With the Cougars playing teams from all over the country, BYU students are beginning to show their true colors, and they aren’t always blue and white.
A segment of BYU students choose to cheer against the Cougars in favor of their hometown teams.
BYU is a place where the student-body is a mixture of people from almost everywhere. While most students embrace the “true blue,” others just cannot bring themselves to go against their upbringing.
[/media-credit]- Friends Jared Robinson, left, and Taylor Laughlin support different college sports programs.
Taylor Laughlin, a business major from Atlanta, is a diehard Gators fan, a tradition passed down from his father, who is a Florida alumnus.
“Ever since I was young I have rooted for Florida,” he said. “It’s like family heritage. In my family BYU has always come second. Growing up it was always like, when is the Florida game on? Let’s watch it. When’s the BYU game on? Who cares?”
For a boy growing up in the south and completely submerged in Southeastern Conference propaganda, this is understandable. But most would think his allegiance would change after years of attending games at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Surprisingly, Laughlin’s attitude is not one-of-a-kind.
Dallin Demke, a sophomore and an Austin, Texas, native, can be seen wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt around campus. He commented on the game against the Longhorns.
“First comes God, then family, then Longhorns and then BYU,” he said.
Statements such as these leave many true blue Cougar fans appalled, confused and asking the question: Why don’t you just go to that school?
“Because it’s a good atmosphere, cheaper education, and my Dad wouldn’t let me go to Florida,” Laughlin said.
Yet many out-of-state students have caught the Cougar fever. Ashley Sant, a senior from Atlanta, has cheered on the Georgia Bulldogs her whole life. Sant was asked if BYU were to play UGA who she would cheer for.
“I would cheer for BYU,” she said “Duh. How could I cheer against BYU? It’s the school that I go to.”
