From: henstrom@pdx030.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Alex Henstrom)
Subject: Re: BYU - America's Most Hated Team???
Reply-To: henstrom@ichips.intel.com
Organization: INTEL Portland X86 Focus Group
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 17:40:39 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.010109.22182@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>, zuniga@loligo.cc.fsu.edu (Ralph Zuniga (FREAC/CAR)) writes:
|> As I watch tonight's game (9/10) between San Diego St. and BYU, I
|> see that the BYU fans are calling their team the most hated in America.
|> Huh?? I can think of 10 or more teams that I hate more than BYU. Just
|> what is BYU thinking??? Anyone from BYU care to comment???

The only reason BYU is calling themselves the most hated team in America is
because of an article that appeared in the college football preview issue of
Sports Illustrated. This issue contained an article naming BYU the most
hated team in America. 

In sumise the article stated that BYU was the most hated team because:
	They win.
	They are poor winners, and poor loosers.
	They are Mormons and there is a belief that all Mormons are racially
	    intolerant. This due to the fact that afro-americans could not
	    hold the priesthood in the Church until the late 70's.
	The studentbody commits themselves to not smoke, drink, or have
	    premarital sex and to abide by a dress standard. Other people 
	    sometimes take this as "you think your better them me because...".
	

I would agree that BYU is a widely disliked team....But the most Hated??
I would venture to say that a program like Notre Dame or Miami are probably
more suited for this title (no offense Irish or Hurricane fans). These teams
are also probably the most loved teams. You either love them or hate them.

The article was written by a writer that is based in Colorado (I forget his
name). The article was not very objective and used incidents that were the
exception and not the norm. Ex-WAC players from opposing schools were quoted
as hating BYU. There is no question that from within the WAC, BYU is the most
hated team. I didn't understand how quotes from opposing players that always
lost to BYU are credible proof of BYU being the nations most hated team. I
beleive that the author was influenced by that fact that he lives in the 
midst of the WAC enviornment.  As far as BYU being poor winners or loosers,
I don't believe they're worse than most teams around, there have been cases
of poor sportmanship but that's the exception not the norm. Most Mormons are
not bigots despite belief otherwise. The Mormon church teaches against racial 
intolerance.

The BYU fans decided to not try and fight the new title of "MOST HATED", but
rather have begun to take pride in it. That is why the shirts and banners
that proclaimed themselves the most hated.

In all, the article was not very accurate nor did is objectively explain why
BYU is supposed to be the most hated team in America. Though I would have to
say that around January of 1985 they very well might have been the most hate
team in America, especially in the Northwest ;-)
	   
--
=Alex Henstrom=
henstrom@ichips.intel.com

"Where the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons,
computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1 1/2
tons." 
          ---Popular Mechanics, March 1949