This week is a special edition of the Know Your Ship Podcast presented by eHub! As we prepare for our local college football rivalry, the BYU vs. Utah game, host Frank Dolce and guest Hans Olson, BYU Football Broadcaster, dive into a comprehensive and highly entertaining discussion of the legendary matchup. Covering the history of the rivalry, standout moments, iconic coaches, unforgettable plays, and stories of personal encounters, Frank and Hans leave no stone unturned. In this episode, you’ll hear candid takes, historical context, and deep insights into the unique religious, cultural, and competitive aspects that make this rivalry one of a kind. And, of course, plenty of laughs and banter that only Hans and Frank can deliver. Grab some wings, settle in, and enjoy this special edition of Know Your Ship. It’s rivalry week, and it doesn’t get any better than this! Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share your thoughts on this week’s episode.Powered by www.ehub.comConnect with us! https://linktr.ee/knowyourshipConnect with Hans Olsen and BYU!Hans’ X: https://x.com/975hansHans’ KSL Bio: https://kslsports.com/499154/byu-football-hans-olsen-radio-game-analyst-greg-wrubell/BYU Football’s Website: https://byucougars.com/sports/footballUtah Football’s Website: https://utahutes.com/sports/football
welcome to the know your ship podcast presented by ehub I’m your
host Frank Dolce hey everybody Welcome to the know your ship podcast Frank
Dolce here special guest is that really the name of it did you really just
intro it that was the intro I was in the middle of intro it but then unlike
any other guest that I’ve ever had you interrupted know your ship oh okay all
right the know your ship podcast okay e-hub is a shipping and Logistics
technology company you don’t need to explain what ehub is to me I’m a big fan
of Frank Dolce I’ve read and researched the depths of ehub how much time did
it take you to read and research all of that uh how much time the time it
took for somebody in this office to insult me and say I need to do this
podcast with a bag on my head oh did you hear that I apologize for what
anybody like to admit to maybe saying that out in the crowd someone one of
our Marketing Executives said I should wear a bag on my head while we do this
I think she just made like a like a light suggestion like it’s Halloween why
don’t you put a bag on your head she said your head looks like an ugly
cabbage we might as well bag it with a brown bag it looks like you’re a
wrestler with those Cabbage Patch ears put on a yeah she didn’t anyways she
didn’t this is the one and only H Olsen here with us today this is a special
edition of the know your ship podcast because it’s rivalry week and we just
thought it would be fun to do the Rivalry and in the state of Utah I think
the Rivalry the Utah BYU rivalry is unique and you’ve been around football
your whole life you’ve been around the country you’ve been involved in
rivalry games am I correct in that is the Utah BYU rivalry unique outside of
I mean relative to to Collegiate football extremely cuz you have other rival
extremely and I’ve been around a lot of different rivalries and I’ve had
teammates in the rivalries um and nothing is close to what BYU and Utah is uh
there were there were multiple times like when I was with the Colts team
mates that were Miami Michigan and Rivals from different teams in those
locker rooms the way they would interact Ohio State Michigan teammates
watching the way they’d interact and and act around each other during their
rivalry week it’s it’s nothing like by Utah and you know why uh it’s the
religious Factor oh I was going to say because Utah has been so dominant no
it’s the religious Factor oh and it’s those things that get implemented into
this rivalry that I think causes the level of disdain because BYU is the BYU
is the righteous it’s the chosen one yeah and Utah are the the what the black
sheep that’s a nice way of putting it yeah they’re they’re the Sinners the
Sinners yeah Sinners and the Saints and as it were and there’s this really
strange undercurrent of people trying to act their brand that causes this
thing to be so toxic yeah but that’s the funny that’s the funny thing because
if you’re acting your brand like be Utah would be right on brand like centers
and then it’s it’s a rockus crowd and maybe it’s maybe it’s not so that you
know it’s not friendly at Rice EO Stadium but as the Saints the the BYU crowd
doesn’t always act like Saints oh I know Frank the okay number one thing you
should never do is judge people right like isn’t that the number one thing I’m
not judging it’s like judging anybody and BYU fans it’s this perception that
BYU fans are constantly judging the Utah fans always I feel judged uh well
yeah I understand it because you know somebody comes in with a Sacrament tray
