OUR VIEW: When in Provo, do as the Cougars
Last season’s men’s basketball game against BYU was definitely one that left a mark on the Aggies and Cougars. The hard-fought USU win in the Spectrum was strewn with controversial chants and signs from our student section, including the now-infamous “pull out” chant directed at BYU center Brandon Davies. Davies got into a bit of hot water for breaking BYU’s Honor Code by having premarital sex, and Aggie fans laid into him with signs reading “Rise Up: Not a problem for Davies” and “Davies: I’ve had better.”
The “crude language” against Davies and the Cougars prompted USU officials to apologize to BYU for our fans’ behavior. The apology has proved divisive for Aggie fans, some of whom believe USU did not need to apologize and others who feel we crossed a line.
Did USU go too far? Maybe. Should we tone it down against the school down south from now on? Sure, why not?
Students go to BYU for a number of reasons, but one is for security against vulgarity. When they left the cozy confines of Hellhole, USA. – I mean, Provo – and came up to Logan to see the game, they should’ve known they were going to get offended. Offending opposing teams and getting into their heads is what the Spectrum does best. BYU fans and their pure, obscenity-free surroundings just can’t handle what the Aggie fans dish out.
When the Cougars come up to Logan, they leave their bubble of purity. They surrender all right to whine and moan that Aggie fans are too mean to their players. When we go down to Provo, it’s a different story. We are entering their domain of sunshine and lollipops, where swearing is forbidden by law and being in a bad mood will get you 15 to life. When we enter their sphere of influence, we abide by their rules, just as they have to abide by ours when they head north.
So when our students, alumni and miscellaneous Aggie faithful head to Provo on Wednesday, they should have fun. They should be loud, cheer on the Aggies, sing the Scotsman until they’re blue in the face and let the Marriott Center know who they believe will win. But the insults and PG-13 and above language? Leave them in Logan. BYU fans simply can’t handle the might of the HURD at any time of the day, so let them have their little slice of heaven in Provo. They just aren’t ready to face the real world.
The Aggies are on their way up athletically, so when we are on the road, put on a respectable show for the home stands. They’ll come to Logan for their punishment soon enough.