Somewhere, Lenny Gomes is pumping gas, at least in the hazy lore of the Utah-Brigham Young football rivalry. Somewhere, Chris Yergensen is kicking a game-winning field goal that Ron McBride remembers as being 70 or 80 yards, at least. Somewhere, snowballs are being thrown at quarterbacks, goal posts are being torn down and Brandon Doman is single-handedly sending LaVell Edwards into retirement with a miracle win.
And somewhere, Billy Priddis is whomping on a BYU fan, pounding him with blow after blow. That's how rivalries work -- little incidents become big stories, crucial plays become historical benchmarks and maybe some of the facts get bent and folded and distorted by fading memories and partisan viewpoints. But the central events live on, sometimes longer than the games themselves.
Utah's 20-17 victory in Provo two years ago might be like that. A decade from now, Kevin Feterik's touchdown passes and Andre Dyson's interceptions might be look-it-up details. But everyone will remember "the cheerleader game."
Priddis was the Utah cheerleader who put flame to fuse on a fan-rage powder keg by triumphantly dashing around an end zone with a giant Utah banner after Cliff Russell's 70-yard touchdown pass gave the Utes a lead they would not surrender. As he ran past sections of BYU fans, one of them -- 19-year-old Brandon Perry -- jumped out of the stands and tackled Priddis. When Perry wouldn't let go, Priddis turned on him and "got in seven or eight good shots," he said that day, before security guards finally pulled them apart.
It seemed like an interesting, if minor, diversion in the game. But before long, it was all either team's fans could talk about. The Provo City Attorney's Office investigated and briefly considered pressing charges. Newspapers printed dozens of letters about the fight, and radio shows kept the issue alive for weeks. BYU athletics director Val Hale, who at first mistakenly thought Priddis had attacked an usher, said he would not allow Utah's cheerleaders to bring flags again, prompting even more debate.
"It became this hot media story," said Hale. "I felt bad for all parties, because it was really an unfortunate incident that wouldn't go away. . . . I guess it's part of the rivalry's legend now." Hale has reconsidered his position, and in consultation with U. cheerleading sponsor Jeff Parkin, agreed that the banners will be allowed in the stadium, but confined to the corner of the north end zone where Utah fans sit. "This game brings out the worst of emotions. I worry for those kids' safety," Hale said. "It has always bothered me that when flags get run up and down, it's like target practice. So we're going to use some sense and keep the Utah flags in front of Utah fans and BYU flags in front of BYU fans."
Priddis became something of a folk hero on Utah's campus, but neither he nor Perry is around to reprise his role. Perry, officially banned from BYU's campus after the incident, left on an LDS Church mission shortly after that game.
And Priddis? He won't be carrying a U. flag Saturday. He isn't interested in reliving the moment that made him a Ute legend, or accepting the adulation of Utah boosters.
With good reason, too. In the intervening 24 months, Priddis left the U., moved out of Salt Lake City and enrolled in an Air Force ROTC program.
At BYU.
© 2001 Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co