full of shot glasses full of rum and they’re serving the sacrament with shot
glasses and BYU fans are I’m so appalled that is so disgusting and it’s like
they feed into each other and it turns into this ugly mess you’ve got Utah
players that are doing fake baptisms in cold pools and you got BYU fans that
are losing their mind over the fact that you would do a fake baptism and it
just plays into it Frank you know where I’m coming from like the religious
aspect creates such a difference in this rivalry that no other rivalry gets
to experience I’ve heard I I agree I agree USC Notre they don’t play on the
the Catholic aspect of it in USC doesn’t there’s no Catholic and Protestants
and and you’ve been a part of that rivalry you’ve known that rivalry for a
lot of years absolutely you you UCLA USC it’s barely I mean it’s a rivalry
but it’s barely a rivalry who else would you say Auburn Alabama I mean that’s
a rivalry but does it reach the level of that that one does get ugly
intensity that one gets really ugly that that one can get ugly I’ve heard
things yelled from the stands I’m not saying this is unique to one school or
the other I’ve heard things yelled from the stands at LVL Edwards Stadium
that would make your toes curl from from a BYU fan I don’t know that’s a good
question because that’s a good question yeah yes from a from a BYU fan of
course I have been a part of this robber game in one way shape form or the
other since 1996 and I’ve seen so many different layers to it you know you
you had the great coach ma level Edwards back and forth and now you’ve got
teacher and Mentor with Kyle Whittingham and Kanani sataki and then you had
these strange ripples in between that like a Gary croon like a Gary and an
urban Meer for a couple years a quick Urban Meer stop but but how quick did
Urban pick up on it but but Urban grew up in the right environment because he
understood the Michigan Ohio State rivalry he understood what a rivalry meant
and he immediately capitalized on it yeah he did and and that’s where we got
the team down south don’t you think he made it a little bit more ugly and
don’t you think Urban put he put fuel on the whole rivalry fire he didn’t
make it more friendly if that’s what you’re asking yeah he the team down
south really got under the skin I had several BYU fans people I know and
friends who said why do you say that why do you guys say that that’s so
disrespectful and then I thought and then my answer was that’s why because
because because of you it’s driving yeah it’s it’s driving you crazy you want
to stir them up and so I like to say that now and just just for fun just to
stir them up just that’s Frank doce okay Frank go is the ultimate stirer pot
stirer of the pot you love like Bob Bob Marley just Stir It Up the first
thing you say to me pretty much every time you say see me is something
negative every single time and you’ve got me worried about my teeth now you
got me worried about my body I told Frank I lost 50 lb he said huh I would
have thought more like five we recorded that that was recording was it yeah
we’re going to that’ll be a clip you can post that to your social media jerk
man I feel like you and I have a relationship where we can be objective with
one another you asked me when we were doing a broadcast one time if I had Sur
if I had a surgery on my eye for heaven sake looks like you have a cordial
implant see what I mean it does that’s hurtful does it looks like you have a
fake I can’t manage that it’s called Surfer eyes it’s a trium have you ever
put your ankle on video have you ever there there’s not a lens there’s not a
wide lens wide enough to put put my ankle on but we can get every single one
of those teeth on on a camera I’m trying not to smile so nobody can see don’t
show those baby teeth Frank said that I’ve got short stubby teeth now I’m
embarrassed I don’t eat sunflower seeds anymore cuz I don’t want to stub them
out anymore corn nuts no more can’t even suck on a Jolly Rancher without
thinking of Frank hey let’s give a little background so people have context
you started in Idaho mhm you were a football star MH and a wrestler did you
do track and field I did a multiport athlete your aunt I believe ran the
candy shop or the fudge shop my mom your mom and then you worked there F’s
candies yes I love that story and and then the my favorite part of your story
is that you are the nephew of an individual that I adored as a football
player and lots of people do yeah Merlin Olsen yeah and Merlin was part of
the LA Rams I grew up in La The Fearsome forsome uh an unbelievable Rams
Legacy the real deal the real deal but even more important than that is
within the state of Utah He’s a legend from Utah State University he is mer
Merlin oloni at right in Logan okay Maverick Stadium you did not you decided
not to follow the Legacy yeah of Uncle Merlin that’s right and you decided to
