Diary of a Utah Fan

So I survived my trip into Provo last night, I wish the Utes could say the same thing. Unfortunately, Utah came up short in a 26-23 OT loss to the cougs. The score may make it look like it was a great game, a real barn burner, but that couldn't be further from the truth. This game was UGLY.

Utah got off to a quick start, but stalled in the red zone twice and could only walk away with two field goals. After that it became a penalty fest. I have no idea how many flags we saw in the game, but the fact that the Utes were flagged 3 times for interfering with the returner is a good indication of how sloppy they played.

The cougs didn't play much better, but they managed to convert in the "blue zone" with a couple of TDs and they took control of the game in the 3rd quarter with a 20-6 lead. It was a good Utah 4th that evened the game with 35 seconds remaining.

Once it got to OT though you knew the game was lost. byu is built for a college OT. Getting the ball on the 25 is nothing for them and when Utah only kicked a 5th field goal on our chance the game was over.

So the Utes finished 9-3. In a rebuilding year, with a freshman QB, a back up running back, and a bunch of new guys on D - we finished 9-3. Our only three losses came on the road against top 25 ranked teams, two of which are in the top 10 right now. You have to feel good about your team's future when you battled this year against good teams (TCU excluded) and had chances to win on the road.

I only wish byu fans could feel as good about their team. Going to the game in Provo is absolutely amazing. The fans around us hated almost everything about their team. Throughout the game they complained so much about Max Hall, Bronco Mendenhall, Robert Anae, and Chambers (the kick return guy) that I thought they were the Utah fans. Russell actually turned around and commented, "You guys make it really easy to be Utah fans. You complain so much about your team, we don't have say anything." It was unbelievable the things I heard from the people around us.

Now, maybe I sat amongst a unique part of the crowd, but I was horribly unimpressed. The guy behind us starting pounding on our chairs and swearing at Bronco to call a timeout with 45 seconds left in the game. I thought we were going to have to call security. And they claim that Utah fans are the ones without class? I guess the fans don't have good examples to follow when the players make post game comments like these:

“I don’t like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans. I hate everything,” BYU QB Max Hall said. “It felt really good to send those guys home. I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless,” Hall continued. “They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don’t respect them and they deserved to lose.”

Wow. Way to go Max Hall. I sat through 4 hours of listening to your own fans complain about how much they hate you and maybe now I know why. I'm sure some of the Utah fans were classless last year, but they didn't make your throw 5 interceptions. It's takes a lot of class to make comments like those after a 12-32 game in which you threw for 135 yards. You really put Utah in their place.

I actually enjoyed the game a lot. It was fun to watch the Rivalry again and to witness the Utes stage a great comeback. I can't say I enjoyed the experience of listening to cougar fans and players "celebrate" their win.

Stay Classy, Provo.