How many times have you rooted for your rival?

[mpfunk]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond Bay

Never, I intended to when I went to the Fiesta Bowl. My older sister was with me. I couldn't bring myself to actually wear red, which should have been some kind of a sign right there. As soon as the utes ran out on the field and everyone around me started cheering. I looked down there at them, and I just couldn't do it, I couldn't even muster up enough enthusiasm to clap my hands. There was not one little part of me that felt at all inclined to cheer for them. My sister is not nearly as devoted to BYU as I am, but I looked over at her and she was just standing there completely silent with her hands in her pockets. She leaned over and asked "are you really going to cheer for them?" I told her I thought I could, but turns out my blood is bluer than I'd suspected. We cheered for Pitt.

.

Confirms my suspicion that you are more of Ute hater than a BYU fan. I guarantee at least once in your BYU fan life, there has been a game where a Ute victory was more beneficial to BYU than a Ute loss.

[Black Diamond Bay]

Originally Posted by mpfunk

Confirms my suspicion that you are more of Ute hater than a BYU fan. I guarantee at least once in your BYU fan life, there has been a game where a Ute victory was more beneficial to BYU than a Ute loss.

...and exactly how did you manage to extrapolate that erroneous conclusion from that story?

Perhaps it's because I have never cheered for utah. Perhaps you should take into account the fact that the only other teams I can ever remember cheering for aside from BYU are Pitt, and in '00 I went to RES to cheer CSU onto victory over the utes to make me feel better about us losing to SDSU earlier in the day. Misery loves company you know, if I had to feel bad about BYU losing, I wanted the utes to feel bad about losing that weekend too.

Admittedly there have been times when I've hoped the utes would run some other team into the ground because it would make BYU look better once they trounced utah at the end of the season. I most certainly wasn't actively cheering them on, and didn't feel bad about it if they ended up losing, so I hardly think that's even relevant.

I can also in all honesty say that once the u had beat BYU in '03 or whenever it was, I was not at all upset about them going to the BCS bowl, but only because I knew BYU was going to get a nice chunk of money. That's really the only time I can remember thinking that their performance could really yield some significant benefits for BYU.

Don't jump to conclusions that you can't support. If the u was somehow wiped off the face of the earth tomorrow I wouldn't be any less enamored with BYU football.

[RockyBalboa]

I'll admit during the U's improbable Final Four run back in 98' that I was firmly on their side and was happy to see they were dispatching the likes of Arizona and North Carolina en route.

That year, combined with the Jazz back to back Finals visits was a great year for hoops in the state of Utah.

[mpfunk]

Originally Posted by RockyBalboa

I'll admit during the U's improbable Final Four run back in 98' that I was firmly on their side and was happy to see they were dispatching the likes of Arizona and North Carolina en route.

That year, combined with the Jazz back to back Finals visits was a great year for hoops in the state of Utah.

I take exception with calling the Utes final four run improbable. The Utes got that far because they were simply damn good. There was a ton of talent on that team.

Don't forget that team won its first 15 or so games that year, before getting screwed in New Mexico.

[DrumNFeather]

BDB mentioned cheering against Utah after knowing BYU lost. I think that a lot of fans on both sides carry this view. I know I have in the past as well. In a general sense, you want teams in your conference to do well...and you want the rivalry game to be meaningful...but that all goes out the window when your team loses on any given day. As shortsighted a view as that may be...it's 100% true.

[myboynoah]

Is it possible to hate Utah with the same vigor that some Ute Fans appear to hate BYU? I'm trying to think of a scenario under which that might happen, but I honestly cannot do it. Any help out there?

[JohnnyLingo]

I rooted for the Utah bball team in '98 when they made it to the tourney finals. Who can dislike Andre Miller, Doleac, and Mottola? Just hard-working players who didn't run their mouths (as far as I knew).

Never been able to manage it for the Utah football team, however.

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

Is it possible to hate Utah with the same vigor that some Ute Fans appear to hate BYU? I'm trying to think of a scenario under which that might happen, but I honestly cannot do it. Any help out there?

Because you are not a zoob, it is not possible for you to have that hatred. I think you also still have fond memories of your younger days as a Ute fan, so that doesn't help.

[ute4ever]

I am looking into relocating to the Memphis area because (1) I miss my daughter terribly, and (2) I have learned that there is a high probability that my ex has a mental illness called Borderline Personality Disorder.

I already secretly cheer for Memphis to lose, because her millionaire grandparents are club-level donors and the whole family roots for them. In fact, I look forward to secretly cheering for their rival Ole Miss, and taking my daughter to Ole Miss games and enjoying some quality SEC football.

So come this time next year I may have a different answer.

[myboynoah]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

Because you are not a zoob, it is not possible for you to have that hatred. I think you also still have fond memories of your younger days as a Ute fan, so that doesn't help.

Perhaps you are correct. Or maybe I'm just so damned saintly that I can't imagine hating anything. OK, one exception; Celine Dion.