go and I took some meat I wanted to ask you about that I took some meat okay
so tell me about what happened what what were some of the what was some of
the commentary you received when you said no I’m not going to go to Utah
State I’m going to go down south well first and foremost so the Merlin and
Phil were both Legends in Utah State Phil was another first round draft pick
to the NFL he was second just behind Terry Bradshaw so just to put it in
perspective like Phil was no no one recognizes no one great and he’s
plastered all over Utah State too MH but there was a younger brother that my
grandma and grandpa they’ moved from Logan to or and the younger brother Orin
Olen ended up playing football at orm and then he went to BYU gotcha so he
blazed a path to BYU Utah state was in such bad shape when I was coming out
of high school John El Smith they were getting maybe two wins and they were
just were struggling but he was so entertaining dude John L yes oh johnell
was entertaining johnell Smith was I mean let’s tie this back to Utah a
little bit he was the coach during the crotch gate incident with fuam matu
maala oh yes that’s true I think that’s true that is true yeah that’s true
anyway okay there you go now we tied Utah back into this so I I had verbally
committed to Nebraska they were back-to-back national champions Tom Osborne
was in Idaho yeah and I committed to him in Idaho and I was like yeah I’m
coming and lval Edwards came in late be why you came in late and I was like
let’s go let’s do it I knew Orin had played there uh I knew a little bit
about LVL I did not know the backstory on BYU I I just was not overly
familiar with them M and I showed up on campus in 1996 and we went to the Cotton
Bowl 14 And1 and you know that’s the last time BYU beat Utah by double digits
did you know that no 1996 I can’t remember that far is the last time BYU had
a double digit you were on the call You’re darn right I was were you wearing
were you wearing the favorite bib uniform back then they got rid of the bib
that was a terrible country Outlaw the bib yeah well they should oh it was
not that bad that that is one of those things like that should have been a
federal the bib was not that bad what are you talking about that was the
worst uniform in the history of uniforms and I’m talking about really bad
uniforms I feel like people have given it a bad name it it was kind of a
nicer outfit than it was not it looked ter it was terrible yeah but you could
plop down and eat a rack of ribs and not worry about the sauce that’s nice
yeah that’s there’s a benefit as messy as I let me ask you let me let me ask
you this Tom Osborne yeah man legend legend LVL Edwards legend legend of all
the BYU people that I know including you No One Compares to lvll Edwards He’s
for you he’s by far the greatest how did he get that label because it took me
five years to even get you to call me a friend how did LV get that so quickly
to be fair I’m not sure that it that’s happened yet but we’re getting we’re
getting there we’re moving people in your family have called me a friend
we’re moving along they’re they’re my family is a is pretty sof like they’re
soft they are you know and they think I’m nice I think you have to earn it
they think I’m funny right so yeah they always say to me that hands he’s a
real really entertaining guy he’s a nice guy uh for some reason our families
liked us before maybe we’ve liked each other that’s probably and that’s help
us come together that’s probably true LVL yeah LVL Edwards is the best and he
he uh I mean I I wouldn’t say that I knew him well we we played them I I only
played a couple times in the in the Rivalry game and uh we lost a tough one
at Rice the then rice Robert L Rice stadium and I was dejectedly walking back
to the locker room and lval Edwards came and found me did he really yeah and
that’s a cool story he gave me a hug and he said a few very nice things very
brief and I felt like that I’m getting chills telling you the story it was so
sincere and so heartfelt cuz it was and and he was after I mean he was so
complimentary and I just never forgot you never forget that you know I have a
similar Ronnie Mack story well I I wouldn’t be surprised so but I’d love to
hear it so I had graduated was senior year and we had got that big win in
2000 lv’s last miracle that was my senior year was it was and and that and
and you and Utah should have won that game but it was level’s last miracle I
I had gotten invited Ed to a Senior Bowl it was called the grid iron bowl
where they built a team of all Florida players against the United States team
and so I was picked to represent on that United States team and went down to
Florida and showed up we we pulled in I think the airport we flew into
Orlando and I’m walking off the plane and I see this big familiar smiling
