Okay so my team lost in the last minute again, although this time they had the game won and absolutely blew it. So part of the reason I am writing this is because my team lost. That being said, I have felt this way for a long time, so in case you think this is just an emotional rant sorry, I have thought about this for awhile, I just can't write about my team winning cause it didn't happen.
One of my biggest pet peeves in life is people not cheering for the home team. The reason cities have sports teams is for the locals to cheer for them. If you don't have a team kinda like in Salt Lake for the NFL and MLB, I don't care who you cheer for, but in the NBA, you had better cheer for the Jazz. Nothing can get me going like people cheering for the Lakers that were born here. There is a reason why there are home teams, if not teams could just travel and be like the Harlem Globetrotters where everyone rooted for them. Few things drive me nuts like bandwagon hoppers and unloyal fans.
This leads me to some cougar fans. As a Mormon kid I cheered for BYU, I think just about everyone did except for those with real staunch parents who wouldn't allow for that in their homes. Then I went to the U. Since I was at the U it only made sense that I should cheer for my school. I mean the Y hadn't wanted me, nor could I afford it nor did I really want to go(I mean that really--this is not just about sour grapes). I became a Ute. I cheered for the school I attended, I mean it only makes sense right. If I went to Michigan I would cheer for the Wolverines. I have to admit I get bugged when U students cheer for the Y. I switched because that's what you do, you cheer for the school/team where you live or attend. I grew up as big a Y fan as there is and I changed. Its interesting to think of all the Y fans who weren't accepted there and went to the U yet still cheer for them over the school that accepted them.
Here is your real life scenario. Let's say I always wanted to work for Apple. I loved their products, swore the Mac was better than the PC. Then I went in for an interview with them and didn't get it. So I decide to interview with HP. They hire me give me all their stuff, work at their facility and all. Wouldn't it be stupid at that point to continue with my undying love for Macs? How would my boss feel about me if he knew I really didn't like HP and really liked Macs? It doesn't make sense does it. Yet there are a lot of Mormon kids attentding the U who haven't grown into adults yet.
Another scenario: You always had a crush on this girl in your neighborhood, you finally get up the guts to ask her out and she says no. So you find another girl, she likes you, things work out and all of a sudden you are hitched. But deep down you have this love for this other girl the whole time you are married. If other people knew they would think you were a jerk and that you should love the one you're with and give up your childish fantasies.
You cheer for the school you go to, it would have been stupid of kids from Layton to cheer for Alta. Its stupid for people who live in Utah to cheer for any team other than the Jazz. and its laughable that Y fans go to the U and still cheer for their childhood fantasy.
4 comments:
Jared - you say your team lost in the last seconds. Clearly you did not look at the stats because Utah lost the game by a lot more than the score.
You belong to the mormon church and have longer than the few years you spent at the "U" so shouldn't you support your "home team"?
I think your theory about "Y" fans that go to the "U" not changing their team is a little off base. Especially when the Y is so much more difficult and expensive to get into. Clearly those people would much rather be at the Y and accepted the U as a second choice. Therefore, they are staying loyal to their team aren't they?
Erin here is my response--Utah did lose in the last minute. Stats and scores are two different things. Utah's defense held the Y out of the endzone until the very end. Stats are fun to look at but the final score is all that matters and the U took the lead with 1:34 to go.
So according to you every member should be a Y fan? There is nothing about my membership in the church that says I have to cheer for a certain team. I completely disagree with that sentiment. That's tantamount to saying every mormon athlete should play for the Y, a sentiment that got Roger Reid ridiculed, fired, and ruined Y basketball for years.
If someone really wants to go the Y they should have worked harder in school. I mean you could say the same thing about Harvard or any Ivy League school. You know what it takes to get there if you really want to go you can find a way.
When you went to Davis did you cheer for Layton? I'm guessing no. You had no choice but to go to Davis. People don't have to go to the U if they can't get into the Y there are plenty of other options.
I understand the loyalty thing and for sometime when I was at the U I still had feelings for the Y. I have good friends who cheered for the Y the whole time there. I did not. I remember talking to another friend one time about BYU and he, who is not a sports fan, said "You go to the U, not the Y." It got me thinking, then I went to more and more games, not just football, but basketball and gymnastics and I became a Ute.
Certainly there are no rules to being a fan, and a person's parents have more to do with who you cheer for than anything else, but I believe that you should cheer for the school you go to. It only makes sense.
I don't believe that every mormon should cheer or has to cheer for the "Y". I am just saying that they go to the church and weather you like it or not the "Y" and their sports programs are run and supported by the church so any member could easily consider the "Y" their local or home team or "the one they are with". Most Catholics cheer for Notre Dame and most Mormons cheer for the Y. They consider it their home team. I come from a mormon family that is Y haters so I certainly do not believe that you have to support the Y - just saying that those people who urk you so bad because they go to the U and cheer for the Y may be supporting the one they are with in their minds.
There is a difference between a high school you attend and a college that you pay for to get a degree for your career. For example if I want to be a doctor I am gong to go the U. Doesn't mean I like the U or the liberal ideals that many people associate with the U. Just means that I want to be a doctor and that school happened to offer the best program. I am paying to go there for an education not so I can become a fan of their sports teams.
I did go to Davis. I now live in Northridge territory so who do I cheer for? According to your theory I am not sure if I am to stay loyal to Davis or jump on the bandwagon of my local team. Either way I am either being an unloyal fan or not loving the one that I am with.
Also, I kind of think to compare a marriage to someone and the choice of your sports team is a little off base and not even in the same category.
So I say you should love the team you love. Matt went to Weber and I can assure you he went there for his degree, the convenience, the cost and not for their sports program.
I believe that you have most recently attended Weber so does that mean you will no longer cheer for the U and start supporting Weber? After all, it is the one that you are with.
I was under the impression you were done with high school. Unless you are going to go back to high school I see no reason why you shouldn't remain loyal to Davis.
My analogies were meant to be comical and looking at it from another way. I came up with my analogies as a spur of the moment, its more a Bill Simmons (espn writer) thing.
The last school I attended was Weber, I had to take a class there, but you won't find me cheering for them. Call me a hypocrite I guess, but its hard for me to call what they have as a football team. Plus I didn't pay for my classes and I had no choice but to take them there.
Your points are well taken and I understand them, but having been in a university atmosphere for the five years I was at the U, I would have been remiss to go to games at the U and participate with my fellow students. It would have seemed silly to drive to Provo and pretend I was a cougar. Some of my favorite university memories are of going to games and being with other students my age that I was in classes with and hung out with. I would have hated to miss out on all that because I didn't want to cheer for the U. Had I gone to Washington or UCLA or Nebraska I would have cheered for those teams, but that's just who I am.
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