Holy War

After 24 hours spent waiting in line to enter Lavell Edwards Stadium, the gates finally opened at 6:00 p.m. in preparation for the battle royale to take place between the two opposing forces.

Brigham Young University, a college founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has a strong history of athletic excellence in football. Besides the 1984 National Championships under their belt, they have also attracted nationwide attention for their exceptional program that has raised the likes of Steve Young, Chad Lewis, Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, and many up-and-coming stars like Ziggy Ansah, Kyle Van Noy, and Daniel Sorensen.

The University of Utah has a similar history of athletic excellence, but the author chooses to forgo a detailed explanation due to the emotional instability that resulted from Saturday's night game on ESPN, nominated the "Holy War."

The two defensive lines battled and matched forces in a consistent back-and-forth exchange of possession while offenses struggled to make big plays. BYU had a particularly hard time capitalizing on point-scoring opportunities, missing their first field goal and never officially crossing the lines of the end zone to score a touchdown.

Not to dwell on the specifics of the game, I would like to recount my experience of what happened that day leading up to the game, and the incredible fatigue that unexpectedly occurred.

Because of the change in student seating arrangements, many college students brought their sleeping bags, mattresses, and blankets to reserve their spot in line for the upcoming rivalry game. I arrived at 12:30 a.m. with 3 friends to mark out territory and secure our spot to be one of the first allowed into the stadium the next day. With a restless night among the chattering students, we remained stalwart in our decision to maintain our position and took turns traveling to our apartments to freshen up and return to the line. By noon stadium officials were supposed to stop allowing people out and in of the line ... which resulted in a barrage of students rushing to the line to get a spot. To our dismay, the staff was incapable of sticking to their guns and for the next six hours we were cut time and time again, diminishing our chances of getting a front row spot. Periodically, stadium staff took the liberty to deprive students of all nonessential items; the first to go were mattresses, cots, and sleeping pads. An hour later, chairs were banned, followed by coolers, blankets, food, and every other item that would not be allowed into the stadium. They even forced students into the line in the heat of the sun, negating them the opportunity to relieve themselves of the heat in the shade that was less than 6 feet out of reach. As the gate opening approached, pandemonium broke out. Free t-shirts were given, drinks were handed out, and more and more people jumped in with any acquaintance they could find towards the front of the barricaded line.

Emotions were high as people started getting heated about the amount of students cutting. Even I was frustrated with my "friends" who thought that it was perfectly okay to just hop the rope and stand by me. Finally at six o'clock the gates opened and everyone furiously pushed their way into the stadium to get the best vantage point possible. I didn't even have time to get my ticket scanned because of my impatience with the slow employee trying to read my all-sports card. I snatched it out of his hands and took off to where my friends and I had earlier decided to rendezvous. I was finally able to calm down when my position was secured and I could sit my weary bum down on something other than cement.

The remainder of the game doesn't need to be recounted. The unfortunate loss of BYU only added to the headache I took home with me after 4 hours of screaming, whistling, clapping, and stomping. Utah once again had bested us, and to add insult to injury, it was on our own field. I dreaded the thought of going to church the next day to hear the jokes the bishop would be delivering from the pulpit since he was a stalwart fan of the team from the north. Our pride was hurt, our hopes were dashed, and we will not be vindicated for another 3 years. Only time will heal the injuries sustained on the 21 September 2013.