Two teams, one heart

The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 8 BYU Cougars face each other on the football field on Oct. 17.

For one local football fan, the highly anticipated matchup is putting decades of football loyalty to the test.

When BYU and Notre Dame take the field Saturday, most fans will know exactly which side they are on, but for Patrick Baker, the matchup is a little more complicated.

One look around Patricks home, and its hard to miss where his loyalties lie. The only problem? There are two of them.

I was Catholic and a couple of friends in the neighborhood, they told me, if youre Catholic, you have to root for Notre Dame, Patrick said.

Patricks love for the Fighting Irish started when he was a kid.

Id get to watch my Irish every Sunday morning. So that just hooked me, Patrick said.

But after moving to Utah, another team won him over.

I was Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, and then got married, then started getting interested in the church and everything, and we went to some football games, Patrick said.

After going to his first BYU game in 1979, he was a fan.

I fell in love with BYU too, Patrick said.

And that love soon became a family tradition.

Patrick and his wife Michelle raised their kids around BYU football.

We absolutely loved it and had so many wonderful memories, Michelle said.

For decades, Patrick has filled this room with memories from both BYU and Notre Dame.

But when those two teams share the field on Saturday, theres one question all the memorabilia cant answer, who does he cheer for?

Thats a tough one because I told Michelle when we went to Notre Dame, it was like watching two of our kids go at it, Patrick said

Patrick says he just wants a great game and to see both teams play well.

Michelle, on the other hand doesnt seem to have the same dilemma.

I will cheer for Notre Dame if they're not playing BYU. But if they're playing BYU, no, Michelle said.

But for Patrick, Saturdays winner wont change decades of loyalty to both.

No matter which team comes out on top, Patrick has a place for both in his heart and his home.