utah @ utah state

score: 20 - 27

i had to give myself a few days to realize that friday night wasn't a nightmare.

unfortunately.

after playing the game i came to a few conclusions.

1. having a good qb can make or break your team

2. some refs are flag happy and love to hear their own voice on the microphone

3. i hate relying on kickers (i already knew this before this game)

4. espn games suck because the tv time outs are SO. FREAKIN. LONG.

well i definitely could pull a move out of byu fans' playbook and say 

"we only lost because of the refs, because of our own mistakes, we really are the better team, etc."

 i won't.  bottomline is, we played awful.  like, really awful.

 so therefore we lost to a team like utah state (no offense aggies, but come on).

while i'm sure that all the utah fans out there were probably mad about the loss, no one knows how different it is to not be just a regular fan, but to have football be your family's whole life.  having my dad be a football coach makes the game very different for our entire family.  it's not just "oh, i hope we win and if we don't i'll be mad for a little bit and then forget about it".  it's more like, "i hope we win because this is my dad's job and i love him and want him to succeed", and if we don't win the whole family is affected.  

i know i am super (and probably overly) sensitive about this subject and have been my whole life.  i once slapped a boy in middle school because he told me that my dad's defense sucked.  it just seems like as soon as we lose, everyone becomes the world's greatest coach and is eager to tell you what the team SHOULD have done, or what play the coaches SHOULD have called.  fans who have never played a down of football in their life are all of a sudden experts at telling the coaches how they should have done their job.

 there are so many people who say to me or my family, "i want the utes to win except when they play _____ [usually insert byu here]", and that really bothers me.  because it's not like i go around telling people " i want you or your dad to do well at your job, but when something really big and important comes up i want you to completely fail and then have them write in the newspapers about how poorly you did".  in my opinion, if you are a friend you would want to support me and my family 100%, no matter who we are playing.  if my family, who was a part of the byu glory years, can convert to the utes then i'd think anyone can!

but i am VERY grateful because there are many people that HAVE fully converted from the blue side to the red (they've seen the light!)  dawson thinks i'm being too harsh in venting this much, so i'm sorry if you find this post obnoxious.

anyway.

maybe it's because i love my family and my dad so much and am fiercly protective.  or maybe it's because ever since i can remember i have been a ute, and have never missed a game in my life.  

or maybe it's just because i'm a whittingham, and football is in my blood.  

whatever it is though, i am proud of it.

next up on our schedule is our last non-conference game, versus byu.

i know the utes have a lot of work to do this week, but i know my dad, the rest of the coaches, and all the players will do everything they can to prepare and recover from last week.

whether we win or lose this game, or whatever happens the rest of the season, 

i will be proud of my dad and never be ashamed to call myself a UTE.