Hated Rivals No Longer Allowed To Hate Each Other

BYU's Max Hall led his team to an incredible overtime win against hated rival Utah, but now he's been forced to apologize for hating his rival? I thought that was the whole point.

The senior quarterback threw two touchdown passes in his final home game, including the game-winner in overtime, and when asked at a post-game press conference if that redeemed his six-turnover debacle from 2008, Hall did not mince words....

A little bit, yeah. I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, I hate their fans, I hate everything. So it felt really good to send those guys home.

They didn't deserve it. It was our turn, and our turn to win. We deserved it. We played as hard as we could tonight. And it felt really good, again, to send them home, to get them out of here, and so it is a game I will always remember."

And then he continued, "I think the whole university, their fans and their organization is classless. They threw beer on my family and stuff last year, and they did a whole bunch of nasty things, and I don't respect them, and they deserved to lose."

Wow. That's like real hate. So that's probably the end of that story, right? Nope. Believe it or not, Utah fans were a little ticked off:

"Max Hall is a jerk. He says he hates Utah. I hate him. I hate BYU. That school is filled with hypocrites." — Steve

"Hall is a whiny b——, just like all Cougars and their fans." — no name

"What a baby Max is. Why is it that BYU players are always the ones saying stupid things. I hate that place. Talk about classless." — Tom.

"MORGAN SCALLEY MADE SIMILAR COMMENTS IN 2004 WITHOUT CRITICISM. YOU NEED TO CALL IT BOTH WAYS." — Mark.

Just to let you know how serious Ute fans are taking this ... they've started anti-Max Facebook groups. No foolin'. So on Sunday, Hall decided to ease the tension a little bit and offered an apology for taking a dump on half his state.

"As a result of what happened to my family last year, this rivalry became personal, and in the heat of the moment yesterday, I made comments toward the entire university that were really directed specifically at those fans in [Rice-Eccles Stadium]. It was not intended to be directed at the entire organization and all of their fans, and I apologize that it came out that way."

First of all, what did he say there about not intending to insult the entire organization?

"I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless."

Ok, just checking. But Hall says he was really upset because during the 2008 game at Utah, his family was physically and verbally assaulted, including getting beer dumped on them by unruly fans. So that's why the "rivalry became personal." If ask me, it isn't a rivalry until you take it personally. That's why they're called rivals.

A year ago, Hall got embarrassed on the field and his family was humiliated in the stands. So this time around, he rips the heart out of his opponent and redeems himself. Shouldn't he get to talk all the shit he wants? Like the University of Utah is so kick-ass that no one is allowed to hate it? Ok, maybe when the hate rises to the level of beer throwing and insulting mothers, you've gone a bit too far, but Max Hall should be commended for getting his payback on the field. That's the best kind of revenge there is.

So don't listen to those Mormons, buddy. Hold on to your rage and let it feed your soul. It's healthy for you!

Monson: Mad Max's thunder a blunder [Salt Lake Tribune]
Monson: There's too much hate in BYU-Utah rivalry [Salt Lake Tribune]
Mad Max Will Regret Post Game Blunder [Bleacher Report]
Hall's pain a reflection of self-betrayal [Deseret News]
BYU Cougar quarterback Max Hall apologizes for ripping Utah Utes, fans after victory [ESPN]
[Photo via]

Send an email to Dashiell Bennett, the author of this post, at dashiell@deadspin.com.

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