A House Party Divided

What it’s like to watch a BYU vs Utah Football game among friends and fans of each team in Utah.

A week before the big game, my wife and I were invited to watch with some of my coworkers who are all good friends outside the office. The whole week before the game the BYU fans seemed doubtful that they would have any chance at all against the newly crowned Pac-12 South Champion Utah Utes. The Utah fans all tried to act like they didn’t care about the game and that the game that really mattered was the Pac-12 Championship the following week. They said it so much that I started to believe them.

Then We showed up at the house party on the night of the game. Everyone had their team colors on yet, there was certain calmness in the air. I am not a huge fan of either team, but if I had to say who I was rooting for I’d say the Utes. I played basketball against Jason Shelley while we were both living in Dallas and it was easy to see how great of a young man he really is. So, I hoped he had a good game for the Utes in what would be only his 3rd start of his career. That being said, I still did not have a lot of emotional investment in this game. That is what made the game so entertaining for me.

When BYU jumped out to an early lead off the bad punt I could see the cautious excitement building in the die-hard BYU fans in the room. You could tell they didn’t want to jump the gun and start talking trash. But, then they scored again and had a two-possession lead. That s when the comments started to slowly roll out. The Cougar fans began to get testy while I heard bets from Utah fans like, “No way we lose! I will come back to church if Utah doesn’t come back and win.”

It was a hilarious first half. I could feel the joy coming through the Cougar fans yet there was still a sense of anxiety from them as if they still weren’t convinced by the 20 point lead they took into halftime.

From the Utah side of things, I was already hearing comments like, “If we sill had Huntley we wouldn’t be in this position.” Every Ute fan was talking about how the team must have simply looked over the Cougars and were focussed on next weeks game. That is when the arguments really got heated. BYU fans felt slighted and responded saying, “you don’t overlook your in-state rivals when it’s BYU vs Utah.” I think I even heard one BYU fan say “That’s Bull****!”

All in all, when the Utes came back and won the game in the second half, it was an amazing ride. People were yelling and screaming at the refs, coaches, and each other for a full hour. I could feel the Utah fans wondering if they would have enough time or if they would be able to stop the BYU offense that moved the ball at will early on. I could feel the BYU fans thinking, “not again, we  can’t blow this one.”

I hope that everyone gets to experience the game like that sometime, It made the game way more entertaining. My wife even enjoyed herself and she hates football. So, if you are a big fan invite some friends who root for the other side next year. I promise it will be fun, win or lose.

Comment below to tell me the most hilarious thing that you saw during the game.