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College football fans all across the country are wearing their school colors in anticipation of the big in-state rivalry games this weekend. BYU and Utah square off tomorrow afternoon, and this year's game has huge interest.
Football fans say and do a lot of crazy things during rivalry week, and with the Utah-BYU game being such a big deal this year, there's a lot on the line here.
"I'm actually kind of nervous about it," fan Stephanie Muncy said.
Some Utahns have decorated their homes in anticipation of the game. A man we met got the lawn mower out and carved the "Y" logo into the front lawn. And a pair of neighbors put up a holiday light display with one house sporting a gigantic red U and the other a bright blue Y.
Another man called KSL Sports' Rod Zundel and said he had a pet goat with both logos on his fur. "On the one side, she's a ‘Y' fan; and on the other side, she's a ‘U' fan."
We received e-mailed photos from 200 Utah National Guard members from West Jordan who are current on duty in Kuwait. They're showing their true colors -- both for the Utes and Cougars -- and have even talked the military into airing the game over there.
And we may have found the Ute's most rabid fan. He sent uploaded video of a tour is his basement to our KSL Clips page on our Web site.
We loved this stunt: paint up a couple of old cars in red and blue, and then run them over with a monster truck. Doesn't really mean anything, but it got the fans riled up.
Fans of each school are hoping their team will win, but both sides are expecting this game to be close.
Of course, these rivalry games also mean payback when the game is over: For example, the chambers of commerce of Salt Lake and Provo have a wager where the winning team's flag will fly at the losing chamber's building for an entire business day. Members of the losing city councils will have to sing the other school's fight song at a future meeting.
If you haven't got your tickets yet for tomorrow's game, be prepared to pay for it.
For the past week, eBay has been hopping with fans buying and selling tickets. If you're lucky, you'll find one seat for under $100. But some are going for a lot more -- $2,500 a ticket.
E-mail: kmccord@ksl.com
