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SALT LAKE CITY — There we were, all duded up for the Pac-12 football media day with the head coach and two players from each institution in Los Angeles.
Finally, seven months since the season ended, it was an entire day's worth of programming devoted to the sport all of us love and the conference that is personally my favorite. A slice of heaven set aside in a small makeshift radio tent at Universal Studios.
It was perfect - except for one problem. Two of the three radio hosts from 1280-AM (The Zone) were wearing blue. Scott Garrard and I weren't covered in blue, mind you, just a golf shirt and a tie split between us. And both items were light blue.
It didn't matter.
On this day last week, and darned near every other day at any point in the year, some believe the color blue is off limits. We were representing the state of Utah, and when it comes to the Pac-12, red is the color of choice.
Seconds after Jake Scott, Garrard and I finished an interview with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham, an official from the University of Utah athletic department voiced displeasure over the color of parts of our attire.
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It's a rivalry thing.
Around these parts, blue represents BYU and red belongs to Utah. And that's the way it is.
Did it matter that my golf shirt was light blue, much more aligned with UCLA's uniform color?
Not a chance.
A shade of BYU blue is too much for any Utah man or woman. Even if the comment at the Pac-12 setting was offered somewhat in jest, the point was taken.
What do you think?
Some would argue this was an example of pettiness at its finest. They would say a media member who was not native to the state and didn't attend either institution should be free to wear any form of slacks and a polo shirt. Utah and BYU is a mere athletic rivalry, not a battle of turf between warring gangs.
Let them keep their opinions.
A rivalry worth sustaining requires emotion and passion, two ingredients that are rarely in short supply with regard to these two schools along the Wasatch Front. Officials from both institutions don't want to see anybody dressed in the other's colors, let alone a media contingent.
And it's not like the Utes stand alone.
Years ago, at women's basketball game between BYU and Utah at the Mountain West tournament in Denver, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe called me out for wearing a red sweater. It didn't matter that the article of clothing made me look handsome.
Remember the day Bronco Mendenhall was introduced as the new BYU football coach? As he began to speak, Mendenhall took exception to a person sitting to his right wearing red. In his first public move, the coach chastised his wife for donning a Christmas outfit during the Christmas season.
Cougars wearing red in December? Bah humbug.
The BYU/Utah rivalry ranks among the best and most intense in the country. And it should be celebrated - and protected - as such.
In an environment that seems willing to de-emphasize rivalries in exchange for the almighty dollar, what BYU and Utah have with each other should be cherished. It certainly shouldn't be altered, especially now.
The drastically changed dynamics can now allow the rivalry to grow unabated. For the first time ever, there's no altruistic reason to root for the other school.
When both schools belonged to the same conference, they each benefitted to some degree from the other's success on a national level. Utah athletic director Chris Hill always believed that BYU and Utah were members of the same family in the WAC and MWC, often fighting for the same causes.
It's the reason Hill never wanted Utah to accept transfers from BYU in the high-profile sports. And it's why he was furious that BYU allowed basketball player Trent Whiting to transfer from Utah several years ago.
But the no-fault divorce changed all the rules. Hate away, baby, there's no reason to pull for the enemy.
Any two schools in the same conference can wish evil upon the other. Nothing is unusual there.
The Pac-12 contains 10 schools from five different regions that despise each other. And then there's Colorado and Utah, who think that someday they may not like each other.
The Pac-12 contains 10 schools from five different regions that despise each other. And then there's Colorado and Utah, who think that someday they may not like each other.
How many schools not in the same conference have a rivalry that matches BYU vs. Utah? Certainly nobody in the West comes close.
Not even USC/Notre Dame is as intense. The Trojans always revel in beating the South Benders, but they hate UCLA.
For decades, Utah has hated BYU in a one-sided sort of way. But given 20 years of events on the field, addition to Utah's inclusion into BYU's dream conference, Max Hall does not stand alone.
Finally, for each side, this rivalry is worth loving. Don't change or abandon it.
