A Mormon dilemma: Mitt Romney or BYU football?

Brigham Young University's alumni president had a choice to make Thursday night: Watch BYU alum Mitt Romney's speech at the Republican National Convention or watch the nationally televised season opener for BYU football's team.

Michael O'Connor refused to choose. Instead, he saved both for later.

"I couldn't handle either one of them live," said O'Connor, who lives in Riverside, Calif., and like Romney is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "I'm so invested in both of them that I didn't want to go back and forth between the two and be tempted to go back and forth between the two. I wanted to be able to watch them both in a manner in which I could be fully concentrated on one of the other without thinking about the other."

Across the country, many LDS BYU football fans faced the same dilemma: Watch as the first Mormon to become the presidential nominee of a major political party made his acceptance speech, or watch the Cougars kick off their season against a strong opponent, the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12.

Fans of both Romney and BYU went to Twitter to share their excitement — or defend their choice.

You would think all these Mormons would be watching the #RNC Good to know football is more important. #BYU #WSU #NCAAFootball

— Matt Tullius (@Tullio20) August 31, 2012

Not going to call Mitt's #RNC speech tonight a #Mormon Moment. Mostly because most #LDS will be watching #BYU at same time. #beatWazzu

— D. Sean (@RealDSean) August 30, 2012

#BYU Football game on at the same time as the #RNC.HMMM ??? Is everyone in Utah torn about what to watch?#DVR

— Terri Haney (@thaney0311) August 31, 2012

Why do I have a feeling that more #Mormons are watching the #BYU game than the #RNC?

— Rachel Nebeker (@dumblond4) August 31, 2012

#BYU game viewership will get a huge bump now that #RNC is over. Mitt fans, you can begin watching the cougars. Enjoy the 14-0 lead.

— aubrey quinn (@aubreyquinn) August 31, 2012

Shouldn't Mitt wrap this up so he can get back to watching the Mormons defend against the AIR RAID? #wazzu #BYU #RNC

— Ryan Kiefer (@kdogster) August 31, 2012

For Jeff Smith, a BYU alumnus in Palo Alto, Calif., the decision was a simple one. He said he watched only the game.

"In 2008, I was all over the conventions and everything leading up to the elections. But the last four years I've been turned off towards politics and politicians," Smith said in an email.

"When Romney has already been campaigning for a year-and-a-half (make that more like six years), I just don't feel like there is anything new to say that hasn't already been said. The start of college football is like a breath of fresh air!"

While some chose one or the other to watch live, others flipped between the two — including those attending the events.

In his article for Buzzfeed, McKay Coppins, a BYU alumnus, described the excitement as the LDS church members among Utah's Republican delegates at the convention buzzed about having Romney on the stage while BYU was winning their game against WSU:

"The Mormons on the floor of the convention hall here Thursday night were feeling like winners," Coppins wrote.

"Not only had one of their own just officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination — marking a climax to the current 'Mormon moment,' and a triumphant emergence into the American mainstream for their faith — but Brigham Young University's football team was about win its season opener. As the balloons fell, Utah delegate Brent Bishop looked up from his iPhone and announced the third-quarter score to the rest of the delegation.