face and I’m like that’s R McBride and he I’d never met him Frank really I
had never like met him face to face he beIN it right to me mhm and he said I
am so happy to see you and gave me a big hug and then gave Amanda a big hug
my wife and he was like I’m so happy to see you and I’m so glad I don’t have
to co coach against you oh that and he could have been so honory and hateful
and vengeful because I played really well in that game I I played really well
I think I had a sack I had a I had a pressure on the final snap that was a
desperation throw mhm um like I played really well he could have hated me but
gave me so much love and and and I fell in love with the guy yeah and and
I’ve loved him ever since and I get to do radio with him now I know it’s
great every Friday well but that’s the thing about in fact I wanted to ask
you about the great coaches in the Rivalry we can talk about that a little
bit but but those two together lval Edwards and Ron McBride are iconic in the
Rivalry and and I think the common bond with those two guys is like they just
love players they love the kids they love the players and it doesn’t really
matter yep who you play for whatever and and I don’t know that it just it’s
just a it was a because it was a great time in the Rivalry because of who
they are I know that fans have a lot of vitri but because of lvll and Mack
and some of the teammates that I got to play on different teams with because
I had had seven years of professional football and I went through a lot of
different Utah teammates um I got to be teammates with leis pal who’s now the
dine coach at Utah fantastic Doug KUSI who was a a center I believe at Utah
and when you have teammates and then you get to know coach Mack and you know
you you start to meet guys from that side of the Rivalry the edge of the
Rivalry really just falls off I I just don’t have this overall edge of the
Rivalry I have a full love for the Rivalry and I have a love for both sides
but it’s like I there’s so many guys on the Utah staff I just look up to mhm
and there’s so many guys on the by staff that I look up to I played with a
lot on both staff and friends with a lot on both staffs and so to me the
Rivalry probably isn’t as sharp and cutting as some what I want is I want to
see a competitive game I want to see both sides look good represent well and
play a physical brand that represents what a rivalry should be but I don’t
want blowouts I don’t want meltdowns I but I do want drama you know and and
we have gotten so so much drama I I went back to level’s last miracle with
the two catches it was fourth down and 15 I think we were on our own 20 do we
need to go through this again that those catches were ridiculous and people
say Luke Staley fumbled you know and then I was a part of the I was part of
the kenes Shiro dink game where the right upright yeah was there it was the
right up it was the right uppr I know I called that game so I’m standing I’m
standing on the sideline I was not a part of the field goal block team that
year mhm but I was a defensive end that year and played my butt off in that
game and I’m thinking here it is we’re going to lose and he hits the upright
and I’m thinking how does this even happen when Jonathan Pitman caught that
fourth and 15 I’m like one toe touched inbound how does that even happen I
don’t know I don’t know and then Austin colie I mean that guy made a fourth
down play in a game that BYU won down it down it by that’s right got off got
off the right sideline over the top I mean yeah harleen by the way is still
open he’s never been covered he’s still open and got the touchdown but then
you know you talk about you talk about the 10year drought but how you talk
about 10 years of Utah ownership do you remember the game or 11 years 10
games 11 12 it’s it’s more than a decade of dominance that’s what we call it
more than a decade of dominance because the record over that time is
significant for Utah yeah but you remember the game at Rice eckle Stadium how
many times did Utah have to block the kick I think they had to block it or
they had to go through it twice there were penalties there were penalties
penalties and then they blocked the kick to win that game uh you dominant in
those years man there there’s so many there’s so many amazing there’s so many
amazing moments in in that rivalry and and and the things that happened after
the Rivalry I mean the talk between the teams I always say that like when I
played in that game it was very competitive uh and but it wasn’t like on the
field how many starts did you have two two one start just one what was the
outcome we lost 3122 at Rice Stadium and it was it was the most intense game
that we played it was physical it was competitive but on the field there
wasn’t the animosity that you feel in the stance there was the
