Local fans of BYU doubling their fun

Some sports fanatics would cry “Blasphemy!” if a person supported two teams in the same sport, let alone the same league.

But many of the thousands of Brigham Young football fans who live in Southern Nevada appear to have no problem with the concept.

A small sampling of BYU alumni living here reveals they root for the Rebels when they’re not playing the Cougars, and some wouldn’t mind if long-suffering UNLV were to upset favored BYU in tonight’s game at Sam Boyd Stadium.

“Lots of people would just as soon see BYU lose. Once you lay down roots here, you can’t help but root for the Rebels. But there’s one or two games a year where you have to divide your loyalty a little bit,” said Kevin Christensen, a BYU alumnus and UNLV season-ticket holder whose wife and three of the couple’s four daughters also attended the Provo, Utah, school.

“I seem to wear two sets of colors to most (BYU-UNLV) games. It’s kind of fun,” Chris-tensen said. “I’ll find myself rooting for both sides, and I’ll probably feel like I can’t lose.”

Fellow BYU alum Gary Burnett — like Christensen a lawyer and longtime Southern Nevada resident — also plans to support both schools at tonight’s 6:30 game.

“Sometimes we’ll wear a red shirt under a blue shirt, so depending (upon) who’s winning the game, we can switch shirts,” Burnett said, only half-jokingly. “I’ve become a big Rebel fan, so we’re kind of torn, although my allegiance probably should be with BYU when they play each other.

“If UNLV wins, I’m still happy.”

Not all Cougars fans living here feel that way, including Pete Codella, vice-chairman of the Las Vegas chapter of the BYU alumni association.

“I have many friends who work at UNLV, and I think it’s a good school. But my loyalties will always be with my alma mater, regardless of where I live,” he said.

Past chapter president Rick Roskelly said tonight’s game is important for bragging rights but not as crucial as BYU’s annual game against chief rival Utah.

“If we lose to the Rebels, I’ll get some good-natured ribbing,” he said. “But if we lose to the University of Utah, I wouldn’t hear the end of it for the next 12 months.”

A true-blue BYU fan, Roskelly said he didn’t miss a home basketball or football game in seven years at the school, and although he’s 51 he purchased blue hair dye for tonight’s game.

“I threatened my wife I’d dye it before the game, but she threatened not to go to the game if I did, so I’m not going to,” he said.

Threatened is a feeling most people don’t experience when encountering a group of BYU fans, who are passionate without getting rowdy. Las Vegas Bowl executive director Tina Kinzer-Murphy said she never felt safer in a sellout crowd of more than 41,000 than she did at the 1996 Western Athletic Conference championship game won by BYU at Sam Boyd.

“It’s a smart crowd,” she said. “They have great passion for their football team, and it’s all about the game.”

Beer vendors will get the night off from most Cougars fans tonight, but that doesn’t mean the BYU faithful won’t be loud and proud.

“They’re rabid about BYU football, but they’re good folks,” Cougars athletic director Tom Holmoe said of his alumni. “(Sam Boyd) might sell a lot of hot chocolate.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.