What I enjoyed most were the years when our rivals to the north hated us in their customary fashion, but most of our fan base didn't really "root against them," because we were so much better that we just didn't care. That was fun, and the ideal relationship with ones' rivals, IMO.

Our "rival" high school was kind of a similar situation. They fired their entire coaching staff once for failing to score on us for 2 or 3 years (including a year when they were unbeaten and ranked 2nd in the state). We were their white whale, they were a team we thought about for a few days each year right before playing them. Of course, we rarely beat the larger school who we considered to be our real "rival," who in turn, largely ignored us. It was a situation quite similar to the old WAC, with BYU dominating schools who loathed it while having greater aspirations that were occasionally reached....

Even though the Utes are moving in a similar direction when it comes to their performance vs. BYU on the football field, it will never be the same as the Lavell 70's and 80's. Whether they admit it or not, Utah by and large defines itself in comparison to BYU. We've always been in their heads, and there we will remain, quite possibly for eternity. The reverse isn't true in Provo. We are who we are, and we don't need the Utes to prove anything to ourselves. Now, if we could only start giving Utah's football program losses again, that would be nice.