Comments about ‘Weddle-Beck rivalry has blossomed into friendship’

Weddle was a stud at Utah. Beck to Harline was one of my favorite moments as a BYU fan! Great article!

Very nice article. I appreciate the positive feel to it. I hope Utah and BYU supporters can learn from these two athletes. Thank you Eric Weddle! WJU(BYU 1982).

Two great players, two big time studs! Great read. Go Cougars!!!

Top sports moment I can remember as a sports fan. Weddle is a class act and a terrific athlete. Beck was the first good QB I knew as a Cougar (I didn't know much about football for the first 15 years of my life), and that game was tremendously special. Glad Weddle and Beck can set a good example.

I remember that day when Eric Weddle came to John Beck after that great game which was amazing moment. You think all players on both side should do the same thing after the game. Who knows but yes John Beck said it if he had lost that game he never cross the idea what Eric Weddle have done. I wish fans would grow up.

Oh, Oakland fans are very rough neighborhood which I would never attend the game their. 49ers is a great place to be which I know that.

I remember very distinctly Eric Weddles post-game press conference comments following the 2006 game. He was clearly devastated by the loss as any fierce competitor would be, but he expressed a lot of respect and congratulations to John Beck and BYU. Hes a class act and clearly a great man. Im not in any way a Utah fan, but ever since then Ive been a big Eric Weddle fan and have enjoyed seeing him play for San Diego knowing his great character.

We need more Eric Weddles and John Becks competing with passion and showing respect and far fewer Morgan Scalleys and Max Halls flaming on the hatred.

Does anyone have this picture of Weddle and Beck arm in arm after the game?? I would love to have this in my office, signed by these 2 great athletes!! I am tired of all the rhetoric and poor sportsmanship that has occurred in recent years with this rivalry...virtually 100% of which has come from the "fans"!! Can't tell you how much I dislike blogs with TDS (Team Down South/BYU) simply because a Ute fans can't bear to write "BYU"...or TUN (Team Up North/U of U) because Cougar fans can't bear to write "U of U". It is time to get over it!! I had the opportunity to play for one of the schools and competed against the other school numerous times and played as hard as I could each and every play to beat them on the field, but I never disliked the other school or any of the athletes from the team. I know other players on both sides did, I just respected all of my opponents too much. Seriously, someone tell me how to get a copy of this picture for my office. I NEED IT!! HELP!!

This is a great article. I have been impressed by comments everyone has made. I am just sad that one of the great tight ends in BYU history Jonny Harline never made it in the pros. As I watch the tight ends in the NFL today, I know he could do better than some I have seen.

Great article. I always thought Weddle would have been a better fit in Provo than at Utah. He was always a classy guy.

Yes Harlene would do better than most TE in NFL which is a shame that his injury prone body can't hold in together.

Great article showing the power of an "example".

Better to do something than talk about it.

These guys are what exemplifies the best of the rivalry. Let's focus on this, and the friends, the families and all the fun parts of the rivalry and not the classless garbage that a few fans (and sometimes players and coaches) bring to it.

The '06 game was epic! There were BYU fans by us and we smacked on each other the whole game. In the end with no time remaining, a final play and there sat Harline in the end zone with the ball. Incredible finish to an incredible game. I congratulated my rivals who we had smacked with all game. I then looked down and saw the moment that Beck and Weddle were together on the field. It left an incredible impression on me. I hate when the Utes lose and I'm never happy if the loss is to BYU but I had just witnessed two teams go at and never quit which both teams had plenty of opportunity to do. The clock finally said it was over! Great game! Great article! Go Utes!

Fantastic article and a heart warming story. I wish there were more players on both sides like Eric Weddle and John Beck. That 2006 game will always be a classic. I can watch every second until the final play. Eric Weddle will always be my favorite Utah football player. He exemplifies class and dignity and respecting not only the game, but the opponent as well.

Never heard this story before. My opinion of Eric Weddle has just gone up. I wish more players would show this kind of character before, during and after the game, no matter who wins.

Go Cougs!

Eric Weddle's reaction to losing that game left a more memorable impression on me than the Beck to Harline play. I was proud to be a Ute that day.

I really appreciate what he had to say about attending games at a rival's stadium. While I wish ALL Utah fans would be kind and respectful to BYU fans, that's not realistic. So stay home if you can't take the abuse. Pretty simple solution. You're not entitled to go to the game and be treated as a welcome guest, to be free from reading offensive T-shirts or signs, to hear no coarse language, or to be completely insulated from obnoxious drunks. You ARE entitled to all these things in the privacy of your own home.

In all the games I have witnessed, the players have tremendous respect for each other. Which is evidenced by their interaction after each game. The competetive juices will flow throughout the game...but once it's over, the players know how to behave.

It's we, the fans, that make this out to be much more than it is. It's been nice to read the civil dialogue the past few days...kind of refreshing.

Weddle is the man! A lot of hype leads up to the game, and the game is the game, but as these two class acts have shown, once the game is over it is time to tell the other team and fans, "great job." There is a lot of passion in this game, but nothing supercedes sportsmanship.

Wayne Rout

Thanks for bringing us all down man. Why would you say something like that in the middle of a completely civil and courteous dialogue? You've just provided the perfect example of what goes wrong with this rivalry.

As a cougar fan I was bouncing off the walls after that game, but what I remember most was the class shown by Eric Weddle to all of the BYU Team in his post game interview. That was truly one of the greatest moments in this rivalry and it left a very lasting impression on me more so than the win. Thanks.