Why are U fans so obsessed with BYU?
 

Seriously you ever notice how many threads about BYU is started over on Utefans?

A lot.

And they always complain about BYU fans living in the past, yet it's always Utah fans who're bringing it up and talking about it.

You'd think after a decade of mostly kicking our ass in both major sports that they'd get over the inferiority complex by now.

Give it time Rocky, soon you'll see just as many Utah threads (you can see that sometimes now) on cougarboard, unless you have rivalry chat turned off.

i've always wondered the same thing from both boards.

It's everywhere. For example, go to The Hive (GA Tech's board) and it's Georgia this, Georgia that.

One of the Utefans regulars is a Florida fan down south, and occasionally he links to posts from the Florida board, where you read Seminoles this, Seminoles that.

There is a U fan at my work, member of the Church, RM, the whole nine. A discussion about BYU cannot go on in his vicinity without him chiming in on how bad BYU sucks, how Y students are all nerds and dorks, etc.

I try to talk about the up coming football season with other people, college football in general. With him, it always comes down to how bad BYU sucks. Really bizarre.

A bit of irony in this post, no?

Irony of this thread notwithstanding, I must say that I believe that the Utes have a massive inferiority complex. They are one of the few flagship state schools which does not command the allegiance or top billing in their own state. Furthermore, they play second fiddle to an institution which takes pride in its "seperateness." It pisses me off just thinking about the ignominy and I am a cougar fan.
I think all of these things are compounded by the fact that the rivalry is tied up in religion. If you are from Utah the question is inevitable that you will be asked whether you are Mormon, and the focus of the conversation will be about Mormons (either that or skiing). Plenty of Utes are Mormons but many are not and they are frequently irked by this conversation. Cougars come off as arrogant, goody goodies. And many of us are.

This rivalry is unique because of religion. Both fans on the fringe of either side play the religion card - Y zealots are holier than thou and U zealots are religious bigots. I like to mock both.

Because I'm from Utah, I was asked several times if I was a Mormon when I was in school. I answered yes and before they could say anything else, I'd tell them that we wouldn't be happy until we ruled the world. That either caused them to walk away and never talk to me again or set them off on a verbal tirade that made them look like an intolerant buffoon.

I don't think I personally have an inferiority complex, but I do agree that there are far too many Ute fans who do. I try to tell them that if they really want to get under the skin of BYU fans, the best way to do it is with indifference. My kids astounded our home teacher - a die hard BYU fan and a great guy - when he asked them if they knew what the mascot of BYU was. They're answer: Is it Swoop?

I teach them to love Utah and not worry about the Y, save the Saturday they play football.

When I've lived out of the state of Utah, and I told people I was from there, I never minded them asking me if I was Mormon. I don't know why anyone from Utah, Mormon or not, would be irked by this.

It's no different than being from NYC and someone asking you if your a Yankee fan. Even though the Yankees are part of the Satanic Axis of Sports Evil. :)

With your permission, I'm going to start using that. Along those lines, I sent this to my boss yesterday, telling him that we still had room for him.

The Correct Answer

I suspect "the situation in the il Padrino Ute family" became the main topic of the next Sunday's Ward Council meeting.

;) (did I really need this?)

There is so much involved with the rivalry that really goes against reason that it is hard to compare it fairly to other rivalries...and it is mostly due to the religious aspects of the fan bases and student body.

To say that Utah doesn't command the alliegence of the state is over simplifying the issue. BYU is affiliated with the LDS church, whose members comprise a large number of folks in the state...some lds folks place their alliegence with BYU because of their affiliation with the church...so, to suggest that people are simply disinterested in Utah football or the U as a school in general, isn't telling the whole story in my opinion.

As for the inferiority complex that Ute fans supposedly have...I think I've been told that I'm supposed to have one by BYU fans more than I have actually displayed that I feel inferior on the whole. There are those of the BYU ilk (and we all know who they are, names need not be mentioned) who would have you believe that there is something wrong with you if you don't go to BYU. Moreover, said opinion (while not expressed by all alums) is really unfounded and in conversations I've had typically followed up by..."Everyone has the chance to go to BYU...it is their choice to not go by their actions...blah blah blah."

Fine.

Fair point. However, if I express that I'm pleased with the experience I had at the University of Utah, why is that taken to mean that I wouldn't have had a good experience at BYU or that somehow I am stating that BYU is not a good place to go to school? Why not just let it go at that? Now, if I say, well I wouldn't want to go to BYU anyway, I understand where further prodding would come in...but I don't say that. I'm simply happy with where I went to school. My education has served me well and the truth is, where you go to school means very little unless you run into the occasional alumni who will only hire people from your school...(yes, such people are actually in hiring positions).

Back to the point, in a rivalry, talking about your rival is ok, so long as it doesn't take priority over talking about your own team. I don't think that there is any more ore less talk on Utefans about the Cougs than there is Ute talk on CB...and to illustrate my point, I would turn to the Weddle conversations as well as nitpicking everything Whittingham says...just to name a few.

I guess the new contest in the rivalry has become pointing out who is more obsessed...