A basketball game. (Warning: this is a sports post.)

Tomorrow night, BYU and UNLV will play each other in men's basketball.

I got my B.A. from BYU, and my J.D. from UNLV.

I grew up a mild UNLV fan.  I enjoyed their basketball team.  I always thought I would go to college there.  I remember going to a few UNLV games as a kid.  I have a vague memory of a football game, and I have clear memories of going to UNLV basketball games, including the one in UNLV's championship season where Greg Anthony broke his nose or cheekbone, or whatever it was, and had to wear that clear mask the rest of the season.  In a biography I wrote about myself in fifth grade, I even mentioned how proud I was of the championship team (Kelsea has made fun of me for this.)

I grew up hating BYU.  My cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents in Utah were all BYU fans, which was fine with me, but it bothered me that they just assumed I was a BYU fan too.  I didn't have any particular problem with BYU, I just didn't see why I would be a fan of a school in another state that I had no desire to attend.  I looked into it my senior year of high school when I decided I wanted to leave home for college, and it had the lowest tuition, some of my friends were going there.  I figured that if I had a terrible time, I would at least know somebody on campus I might possibly hang out with.

I really enjoyed BYU.  I had great roommates, and met some really amazing and fun people there (as well as some crazies and nuts).  I wasn't much of a sports fan, but bought into the excitement of going to the games.  I remember going to the homecoming game against UNLV with conflicting loyalties.  I had never been a UNLV football fan, but it was those comments about BYU football that had so irked me earlier in my life.  (I remember some comments about Ty Detmer in particular, and in my memory, I picture my cousin saying "Isn't he so dreamy?")  Anyway, I also went to a BYU-UNLV basketball game my freshman year, and cheered for UNLV (though fairly quietly, as I was in the student section).  It was easy then: UNLV was bad at football; and BYU was bad at basketball.

By the time I graduated, however, BYU had started doing a bit better in basketball, and my loyalty to BYU sports, and to BYU, had grown.  On the other hand, I was tired of the college town feel of Provo.  I was a little tired of the Mormon (over-)saturation of the culture, but I could deal with that.  It was the fact that it was a small town with a big school in it that was getting to me.  So I chose to move on to UNLV Law School.

UNLV students got in free to UNLV football and basketball games, so I went to a few.  They were fun.  Being a married law student at a football game is very different from being a crazy freshman at a football game.  But I became a UNLV football fan, to a degree (I can only pay attention to so many terrible games a season).  They're still bad, but I am a fan.  I am remained a fan of UNLV basketball.  Those are fun games to go to.  I love yelling things at the refs, talking to the players and coaches like they can hear me, and getting into the game.

When BYU and UNLV play in football, I expect BYU to win, but I don't cheer much.  When UNLV and BYU play in basketball, I generally expect the home team to win, but I can barely watch.

Now, BYU and UNLV are both ranked in the top 25, and I want them both to win.  Since that's impossible, I hope they both beat San Diego State, and everyone else in the conference.  While it will be a relief that they won't play each other as much after this year, it's also disappointing, as the MWC was just getting to be a really good conference.

UNLV is favored by 3, and I think they'll cover.  But I'll be disappointed either way.