competitiveness it was competitive as can be it was ferocious it was intense
that’s what people the vitri all that you feel in the stand the fights you
see or not the fights but when you see people in each other’s face it’s not
out of hate it’s just out of competitiveness it’s you know you might get
angry with each other and I feel like you’re cutting me off the backside and
you’ve hit me in the back of the legs three times I think you’re trying to
injure me MH and now we’re going to fight because I think you’re trying but
for the most part th when you see those temperature those tempers really rise
up I think a lot of that just has to do with the competitiveness of it
because you get storylines and battles when you’re sitting in the locker room
getting ready for this game like there some of the storylines and battles I
remember yeah matal fuu maala Fu matu maafala uhhuh versus Henry boomf that’s
the one I’ll always remember because Henry had an edge and was sitting in the
locker room and was saying I’m going to teach him and I know that matala was
in the other locker room saying I’m going to teach him and like you you build
these story lines in the locker room MH and that’s it’s so much fun it’s a
it’s a great rivalry and I think one thing that I would like to mention about
that is we hear lots of things happen after games interviews I mean the max
Hall thing is Infamous and that’s happened on the Utah side as well probably
the most legendary Max legendary it you know the interesting thing about that
is to me that seems mostly directed off the field like all of the chatter
about Max Hall and everything else happens not on the field off of the field
and so when you say you have relationships with Utah players and guys that
you competed against I have the same thing and that hatred is is doesn’t
exist it doesn’t but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see BYU win this
game oh as fiercely as still deep rooted in me I want to see BYU win this
game I don’t like to go to Provo I don’t like to walk into lval Edwards
Stadium I don’t like the atmosphere there’s nothing that I like about it
nothing I want to get in there and take care of business and get out absolutely
that’s not against where does that come from just being a part of that the
one you lost was it at l no it was at rice roberdell rice Stadium there’s a
few things about that one is during my time Utah was always the underdog and
and not only when I was a player but when when I went into broadcasting Utah
was always the underdog and and the the stuff we heard from the other side
was infuriating you know this this is we don’t even know if we consider this
a rivalry game anymore we’ve been so dominant in it that’s what we heard from
you know and then stuff like Lenny goes which is the classic yeah those guys
are a bunch of losers I’m going to be making 50 or $60,000 they’re going to
be pumping my gas incredible incredible Lenny was my hero he was my trash
talking hero later later did you know they put a gag order on me during
rivalry weeks good they wouldn’t even they were smart they that that was the
right thing to do Lenny then later famously uh applied for a job at the
University of Utah on the coaching staff is that true that is true that’s
absolutely true you should have hired him could have brought the fire I I
don’t think we were paying 50 or 60 at that point could brought looking for a
he was looking for a little more cash what’s your okay so we were talking
about the iconic coaches uh lval Edwards Ron McBride I don’t think you can
get around that Urban Meyer brought a different level of intensity to that
rivalry and he he TR he tried to take the you know the mental advantage in
that game and he had two you know really interesting games against BYU one
was the 3 to zero snowed out Affair in Provo yeah which was was crazy Gary
coton wasn’t it I believe it was Gary Croton yeah I think it was I believe it
was Gary Croton what year was that 2003 two that it was either yeah that was
2002 or 2003 yeah wait 2003 or 2004 okay yeah yeah I think about I think that
this current staff situation is probably the most intriguing of all of the
Rivalry situations well because You’ you’ve got such Common Ground
Whittingham K coach Kyle Whittingham great linebacker at BYU yeah Freddy
Whittingham has a quote as a BYU player against Utah saying it was like we
were playing against air yeah was like running through air and now he’s of
course the tight ends coach Freddy’s great man at at the University of Utah
and then you go over Kanani great player at by but he had he made his Mark as
a defensive coordinator at the U yeah J Hill special teams coordinator at the
U special teams coordinator at the U and fantastic football player Justin
Anna C Pua just that’s the you know that one kind of makes me heart sick you
want you you want me to really get you one I don’t know do I deep Gary
