And it is a grating mentality to deal with that I can see turning people bitter towards BYU (For reasons entirely independent from religion). Especially in the case that it's accurate.

Side note: I agree with SPORTS' post that hating people for being Mormon is unmerited. And I find his comparison to the victim blaming that happens with women to be well said. I am basically responding to the quote from the linked thread. So it's like 2 original-posts removed at this point.

Referring back to my subject line, it's happened no less than a dozen times since I graduated from college that I have been chatting with BYU fans/alumni, and the casual conversation of "what did you study," "where did you go to school" comes up, and when I say I went to Utah, the very next comment they make is about how hard it is to get into BYU. About half the time I let it go, but the other half of the time, I ask "what do you mean? BYU's not THAT hard to get into." And it comes out that they assumed that I went to Utah because I couldn't get into BYU.

It's an innocent mistake, but nonetheless a mentality that exists among many BYU fans that Mormons who went to Utah/USU (or any number of state schools) went there because they weren't smart enough (or often received as "not good enough") to get into BYU. This mentality, albeit probably unintentional (most of the time) gives off an "I'm smarter (and therefore 'better') than you" vibe. It's independent from religion, and a mentality that I have observed to be not uncommon among BYU fans/students/alumni. (Not so much from BYU fans that I have become friends with, mostly acquaintances that I realize by the end of the conversation that this is definitely the last conversation I will have with this person)

I used to be offended about it, but then I grew up and realized "That's a stupid thing to get offended about, especially since I got into BYU and chose to go to Utah." But for others that went to Utah/USU/Weber/ECU/SLCC etc. because they legitimately couldn't get into BYU, I can easily see this mentality pushing them to dislike BYU fans and eventually hate BYU. And it has nothing to do with religious bigotry. Insecurity, yes. Religious bigotry, no.