I think it is OK for in state and out of state fans to differ on many things. I think we can both respect the other's perspective. For example, I moved to South Carolina almost 3 years ago. Until I moved here, I never realized how intense the South Carolina v Clemson rivalry is. Lots of *really* die hard fans on both sides. I see more college football fan gear in the office here than anywhere else. I hear the barbs they constantly throw at each other. I am sure the out of state fans don't view it quite the same, since they don't put up with the rivalry discussions like that. (Though it is not quite as intense right now, since Clemson is up precisely when South Carolina is down. Not much of a contest.)

So I understand BYU fans in Utah living with that, or worse, everyday, they may want a win over Utah badly to get back to an even footing with regard to on-the-field/scoreboard conversation. No matter how good BYU shows themselves to be in other games, when we consistently lose to Utah, the Ute fans can always hold that over them.

I also understand that perspective that outside of the state of Utah, the U of U doesn't get nearly as much attention and credibility as BYU fans give them, especially those in Utah (see above paragraphs). As a main rival, our fan base tends to over focus on them. A win over Utah does not affect the day-to-day work conversations for those outside of Utah. So we tend to think of it as what would be better for the program, not what will help me enjoy tomorrow at work. Perhaps, the BYUSN question should have been posed as "Which would be better for the program . . . ", instead of the personal "Which would you prefer . . ."

The same can be said for recruiting discussions. As a fan outside of Utah, I don't care about in-state Utah-based recruits any more than other recruits. But it may be that in state fans hear about a certain player blowing up other teams and so they want them on the team. Also, Utah has a higher % LDS players, so we all assume BYU has a better shot at players for Utah, Idaho, etc. I am a Cougar Club member, but I don't really care about season ticket conversations, except that we all support the team as best we can. I care more about early start times, football games starting at 10 PM EDT suck for me. (So different than when I lived in CA.) Its OK for us to have different priorities as fans with different backgrounds and perspectives.

As the church population and view of the members moves more and more away from Utah (there are many more members outside of Utah than in it), we will likely see the same for the BYU fan base. So we need to understand each other's points of view and acknowledge them instead of eating our own. Out of state fans need to understand that it is different living in Utah and those in state perspectives are totally valid from their point of view. Many of us would likely hold the same view, if we lived there. In state fans need to realize that their is a different, less insular view coming from those who live out of state, which is equally valid and likely to grow in influence as the church population continues to grow. Calling everywhere outside of Utah "The mission field" demonstrates this insular view.

To quote the profound and wise Rodney King "Why can't we all just get along?"