Nice to get him, but I don’t see him rubbing it in. Please point me to where he rubs it in. I see a kid who’s excited to get to Utah. I hope he does well.
Based on his pics could he be our next Kicker? J/K
Oh, that’s a shame…
In the accompanying video he blows a giant Raassberry in the faces of BYU fans.
That’s still not rubbing it in, unless you’re a BYU fan I s’pose.
I was speaking more in the general “LIfe is rubbing it in”.
I remember when his dad(?) and uncle played for BYU - the Raass brothers were really talented & effective, back when we were on the short end of the stick.
So, the rubbing it in is another “legacy recruit” coming north, even after their vaunted move to the B12. The Reid brothers, Covey, I-can’t-remember-how-many-others, etc.
There’s a flip side, some Utah legacy kids go to BYU, but often don’t seem to make a huge difference.
But underneath the rivalry among the fans, there’s a human story - like with the Nacua brothers. Didn’t result in a big difference, after the glory years of Covid, but have to respect the kids and their decision to play together near their mom.
BYU is quite fortunate to have Nacua. He’s a heck of a receiver. The Cougars would be 4-6 maybe 3-7 without him.
Also, I definitely remember the Raas brothers playing for BYU. They were big boys. In the 1995 Utah-BYU game in Provo, one of them got ejected in the third quarter after an altercation. That was a great win for Utah–the third in a row for the Utes in the series and their widest margin of victory in Provo since 1956.
I was at that '95 game in Provo, the guest of some good friends who were BYU fans.
Besides Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala being the difference in that game, and a couple of BYU fans around me muttering “I wish we had a Ma’afala”, the most memorable part of being there that day was this BYU fan the next row up who was what I call a “wayward youth of Utah County”.
He was certainly a Y fan, had the hat and a hoodie, but he also had long hair and was absolutely flammable. He could barely stand up, had to be steadied a few times by people around him.
“F-yeah, BYU! Let’s beat those F-ers!” and then he’d crash down on the bench, laughing and swearing up a storm.
This elicited looks of absolute abject horror from the Y fans sitting around us, as such a combination was unfathomable… in their understanding of the universe.
Ma’afala put the hammer down late, and it was a day of smiles for me and Mrs. Ma’ake.
Chris was a beast, but the nine-minute drive in 2019 was a soul sucker for them to endure. Watching us just wind the clock on them was glorious.
I think you’re saying I should embellish the story.
Let me work on that…
Just remember, it was BYUfan being the drunken foul-mouth fool that triggered the creation of their Honor Code. It was either that or disbanding their intercollegiate sports program.
Given the BS they are accepting as OK right now, it’s only a matter of time before intercollegiate sports for them gets shut down. The volleyball incident, and their handling of it, ain’t going away.
The 1995 game IMHO, is one of the most underrated of the series. It was the third-straight Ute win in the rivalry but the first one in which they looked clearly better. It kind of cemented Utah as having turned the rivalry around. It was 34-17, but BYU scored two late touchdowns to make it look closer. In fact, I remember after BYUs last touchdown, which came with under a minute to play, the Cougar who scored (maybe Hema Heimuli) just threw the ball down to the turf in frustration as if to say, “It’s about time we score” or “So what? We still lost.” And Ma’afala was a beast that game. He ran over players left and right. Plus, Mike Fouts, Kevin Dyson, and Rocky Henry were lights out. Utah picked off Sarkisian four times as well.
I was at that game in the north end zone among a sea of Zoobs. As someone who, as a kid, watched BYU dominate for more than a decade, it was glorious to watch this one. Of course, BYU got revenge with a convincing win in '96 (its last win over Utah by double digits), but from this point on, BYU has been playing catch-up to Utah.
That’s a great point. That 95 game was the first Utah-byu game in a long time where Utah was clearly better and byu has been playing catchup since then.
wayyyy back in the mists of time there were the CHristiansen twins out of TimpView… I got be freinds with both of them… Amazing young men, who couldnt stand the arrogance of that culture… They didnt really talk about it publicly, but shared that with me when we all had an Algebra class together in about 95 or 96?
And look where Sarkisian is now… and the LOVELY legacy he trails behind him…Who could have EVER guessed…