School Rivalry, Sportsmanship and the Dark Side

I am an Idaho Vandal Alumni and an Idaho Vandal Fan. 20 years ago that was so much easier to say. I still love my Alma mater and hope my daughter wants to go there someday. Moscow is an awesome small college town. Half the population is students and the other half wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the University.

In 1996, Idaho left Division 1-AA and the Big Sky Conference to join Boise State in Division 1-A. This was a bad move, and I have not nor doubt I ever will forgive them for it! Boise State was ready to join Division 1-A. Idaho was not and is still not ready after 11 years! Frankly I'm amazed that the NCAA allows them to continue this sham. They can't even play all of their home games at their home stadium because it's not big enough to satisfy the attendance requirements (or something like that).

Idaho and BSU have been major in-state rivals since 1971, right after BSU joined the Big Sky. Over the decades, the schools took turns dominating each other for several years in a row. I was lucky enough to be at Idaho during one of Idaho's dominations. We beat them 12 times from 1982-1993... A Decade Straight of Beating Boise State!

That was truly "back in the day", and it is never going to be like that again. Boise State has grown up. Yes, we were a University back when they were still a Junior College. However, they have the population base and the fan base to support a Division 1-A football team. Idaho does not and never will. Moscow is a small college town. Boise is becoming a big city, and they definitely have the fans to support even further expansion of their team.

I was at the game where Boise State broke Idaho's 12 year winning streak. It was so painful, that it was the last game I attended in person between the two schools... until yesterday that is. I had such mixed emotions about going to the game. We were invited by one of Scott's vendors. He is a really cool guy and he even bought Scott an Idaho hat and shirt for the game. He's a referee for high school football games so it was fun to have him there to help explain some of the strange officiating (and there were quite a few strange calls in that game).

I wasn't worried about losing the game, that was to be expected. There is always the hope with these big rivalry games of an upset - but it wasn't the outcome of the game that I was nervous about. My big concern was the BSU fans. At the last game I attended, I almost got in a fight with the woman sitting behind us. She was so unbelievably rude and obnoxious. Instead I think I ended up congratulating her on the win and walking away the bigger person... but I really wanted to deck her.

So there I was yesterday morning, thinking about spending 3 hours in the rain surrounded by rude "fans" who think supporting their team means being rude to the other team and watching my Alma mater get destroyed on the football field. If you haven't noticed, I have a tendency to worry about worst case scenarios (but I'm working on it). Fortunately, once again my worst case scenario didn't come true.

Before I go further, I must pay homage to the weather gods. It rained before the game, and rained after the game - but during the game the weather was actually beautiful. Thank you weather gods!

The fans were what surprised me the most. We were surrounded by BSU fans of course, but they were actually pretty cool. Sure, we heard comments like "sucks to be a vandal", but for the most part they were true BSU fans who were there to support their team and not to try and cut down the other team. The only time I really stood up and showed "my" colors was when the team came out and the crowd started booing. I hate booing - I just don't think it is cool. Oh sure, I've boo'd many a team..., and I would probably still boo if there was a call I didn't like or if a player did something flagrant that wasn't cool. But to boo the team as they come onto the field... I had to stand up and start yelling. This of course brought me to the attention of the BSU fans around me - who stopped booing the team and started yelling at me to sit down. But they did it in a good natured sports rivalry way... and they stopped booing my team! The guy next to me was a former BSU cheerleader, and he was very cool. He was actually more bothered by the few rude BSU fans around than I was. When the guy a few rows behind kept yelling "get off the field" every time an Idaho player was injured, the guy next to me said "we're not all dicks" and the guy in front of me turned around and shot rude guy a look.

It was actually really cool to see how full the stadium was and how supportive the fans are. These were not the BSU fans I remembered. These were not the BSU fans I hated from the past. This is not the past. Things have changed.

We've been back in Boise now for 15 years. We love Boise and this is where we will stay until we decide to retire somewhere. Boise is our home, and whether we like it or not, the Broncos are our home team. Over the past few years they have made it harder and harder not to like them. I couldn't help but to cheer for them in the Fiesta Bowl. When your most hated rival plays the most entertaining game you've ever seen, and you are cheering them on all the way it changes things. The Boise State football team earned my respect that day. The Boise State fans earned my respect yesterday.

I no longer "Hate Boise State". I am starting to feel that I can support my home team. I can't quite call myself a BSU fan, but I would like to see them continue to win. I will continue to hope that the Vandals will pull their heads out some day and stop pretending to be a 1-A team. We could be a powerhouse 1-AA team again. Let the Broncos play with the big boys - they've proved that they can do it.

Scott says I've gone over to the Dark Side.