Farewell to Fair-Weather MWC Utes Fans: Stop Loving Utah because You Hate BYU

Now that Utah is on its way to the Pac-10, I sure hope a contingent of fellow Ute fans fades into the background: BYU Haters.

You know who I’m talking about.

They are the fair-weather knuckleheads that align themselves with my beloved U of U because they dislike Mormons or Brigham Young University, not because they have any connection to Utah.

Without any affiliation to the university (aside from proximity, potentially) and no alma mater of their own to cheer for (that semester-and-a-half at SLCC doesn’t count), they root for the Utes with angst-ridden vigor.

Frankly, I’d rather not have them on our side.

Would you love and drive a BMW just because you hate a Lexus? Would you convert to Judaism just because you dislike Islam? Would you marry a girl simply because you dislike her sister?

Maybe I’m stretching, but at the end of the day I get no satisfaction in watching people cheer for my team out of hatred for another. Didn’t we stop doing stuff like that when we were eight years old?

Then there’s the religious aspect. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into arguments at Rice-Eccles Stadium when BYU was visiting, because my fellow fans were making crude remarks about the Mormon faith, one which I, as well as hundreds of thousands of other Utes ascribe to.

Sadly, I’m usually the only one with enough guts to defend my religion.

If these “fans” had ever actually stepped foot on the campus on The Hill, they would see that Mormon and non-Mormon Utes walk hand-in-hand (literally, sometimes) and put our religions aside in our quest to win two more BCS games than our brothers down south. But they just can’t get past it.

Sure, we all may stand united in our hatred for the L.A. Lakers, but at least it’s because they have gotten the best of our Utah Jazz lately. It’s not for some misguided religious paradigm.

True Ute fans love the University of Utah because it’s great, not just because they hate BYU. If your connection to the U is based on your dislike of BYU, we’d rather not have you at all. Just stick with your Denver Broncos.

And, please, leave religion out of it.