Anderson oh my gosh what is Gary Anderson doing uh he’s an employee for the
bream Young University cgar I know what he is and he’s an absolute dog he’s a
mastermind and I think that I love Gary Anderson well look think about where
BYU’s defense is this year and Gary Anderson comes along Chad kaaha is in
that office I know great defensive end for the University of Utah that’s your
office well you’re welome I look at this you’re welcome I look at this
coaching Dynamics right now this is the most unique crossover mhm Dynamic
that you’ll ever have these these men know each other better than they
probably know their own kids they know their football Acumen they know the
schemes they know what they’re thinking the play calls they know Aaron rodri
as well as Aaron rodri knows himself we didn’t even mention Aaron rodri by
the way the interesting thing about the dynamic now again another crossover
coach Rod rodri coached at the University of Utah for played at BYU coached
at the University of Utah now at BYU as the offensive coordinator so these
guys are all friendly this is the interesting thing about the coaching
Dynamic all these guys are friendly like they’ve all coached played together
family relationships everything else and and they present it that way like
Hey we’re you know I I love coach Whit I love Kanani I love this everybody
it’s all love I think that there is more intensity now about winning this
game because of those relationships than than ever before I just don’t really
talk about it no there’s a deep intensity Kanani tries to cool it off I don’t
know if you noticed colani with his opening statements I think on Monday he
came out and was like can we just all be cool like let’s all be cool how’d
you feel about that it’s just not what this rivalry has been you know Kyle
takes it to another level Urban takes it to another level colani has always
tried to cool the temperature he doesn’t say negative things about Kyle
doesn’t say negative things about Utah Kyle doesn’t necessarily say negative
things about Provo he just won’t say the name he just you know it’s that wrinkle
that that you mentioned all you have to do is say the team down south and it
it’s like calling you it’s like calling you ugly fat and hairy it’s horrible
it’s all that stuff it’s like saying I lost 50 pounds it looks like you lost
10 it looks like you gained you know what I don’t like I’ll I’ll just say one
thing I not that I don’t like I just think it’s I listen to it and I’m like
this is crazy Greg rubel your broadcast partner yeah won’t call it the Red
Zone it’s the red zone universally in football but he calls it I’ve never
heard him call it anything but the Red Zone Red Zone I’ve heard him call it
the Blue Zone oh no I he he hasn’t done that with with me I I’ve never heard
him call it the Blue Zone really maybe in the Rivalry game maybe he does that
I don’t know maybe I don’t know maybe but I I have and if I’m mistaken about
that we you know you guys feel free to correct me okay but I’ve heard I’ve
heard it called that okay so this is going to be my first time calling the
Rivalry game because what I’ve only been this will be my second year up in
Booth yeah well it’s a different experience what did it take for you as a
player to realize what the Rivalry game meant in 1996 watching the the
seniors prepare and all the chatter and the way lvll faced the week the the
the anger in his eyes not anger the intensity in his eyes um the way that
Norm Chow would put together game plans oh we’re gonna hit them oh we’re
gonna catch them who was also a great coach at the University of Utah yeah
we’re going to get them and you he had this confidence that you’re like oh
ken Schmidt our defensive coordinator would just show up fire in his eyes and
you just knew it yeah but but you said this today on the show and I’ll
reiterate it you don’t know it until you step in it and you play it you don’t
really know now I got a real quick sense of it but then you play in it and
you’re like this is different The Whole World’s different well the minute I
stepped off a the plane from California to walk onto campus at the University
of Utah they started talking about playing BYU we we weren’t even in Spring
ball yet yeah like they’re starting to talk about playing BYU so it was being
indoctrinated early yeah and it leveled I mean it got to a level of intensity
but you don’t understand it until you are on the field of play and
participating in that game you can definitely tell it from the fans too you
can feel it like the fans they want to be able to show up to church on Sunday
and talk trash and say what happened to your cougars you guys sitting there
at 8 no we’re at 44 you thought you were going to come into rcle St you guys
you don’t even know I I they do I know and and BYU fans want to do it to Utah
