Is rivalry healthy or harmful?

For many people in the Beehive State, the phrase "BYU vs. Utah" evokes strong emotions and powerful memories.

"The fans are passionate about the game, which is very difficult to describe," said Cougar coach Bronco Mendenhall. "They care who wins. They consider it having an effect on their lifestyle, I think, for an entire year."

The BYU-Utah rivalry pits neighbor against neighbor, father against son, brother against brother. It has church vs. state undertones. Some refer to it as "The Holy War." It is a rivalry that is not always civilized.

During one hotly contested meeting between the two schools, a vicious brawl erupted among spectators. A group of policemen arrived on the scene to break it up. That particular incident took place, according to written accounts, in 1896. Unruly fan behavior, in fact, was one of the major reasons BYU dropped football from 1898 until 1922.

These days, during the week leading up to the big game, the Cougar statue outside LaVell Edwards Stadium is covered with Visquine as a protection from would-be vandals. There are BYU fans who have painted the block U in Salt Lake City blue and Utah fans who have painted the block Y in Provo red, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage.

One of fans' favorite pastimes is to propagate negative stereotypes about, and unleash pent-up hatred for, the rival school on sports radio talk shows, or on the Internet — usually in anonymous fashion.

Which prompts the question, is BYU-Utah a good, old-fashioned rivalry, or is it culturally unhealthy?

"I think there's a lot of fans from both sides, BYU and Utah, that cross the lines individually," said BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe. "But I think it's a pretty traditional rivalry. Obviously, you can't go a day without talking to somebody that wants to bring something up about it. That's good. Most of the people just think it's a great rivalry and appreciate the two schools. You may not like the other school, but you appreciate the rivalry."

"Among those who are on the team and close to the team, it's regarded as a good, old-fashioned rivalry," said Utah athletic director Chris Hill. "Some people feel the rivalry crosses the line, but we want to make it healthy, not nasty. What's special about the rivalry is there are friends and family on both sides of the fence. It's unusual. It's hard to go anywhere without people taking one side or the other. It's an all-encompassing rivalry."