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This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank Speaking on Business.
It's the rivalry you thought you knew everything about. A force so powerful that office brawls erupt and crowds on church pews split; bad blood between fans of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
To have a true rivalry, you need two teams that think they have a chance to win. I've had the opportunity to attend a lot of BYU/U of U football games, and as games go, this is one of the most unpredictable. Generally speaking, you are either blue or red, unless you're like me and just want a Utah team to win.
It was interesting to find out stories of families who endure everything from a week of silence leading up to the big game to a married couple who took three years to learn how to survive rivalry week.
Did you know the first game goes back to 1922? The Utes had a run with the Cougars until 1942 when BYU won for the first time. Both universities have had outstanding coaches and still do, like Coach Tommy Hudspeth, whom BYU hired in the 60s. He turned the program around.
When you talk about BYU you think LaVell Edwards, who was the head coach from 1972 until 2000. He not only led BYU to a national championship in 1984 but also started a BYU winning streak against Utah that lasted almost 20 years. That is until Ron McBride took the reins for the U of U in 1990. Between Coach Edwards and Coach McBride, the wins vacillated back and forth, but what I like most is the public respect these coaches had for each other and still do.
Today, the Utes have won nine bowl games in a row! That speaks of the pure coaching the team gets from Kyle Whittingham. BYU's Bronco Mendenhall is known for his physical and mental toughness. And BYU is one of just five programs in the country to win 10 or more games each of the past four years, a testament to coach Bronco Mendenhall's leadership.
To commemorate this rivalry, a new documentary titled "Red Blood Blue Blood: The University of Utah-BYU Rivalry" will premiere tonight at 7 p.m. on KUED-Channel 7.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