fans like oh how did that feel oh D first double digits since 1996 yes how
does that feel you know there’s it’s funny that you mention that because
there’s things like that in the Rivalry that are really interesting to to to
watch well like like the Urban Meyer thing that that shut out yeah that ended
a streak of games BYU had scored in going back to like n the 1970s or
something 1975 that BYU had not scored yes and and urban shut them out I
didn’t know that three to zero in that game but but there are things like
that on on both sides I know I was talking about the the religious aspect how
it addir I also want to throw in that for those of you that don’t aren’t
members of the Church of Jesus Christ the Latter-Day Saints we’re very
community oriented mhm we believe in gathering and supporting and you know
ministering and all of those things so we’re around each other a lot and
that’s unique to other communities you know I don’t know how that is with
Ohio State in Michigan how much they interact with each other in this state
we interact and our neighbors graduated Utah or dad graduated Utah or
brother’s a fan of Utah or Dad’s a a professor BYU or and you’re one or the
other even if you’re a Utah State guy you’ve got something that planted you
in the beu ground or if you’re a Weber State guy like my mom is a Weber State
girl she graduated Weber State M her baby boy played at BYU so she’s BYU
she’s a cougar blue like everybody there’s something that divide you yeah and
and it means something in a community where you really do interact with each
other I know it’s true because our communities care deeply about each other
very ingrained yeah which is unique don’t you think I think it is I think
that’s absolutely unique there’s so many unique things about the Rivalry
going back to your time over your whole time you said you got involved in
1996 and I got started involved 1992 over your time is there a a play or an
incident or something that happened that that sticks out I mean there’s
probably a hundred of those there’s aund of them but player or as an as an
observer I’ll give you a couple good ones okay that that year that
cheerleader beat the trash out of the the BYU fan do you remember that the
BYU fan jumped out to stop a flag being runaround I think or something and a
Utah cheerleader went Ham on him do you know what Steve Smith said no no said
something like uh even our cheerleaders are beating you up today something
like that brutal even our cheerleaders I was on the sideline I saw the whole
melee and I was like that dude is going ham somebody needs to call the cops
by way that cheerleader looked like a mini Arnold Schwarzenegger he did he
was jacked he was jacked he was jacked uh another one that comes to mind was
my teammate Derek Stevenson we’re we’re yeah we’re running off the field yeah
and he looked up and somebody was going back and forth with his dad his dad’s
ex-military oh and Derek went in the stands M and we’re all sitting there
like he’s up in the stands and they are lighting up the stands you’re just
seeing people getting chucked and throwing and and I was like that’s that’s
incredible and then I think the newspaper actually had a picture of the M the
next day and it was like geez man that was a brutal brawl yeah uh um that one
really sticks out to me there’s you know do you remember I I’ll never forget
this play it was up at rice rice Echo State maybe it was rice I can’t
remember uh Ronnie Jenkins catches a little swing pass out of the backfield
and cow Tai olival yeah the hit oh yeah the hit yeah wow yep that set the
tone that that’s that was a different that was a different kind of play that
was my sophomore year oh it was mhm yeah that was my sophomore year uh we
could we could fill in he the hit on the sideline it was brutal and I did get
to play a year with C alal too which oh I love Kai he the best yeah he’s the
best I mean that that’s this rivalry it’s it’s all crossover people think I
need to have this crazy Edge about it and hatred yeah of course I want by to
win yes absolutely it’s but it’s not a hatred I I look forward to the week
that’s why when it went away Frank I was devastated well it should have never
gone away it’s a rival it’s such an an intriguing rivalry and it’s been so
meaningful for the state like that’s a rivalry that should always be played
can I give you my angle of why that rivalry went away who I blame yeah
absolutely so Utah gets invited to the Pack 12 uhuh and Utah had an
opportunity to do more than beat BYU and that was to show BYU that they
didn’t need them and they scheduled a Florida or a Michigan and and that was
a bigger slap and insult than beating them on the field I think I think that
was kind of a yeah we’ll play you when we can but you know it was like a big
brother we’re kind of growing up here yeah so when you catch up let us know
yeah I fel