The rivalry between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah has existed since ancient times, even before the Internet.
In the 1890s, the two schools played their first sporting match, a baseball game, which ended in a scoreless tie and a bench-clearing brawl.
These noble founding fathers paved the way for loathing between the two schools8212;now one of the nation’s longest-standing rivalries.
A similar brawl took place in the 1980s, after the U’s pitcher threw a fastball into the BYU dugout. With nostalgia in their hearts, the players cleared the benches once more.
Such occurrences illustrate two keys to the BYU-Utah rivalry:
1. Some things never change.
2. A baseball thrown into the dugout is almost always interpreted as hostile.
There are people who argue that the U is superior, despite strong evidence8212;such as logic and truth8212;to the contrary. However, in an effort to be fair and balanced, it might be profitable to list the good and potentially bad things about each school. Here are some of the most important things to consider:
1. BYU will always be the football school here in Utah, simply because it has done something the U will never do8212;win a national championship in football. Thanks to the Bowl Championship Series, the U will never have the chance.
2. BYU has a nationally-ranked law school, as well as a nationally-ranked MBA program.
3. In hand-to-hand combat, a cougar could kill a Ute any day.
4. BYU has a history of great quarterbacks.
5. The U has a history of great zone defense, particularly against last-second touchdown attempts and fourth-and-18 situations.
6. BYU, because of its powerhouse men’s volleyball team, was chosen as the site for this year’s Men’s Volleyball NCAA Championship game.
7. The U was chosen as the burial site for the great Indian chief Flying Horse, buried after his dismal defeat to Sitting Bull in 1492 (this might have been chosen before the U was technically built).
8. BYU boasts the sixth-best college library in the nation, according to the Princeton Review, with five floors of material and more than 3 million volumes.
9. The U boasts that once, in kindergarten, it ate a cricket to impress a girl it liked.
10. BYU claimed its place as best value for college in 2007.
11. Since 1972, the BYU football team has won 25 of the rivalry matchups, compared to the Utes’ 11.
12. Osama bin Laden went to the U.
The list goes on and on.
It has often been said, “A champion is never content with yesterday’s victories.” At this point, the saying gets cut off, but it was meant to finish, “A true champion is content with two years of past victories, and looks forward to one more.”
This year, it will be determined once again which school is champion. Once again, both teams will have mud and blood on their faces, but only one will have the victory.
And once again, half the state will be overjoyed, while the other half will be stuffing their remotes into the toaster. Some things never change.
Editor’s Note8212;Mike Schreiner is a junior in international relations at Brigham Young University.
Mike Schreiner