I gotta tell you, the discussions don't impress me much. Who cares who is little brother to whom? Of all the things to worry about. I like BYU for several reasons, but whether we're viewed as the big brother or little brother seems to be sort of a "so what" thing.
From my experience, Ute fans seem more inclined toward the in-your-face behavior, not the least of which includes the voluminous car stickers, non-game-day-flag-waving, loud team colors at church functions, testimony or talk discussions of the rivalry, and so on. If that's little brother, or the other way around, I'm not sure whether it matters.
As for the rivalry game, let history be the judge if it was a wise move on the part of Utah. I think Kyle really wants to believe that the Utah program is bigger than the rivalry, and I really want him to believe it. Nothing sets people up to fail more than a little hubris. I suspect opting out of the rivalry game will prove to be an errant move, but that's just a gut reaction. I am good either way on playing them.
That said, neither one of these issues is a particularly useful way to seek validation of the program. The PAC12 wanted a sticker-donning fan base in a marginal tv market, and they got them.
I like what BYU is doing, and where they are heading. That's more what interests me.
Happy Memorial Day.
