Rivalry in perspective: 'This game brings out the best in the opponent'

Seven people, seven ways of looking at BYU vs. Utah. We've asked them their thoughts — not just about this week's game, but how they view the rivalry and its impact on our lives.

Anyone who has lived in Utah knows about the BYU-Utah rivalry. Everyone has a personal memory or experience that is vividly recalled. But few, if any, have more memories of the storied football games of the past than 90-year-old Parry Sorensen.

"I remember going to the game as an 8-year old back in 1924," he says. "It was at old Cummings Field, and I went with a student that was boarding with my aunt. She got me in with a student ticket and we watched as the Utes won 35-6."

Since that game in 1924, Sorensen says he has personally seen at least 60 of the games, but remembers things about even more. BYU enters this week on a seven-game winning streak, with a national ranking and as a heavy favorite, but one game Sorensen remembers may have extra relevance in dealing with that.

"It was back in 1953, and the networks only televised one football game a week," he says. "They chose the BYU-Utah game, and Utah was a big favorite leading up to it. The headlines all said things like, 'Utes favored by five touchdowns.' Utah ended up winning that game by one point, 33-32, because BYU fumbled a snap on a point-after try. Any team that is a big favorite needs to remember that this game brings out the best in the opponent."

Sorensen grew up as a University of Utah fan. He was the editor of the Daily Utah Chronicle while attending Utah from 1934-35. He later worked as director of public relations from 1946-1964, a task that included the job that is now the sports information director. He moved to the executive assistant to the president position from 1964-1973 before finishing his career as a full professor — teaching, among other things, journalism.

His memories are obviously swayed toward the Utah side, so he lists some of his best in the series as: The 1978 game, which the Utes won 23-22 to break a six-game losing streak; the 1988 game, where Scott Mitchell led Utah to a 57-28 victory, ending a nine-game losing streak; and the 1950 game that ended in a 28-28 tie, simply because it was a good game.

Some of his worst memories include the 1989 game in which the Cougars had payback on their mind and laid a 70-31 whooping on the Utes, and the 1998 game that included the infamous Ryan Kaneshiro kick off the goalpost in a 26-24 Utah loss.

"I look forward to the game every year," Sorensen says. "I don't know how many more games I'll get to add to my list, but I know that I have plenty of memories to look back on."

---

E-mail: mblack@desnews.com