Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.

I don't like being so philosophical. I enjoy hating the Utes and I think I am a happy person. When a Ute co-worker offered to autograph the "Y" football on my desk in red ink, I'm not going to sit there and politely smile. May not be a Christian way of thinking or feeling, but it is what it is...

What I'm saying is that if you want the Utes to lose MORE than you want BYU to win (such that you would take option B over option A), you may have crossed over from being a fan to being a hater. I seriously doubt that is the case for anybody on this board---everyone seems to be a Cougar fan first, even if they manifest it in a diversity of ways.

Nah. Scenario: BYU is one of two undefeated teams in the country. They have completed the regular season. The other undefeated team has one more game left to play and it is against Utah. If they win, they will most likely be elevated over us for whatever reason (this is hypothetical anyhow). So for us to be #1, Utah would have to win.

My sincere and honest feeling: Second place ain't all that bad!

Am I a hater? No. I just never want the Utes to win under ANY circumstances. Max Hall was right!

Again, that's not the scenario I'm talking about. I'm talking about a hypothetical Saturday where you can have both BYU and Utah win, or both BYU and Utah lose. No other options. What do you choose? Yes, it's a bit contrived, but when you've got someone who loves their own team and hates their rival, it will tell you which emotion is stronger. And if you think it's too contrived, you should hear the scenarios I concocted to help a roommate decide if his girlfriend was too high maintenance once upon a time. (She was. No question about it.)

A story may illustrate. I took my family to the barber after the Nebraska game. Utah had already beaten Michigan earlier in the week. After we had finished our haircuts, I overheard another customer talking about the BYU game. He said that it had ruined his whole weekend. My wife assumed he hadn't stuck around for the final play, and went over and said, "Didn't you see the end? They won on a Hail Mary!" He says, "I know, I'm a Utah fan. It ruined my whole weekend." This, despite the fact that his team also won!

I also would be happy to have Utah go 0-12 every single year. But the fact that they win a few hear and there, or even a lot, isn't really going to affect me very much, because I'm a BYU fan first.

Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.

I don't like being so philosophical. I enjoy hating the Utes and I think I am a happy person. When a Ute co-worker offered to autograph the "Y" football on my desk in red ink, I'm not going to sit there and politely smile. May not be a Christian way of thinking or feeling, but it is what it is...

What I'm saying is that if you want the Utes to lose MORE than you want BYU to win (such that you would take option B over option A), you may have crossed over from being a fan to being a hater. I seriously doubt that is the case for anybody on this board---everyone seems to be a Cougar fan first, even if they manifest it in a diversity of ways.

Nah. Scenario: BYU is one of two undefeated teams in the country. They have completed the regular season. The other undefeated team has one more game left to play and it is against Utah. If they win, they will most likely be elevated over us for whatever reason (this is hypothetical anyhow). So for us to be #1, Utah would have to win.

My sincere and honest feeling: Second place ain't all that bad!

Am I a hater? No. I just never want the Utes to win under ANY circumstances. Max Hall was right!

Again, that's not the scenario I'm talking about. I'm talking about a hypothetical Saturday where you can have both BYU and Utah win, or both BYU and Utah lose. No other options. What do you choose? Yes, it's a bit contrived, but when you've got someone who loves their own team and hates their rival, it will tell you which emotion is stronger. And if you think it's too contrived, you should hear the scenarios I concocted to help a roommate decide if his girlfriend was too high maintenance once upon a time. (She was. No question about it.)

A story may illustrate. I took my family to the barber after the Nebraska game. Utah had already beaten Michigan earlier in the week. After we had finished our haircuts, I overheard another customer talking about the BYU game. He said that it had ruined his whole weekend. My wife assumed he hadn't stuck around for the final play, and went over and said, "Didn't you see the end? They won on a Hail Mary!" He says, "I know, I'm a Utah fan. It ruined my whole weekend." This, despite the fact that his team also won!

I also would be happy to have Utah go 0-12 every single year. But the fact that they win a few hear and there, or even a lot, isn't really going to affect me very much, because I'm a BYU fan first.

Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.

I don't like being so philosophical. I enjoy hating the Utes and I think I am a happy person. When a Ute co-worker offered to autograph the "Y" football on my desk in red ink, I'm not going to sit there and politely smile. May not be a Christian way of thinking or feeling, but it is what it is...

What I'm saying is that if you want the Utes to lose MORE than you want BYU to win (such that you would take option B over option A), you may have crossed over from being a fan to being a hater. I seriously doubt that is the case for anybody on this board---everyone seems to be a Cougar fan first, even if they manifest it in a diversity of ways.

Nah. Scenario: BYU is one of two undefeated teams in the country. They have completed the regular season. The other undefeated team has one more game left to play and it is against Utah. If they win, they will most likely be elevated over us for whatever reason (this is hypothetical anyhow). So for us to be #1, Utah would have to win.

My sincere and honest feeling: Second place ain't all that bad!

Am I a hater? No. I just never want the Utes to win under ANY circumstances. Max Hall was right!

Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.

I don't like being so philosophical. I enjoy hating the Utes and I think I am a happy person. When a Ute co-worker offered to autograph the "Y" football on my desk in red ink, I'm not going to sit there and politely smile. May not be a Christian way of thinking or feeling, but it is what it is...

What I'm saying is that if you want the Utes to lose MORE than you want BYU to win (such that you would take option B over option A), you may have crossed over from being a fan to being a hater. I seriously doubt that is the case for anybody on this board---everyone seems to be a Cougar fan first, even if they manifest it in a diversity of ways.

Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.

I don't like being so philosophical. I enjoy hating the Utes and I think I am a happy person. When a Ute co-worker offered to autograph the "Y" football on my desk in red ink, I'm not going to sit there and politely smile. May not be a Christian way of thinking or feeling, but it is what it is...

Here is an interesting question I use when determining whether someone is a fan of their own team, or a hater of the rival team. Would you rather A) your team win AND your rival also win, or B) your team lose and your rival also lose? Option B, without exception, puts you in the hater camp. I think finding pleasure in injuries to rival players---or any player, for that matter---should as well.

Haters are generally not happy people, and they have no control over their own happiness because so much of it is based on factors beyond their control. Generally, I find there are a lot more Utes in that camp than Cougars. Let's keep it that way.