over BYU. The only time I recall ever cheering for Utah was when it played Bama in the Sugar Bowl, and that was only because I hate Bama and the SEC so much, and wanted Utah to bring some recognition to the MWC. I have since repented.

I have a business partner/friend who is a Utah law school grad. He cheers for Utah and travels to games once in a while. His fandom is nothing on par with mine for BYU. However, he's a great guy and is nothing like the typical Utah fan. (By the way, all his sons have attended and graduated from BYU.) Our relationship around BYU/Utah game time is what it really should be for all fans. We have a mutual respect for each other, cheer for our teams, will exchange texts during the game, then will talk about it later. It's all good.

My experience with the Utah fans when I was a BYU student (as recently as 1991) and thereafter was shocking. My poor wife will never enter RES. We travel together to stadiums all over the country for games, but she will not set foot in RES due to past bad experiences. Seriously, Utah could be the five time Super Bowl champs while BYU is winless and there would be no temptation to "switch" loyalty. Under those circumstances, we might travel less, but we would not be investing in Utah as fans - no way, no how.