After BYU beat the U at the football rivalry game Saturday, quarterback Max Hall said he hated everything about the U and referred to the school and everyone related to it as “classless.” Even though he issued an apology Sunday night, the Frankenstein monster that is fan backlash was already alive and unstoppable.
Cody Rogers, a junior in political science, started the Facebook group “Max Hall is Classless,” which had grown to nearly 7,900 members as of Monday evening.
Rogers said he initially invited about 30 of his friends.
“It just snowballed from there,” he said.
Inspired by Internet celebrity Chris Crocker, Josh Post, who has been a Utah football season-ticket holder for more than 15 years, made and uploaded onto Youtube a satirical video of himself pleading for everyone to just “leave Max Hall alone.”
Splashing water onto his face to give himself fake tears, Post referred to Hall’s critics in the video as “fatherless children” who just want to bash him.
“I think he’s an idiot,” Post later said about Hall, saying that he thinks Hall’s comments were hypocritical.
But Hall has his defenders at the U. At least once a week, Chris Welsh, a U grad student, comes to the U campus sporting BYU blue.
“There’s nothing I like seeing more than a Utes loss,” he said.
ot even Hall’s post-game conference comments this weekend could deter him from continuing his tradition. Welsh could be seen hanging out at the Union on Monday, wearing a BYU shirt and hat.
“I brought my umbrella,” Welsh joked, referring to Hall’s claim that Ute fans poured beer on his family.
Welsh said though he thinks Hall shouldn’t have made a sweeping generalization about the U, he still thinks Hall’s comments had some merit.
“I stand by Max Hall,” Welsh said. “I have strong feelings against Utah, especially the football team.”
Nai Fotu, a junior Utah defensive end, said he was offended by being called classless.
“I couldn’t believe he said that,” Fotu said. “I feel disrespected.”
Fotu said he thinks it’s good that Hall apologized for his comments, but he should have thought before talking like that.
“We can be enemies on the field, but when the game is done, we’re back to friends,” Fotu said, referencing the close friendship he has with BYU running back Harvey Unga.
“I just have a hard time reacclimating myself into society,” Post said sarcastically about how he is handling the fact that Hall hates him. “I’m hoping my psychiatrist has enough hours in the day to be able to work me back into a good, outstanding member of society.”