The Nation's Greatest and Worst Rivalry Add Comment    Jan 25, 2010

The Utah-BYU rivalry is quite possibly the most bitter and vitriolic rivalry in all of College Football.

Now please, when I write this, keep in mind that I'm not so much a sports writer, as I am an observer of the human condition, as expressed through sports.  So you might have another rivalry in mind as THE rivalry to end all rivalries.  Maybe Army-Navy.  Notre Dame-USC.  Alabama-Auburn.  Even the Miami-Florida-Florida State trifecta.  If you do a Google Search for College Football Rivalries, you'll find the BYU-Utah rivalry is barely a blip on the national radar screen.

But I've been around. 

I've traveled the country from coast to coast, living in over 25 states and traveling through another 22 or so.  And everywhere I go, I put my ear to the ground and listen for conflict.

I've heard it all. 

In Northwest Georgia, for example, it was the Dogs & Vols, with every single local radio and TV commercial somehow geared to capitalize on the shared animosity.  Understated nationwide, but admirable in the devotion shown by each side in that on-going grid iron war between Georgia and Tennessee.  Or there's the Arizona State-Arizona feud, the age old Duel in the Desert, where sundrenched fans scream for blood in the quest for the Territorial Cup.

But even the worst of these rivalries tend to simmer down within a couple of months of the victor walking off the field with their helmets held high above their heads.

In Utah, in never dies down.

I see it all around me, all the time, from the most unlikely parties. 

Mothers with 5 kids in tow, scowling at Ute T-Shirts on display at the mall as they walk by, heading for the parking lot, keys out and ready and dangling from an over-sized "Y"key ring.  Dignified Utah businessmen in their $1000 suits, shopping for $150 ties downtown at the Gateway, careful not to buy anything with blue in it.

When I first adopted Utah as my home state a few years back, I didn't understand the dangerous nature of this feud.  I poked and prodded my friends good-naturedly, harmless in my intent.  I soon learned I was playing with fire.

There was the Ute girl I dated.  She wouldn't even call BYU by name; they were only "the team down south."  I would smile mischievously.  "You mean... BYU??" I would say, shouting the name enthusiastically, and laughing.

That relationship didn't last long.

You'd think I would would have caught on, but I'm a slow learner, though.  This year, with Facebook as a tool, I relentless taunted my BYU friends after the Max Hall post-game sore-winner press conference debacle, teasing them that their Quarterback had somehow put the entire program on the defensive, after a WIN!

The next time I logged on, I noticed my friends list was substantially smaller.  Some of these friends are only just now starting to come around; others have just rejected my new friend requests flat-out.  (Never mess with a girl whose online nickname is "#1 Anti-Ute.")

I'm learning, though, little by little.  Another Facebook friend posted up pictures of his new Utah license plates on his new car.  He had removed the plates, and colored "Utah" blue, instead of the red it came in.  He posted before and after pictures, with the caption "I can't have any red on my car."  These pictures were begging for mockery!  But I resisted.  He's forgiven me once already; I doubt there will be a second chance.

No, the venom in this feud never circulates out of their bloodstreams, not like in other rivalries, where by late January, they can sit down and have a beer together over an NFL Play-off game.  Not only can they not have the beer in Utah; here, they can't even stomach the sitting-down-together part. 

In Utah, the rivalry is Forever.

Article written by

Steven Rosbach

Jeremy Vick

January 25, 2010 11:15am

Funny thing is, my son's basketball coach wanted to get the boys to name the team. The coach said the three names you can choose form are BYU, Utah and the Tigers. Keep in mind he is a BYU fan. He had the boys vote with their eyes closed. The majority voted for Tigers to be the name. 90% did. The end result, he said they all chose BYU as the name. So, think about this. All the parents saw how the boys voted, we were all happy for the vote to keep the rivalry out of it. Then coach does that, acts like a typical BYU fan, a moron (not Mormon). So then you should have heard all the parents. We all said, let's keep it what the boys want, Tigers. He laughed and said fine, but he was not happy. What an idiot.