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This is the loss of innocence. I have no antipathy to the Utes for leaving the MWC and turning their faces towards the Pacific. I would have been very pleased if BYU would have been able to do the same thing. But I can tell you that IMO this change will cause a much greater loss than fans of either school now appreciate.
Fans of these two schools are Utahans. You may be a Ute or cougar fan, but both fan bases are comprised of Utahans. When I use that term here, I don’t mean literally from Utah (I haven’t lived in Utah for over 30 years), I mean someone with a Utah mentality; Someone who is a strange combination of fierce independence and the need to be accepted. Utah was founded largely by pioneers who were rugged and devoted to a cause and who were creative and able survivors in a hard scrabble land. They survived despite the world’s views and opinions and they prospered despite social ostracism. Even so, they always wanted to be accepted by the world and wanted to become part of the mainstream. It is an odd combination that makes us do odd things. Moreover, being ostracized by the world, we turned inward and made due with opportunities we created among our own. .
BYU and Utah is such a great rivalry because it really is a civil war. It is a battle between two great schools and one great people. It is Cain and Abel. It is a rivalry of self. This is why when BYU or Utah played a big game outside of the rivalry, many if not most fans of the other school paid attention and even openly rooted for them. Because even though we wanted to beat them so badly, we still wanted family to do well.
This is now gone. The Utes now see themselves as different, as being accepted, as being part of the mainstream (isn’t this really what all of SU’s bleating has been about the last few weeks?) and they will no longer look at BYU the same way. (Ironically, I don’t think they will ever be accepted within the Pac-12; they will be the Mormon school, the Johnny come latelys. I have a partner who still looks at the AZ schools that way. Utah will be no different. SU is, after all, right about some of this but his hope that the move will allow Utah to leave the baggage of the culture behind will be unfulfilled. Instead, the baggage will only become heavier.)
BYU sees itself as the brother scorned. Left behind to fend for itself. It is proud and, let’s be honest, it saw Utah follow the trail that BYU blazed to a new conference and it is a bitter pill to swallow. This move plays right into all the insecurities that all Utahans have. It is a difficult place to be. BYU will never look at the rivalry the same way again. It is just different.
BYU might go to the Big 12. It might stay in the MWC. It is hard to say. But Utah, having taken this step, cannot help but feel that the rivalry with BYU is somehow slightly beneath it now, that mustering that sort of enthusiasm for a non-PAC-12 team is unseemly. BYU, having been left behind, cannot help but feel abandoned and bitter. Its enthusiasm for the rivalry will be undermined by its own desires to prove that Utah’s move was simply not that important.
The rivalry as we have known it is no more. Like good brothers, we will bid each other farewell and wish each other the best, and we will mean it. But the loss of innocence is irrevocable and the state of feeling is irreplaceable.
So it goes.
Fans of these two schools are Utahans. You may be a Ute or cougar fan, but both fan bases are comprised of Utahans. When I use that term here, I don’t mean literally from Utah (I haven’t lived in Utah for over 30 years), I mean someone with a Utah mentality; Someone who is a strange combination of fierce independence and the need to be accepted. Utah was founded largely by pioneers who were rugged and devoted to a cause and who were creative and able survivors in a hard scrabble land. They survived despite the world’s views and opinions and they prospered despite social ostracism. Even so, they always wanted to be accepted by the world and wanted to become part of the mainstream. It is an odd combination that makes us do odd things. Moreover, being ostracized by the world, we turned inward and made due with opportunities we created among our own. .
BYU and Utah is such a great rivalry because it really is a civil war. It is a battle between two great schools and one great people. It is Cain and Abel. It is a rivalry of self. This is why when BYU or Utah played a big game outside of the rivalry, many if not most fans of the other school paid attention and even openly rooted for them. Because even though we wanted to beat them so badly, we still wanted family to do well.
This is now gone. The Utes now see themselves as different, as being accepted, as being part of the mainstream (isn’t this really what all of SU’s bleating has been about the last few weeks?) and they will no longer look at BYU the same way. (Ironically, I don’t think they will ever be accepted within the Pac-12; they will be the Mormon school, the Johnny come latelys. I have a partner who still looks at the AZ schools that way. Utah will be no different. SU is, after all, right about some of this but his hope that the move will allow Utah to leave the baggage of the culture behind will be unfulfilled. Instead, the baggage will only become heavier.)
BYU sees itself as the brother scorned. Left behind to fend for itself. It is proud and, let’s be honest, it saw Utah follow the trail that BYU blazed to a new conference and it is a bitter pill to swallow. This move plays right into all the insecurities that all Utahans have. It is a difficult place to be. BYU will never look at the rivalry the same way again. It is just different.
BYU might go to the Big 12. It might stay in the MWC. It is hard to say. But Utah, having taken this step, cannot help but feel that the rivalry with BYU is somehow slightly beneath it now, that mustering that sort of enthusiasm for a non-PAC-12 team is unseemly. BYU, having been left behind, cannot help but feel abandoned and bitter. Its enthusiasm for the rivalry will be undermined by its own desires to prove that Utah’s move was simply not that important.
The rivalry as we have known it is no more. Like good brothers, we will bid each other farewell and wish each other the best, and we will mean it. But the loss of innocence is irrevocable and the state of feeling is irreplaceable.
So it goes.
). the rivalry is done. It cannot be rebuilt. In all sincerity I wish Utah the best, may the University and fans be happy with their choice.
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