most Mormons root for BYU though some--particularly Mormons raised in Salt Lake City--cheer for Utah. There are also those who root for Utah who really have no connection with the university or Salt Lake City. What's there story? "They are people who had really bad home teachers," BYU fans will tell you.

How do Mormons root for their team? Not much differently than other people, with one major caveat--no alcohol. Please note, even though Mormons do not drink and cheer, this does not stop them from acting like raving drunks when a call does not go their way. In the heat of the moment, freakin' and fetchin' can easily morph into words that would even make J. Golden Kimball blush.

The Sunday after the game, you will see gloating. Guys who supported the winning team will really let it loose and wear tie with their team's colors to church.

There really have been some great personalities over the years that have made the BYU-Utah rivalry worth following. Jim McMahon played for BYU. Anyone who is familiar with both of the nouns in the prior sentence will recognize this made for a lot of fun. (He was a player known for mooning the press after he was asked about how an injury on his buttocks was healing.) Steve Young--the poster boy of the FaMos (Famous Mormons) also played for the Y. BYU and the U have also had great coaches over the years. LaVell Edwards took BYU to a national championship and has a classic Mormon name. Urban Myers, before he left for Florida, helped Utah break into one of the coveted BCS bowl games. (While Urban Myers seems to be a pretty decent guy from afar, many Mormons, particularly those who root for BYU, distrusted him immediately due to his name. He would been much more warmly received among these folks had he been named Suburban Myers.) The teams have had great mascots in the past but not so much anymore. BYU has always had a cougar named Cosmo (CauseMo is an appropriate alternative spelling). But, he used to be a lot cooler when he looked like a plush patsy. Utah has a mascot (the Ute Indians) that, due to politically correctness, the university has been trying desperately to forget and supplant with a hawk with the somewhat lame name of Swoop.

This year the BYU-Utah game is particularly big because both BYU and Utah are nationally ranked. Utah is going into the game with a lot of momentum and BYU, as always, is coming to the game with a lot of MoMentum. This year, Utah has a higher rank--having cracked the top-ten--and will likely get another BCS bowl game bid if it wins. BYU has only a single loss at this time and is banking on a tried and true Utah tradition--choking when it comes to playing BYU.

Oddly, despite the fact that it will probably be one of the biggest games during rivalry week, many Mormons are scrambling to figure how to watch the game. This is because the Mountain West Conference made an exclusive deal with a station--the Mountain--that only about thirteen televisions across the country can pick up. This is bound to lead some Mormons to brave the world of sports bars just to watch the game. So, if there is anyone out there who knows how to pick up Saturday's game, I know that many Mormons would appreciate hearing about it in the comments.