Now Giac has seen a genuine rivalry

PROVO — TO: Coach Ray Giacoletti, University of Utah.

RE: Utah-BYU rivalry.

To borrow (and slightly alter) a phrase from Toby Keith, how do you like it now?

Now that you've seen a Utah-BYU basketball game up close and personal — very personal — you'll need to get used to some things. Like, for instance, the signs ("Hey, Bogut, Tim Frost's mom wants her wig back!"), the taunts ("Air ball!") and, of course, the noise that was in the Marriott Center on Monday night.

And to think, this was a "down" year for the Cougars, a season in which the basketball rivalry was probably at low ebb. The place wasn't more than two-thirds full.

So how come it was that LOUD?

They didn't put in 22,000 seats just for the devotionals.

How could you know it would be so (there's that word again) personal?

If you're wondering exactly why the Ute-Cougar game is a big deal, even on a year like this, and even when the arena isn't full, let me explain: because it is. This is a feud that has been festering for 238 games and 96 years. That's nearly as long as Coke and Pepsi have been fighting.

Which brings up a point: This isn't like your previous job, at Eastern Washington. Utah-BYU is a far cry from that little EWU-Portland State skirmish. This is a series that could seriously affect your ability to earn a living. Which means you should probably make winning at least one of the two annual games a priority.

You knew Monday's meeting would be intense. You even wore a crimson blazer for the occasion. But it's one thing to hear about it, another to live it. Yes, there are hecklers in every arena. But this is an honest-to-blood-oath rivalry. Things can get out of hand. For instance, there was the year Utah's Buster Matheney threw a haymaker at Jay Cheesman's head. Never mind Cheesman was wearing a plexi-glass mask to protect his already-broken schnoz. Then there was the time Rick Majerus exited the Marriott Center court shouting, "I'm still king of the (expletive) hill!" Classy. But he had a point.

BYU's Timo Saarelainen left the Huntsman Center after one win, blowing kisses at the Ute crowd.

This year's game was only a minute old when the refs had to separate BYU's Jimmy Balderson and Utah's Andrew Bogut after a hard foul. In the closing moments, several technicals were handed out after BYU's Chris Miles kicked Bogut in the back.