Here's the scoop.
So I feel the time as come to dish about L****. I've been here for nearly 7 months and now I'm an expert.
But first I need to give you a bit of background so you know the kind of place I'm talking about. From my limited observations, people here are generally here either because they and all their family grew up here and they can't imagine living anywhere else, or because it drew them with its allure and they knew they'd finally found Their Place. They love it here. And power to them.
Don't get me wrong, there is a lot here to love so I completely support them in loving it. Trick is, from the moment I arrived it seemed like they all expected me to love it as much as they do. Which is difficult for me to do, because after moving around so much I tend to have a rather short-term view of things. I'm not usually deciding if this is a place I could love forever, more if it's good enough for now. And no matter what I say in praise of my new home, it kind of isn't enough to satisfy some people.
Resident who Loves L**** So Much They Want to Marry It: "So, are you from here then?"
Me: "No, I just moved here this year."
RWLLSMTWTMI: [eyes lighting up] "And do you love it???"
Me: "It's very nice."
RWLLSMTWTMI: "Hmmmm. And where did you move here from?"
Me: "I've moved around a lot the last little bit, but I was in Provo for awhile."
RWLLSMTWTMI: [with dismissive wave] "Pssshht. Provo. I bet you're so happy to be out of there. I've been there it's just better up here."
Turns out that a lot of Aggies (Utah State University mascot, something to do with farming) think there's a rivalry between them and BYU. I was stunned to learn this, as most BYU students who are not from Utah have never even heard of USU. I certainly hadn't. Our actual rival is the University of Utah with its godless coffee-drinking, BYU-statue-spray-painting ways. When Jen and the kids were up this week, we took them to USU's ice cream shop. Out of nowhere, with vanilla ice cream smeared all over her face, Savvy started yelling, "Go Cougars!" When we tried to shush her and say that up here it's "Go Aggies!" she shook her head and said, "No! GO COUGAAAARRSS!" And then little Ethan, with Aggie Blue Mint on his face, sat up and started crowing it as well.
Have I mentioned that I love them?
Anyway. Because I lived in Provo and now I live in Logan I am viewed as somewhat of a refugee who has Seen Horrible Things. And I've learned that no praise of their native land is enough to please the Valley Dwellers. The only really acceptable response is for me to throw myself on the ground, kiss the soil, and sob about how I've searched and searched my whole life but Now I've Come Home.
I'm Steph, a librarian and mom of 3 (not sure how that happened). Let's chat books, food, Sumptuous Literary Adaptations, poop, knitting and maybe some crazy Mormon Feminism.
14 comments:
Small-town love for ya'. Seriously, I didn't know much about the Aggies when I was a Cougar; oh, but we definitely knew who the Utes were. Afterall, they painted over the 'Y' every year.
Having a degree from BYU and USU, I'd have to say that my heart lies with the cougs (sorry aggies).
My sister and her fam lived there for 6-7 years. They were glad to get out.
Give it more time. I'm sure you'll love it just as much as they do ;-)
I had a BYU professor who was a die-hard USU fan and told me all about how the big rivalry used to be between the two blue schools. Apparently it was even more heated than the current one between the Y and the U. I was in the pep band for the men's basketball team and spotted him in the Marriott Center during a BYU v. USU game, where he lamely, ashamedly clapped along with our fight song but then stood up for anything the Aggies did and cheered with his booming voice.
I personally maintain that Cougars are way cooler than Aggies. I mean, it's a bull and all, but what the crap is an Aggie? An agricultural-loving (read: manure on their heels and love the "fresh smell") hick? (Please, Cache Valley dwellers and lovers, don't take offense! I still like you!)
People who live in valleys can often have a misconception about things every year.
And I'm technically an Aggie since my graduate program is hosted through them, but I'll probably always be a Cougar first and foremost since I'm not actually LIVING in Logan.
If they tell you that living in Provo is bad, just mention that in times of huge snowstorms, residents of Provo can actually get out of the valley if they wanted, unlike Loganites who are trapped if the canyon were to close. :) Ha.
Oh and the Aggies are upset that BYU changed their shade of blue--they still say that we stole the "Aggie blue." Hmm.
As a True Aggie (I won't go into detail of what that means, as I'm sure you might have already been briefed on the matter), I left a little piece of my heart in Ltown. While I was at USU, I couldn't wait to leave. And now that I'm gone, with nary a chance of ever living there again, I will admit that I miss it.
Small town events like the Cruise-In on the 4th, the Mountain Man Rendezvous (wherein you can find a husband), and don't even get me started on Bear Lake Raspberry Days. You cannot find things like this elsewhere.
My only gripe: This town should be in a different state. Those Utahns sure have a way of wearing you down.
Referring back to yesterday's postings and your snarky "frostbite" retort, L**** got snow sooner and later than we did.
I've had a couple of Aggies try to convince me there's a rivalry between USU and BYU, but my response is: For all I know, BYU's and USU's football teams despise each other and try to wreck each other on the field, but you don't have a SCHOOL RIVALRY until even the non-sports-following students like me know about it. Which they do not. So, no.
I guess I'm both a Cougar and a Ute, although I certainly don't feel much allegiance to either school. When I was at BYU I couldn't wait to leave, but now that I'm at the U and have to deal with people commiserating about my own "refugee status," it ticks me off that people would presume to have such a thorough dislike of a school they've never attended and honestly don't know much about. I mean, come on. If the only thing you can think of to criticize BYU for is that . . . the students aren't allowed to drink coffee, then you DON'T GET TO CRITICIZE BYU.
For being the Lord's University, BYU really does seem to have some rivalry anger management issues. Yes, our TRUE rivals are the Utes, but we harbor a good deal of animosity toward the Wyoming Cowboys and the UNLV Rebels as well. Not to mention our general disdain for those who go to the glorified high school that is Rick's.
My greatest wish while at BYU was to become a True Aggie. But that mostly has to do with how cool I thought it would be to engage in making out activities on their mountain on homecoming.
Ouch.
I was never deluded enough as an Aggie to think that there was any real rivalry between the two schools, but I remember the fury felt by many when BYU dropped their old school blue for colors identical to USU's.
Having lived many places, it is hard for me to feel at "home" anywhere. Except maybe L****. Hmm. . . . with another move eminent, maybe I should blog about this.
Hey Nem.
After reading the preceding comments I am glad to have never attended either institutions. I did go to the glorfied high school. All I can say is- I had fun. I was lucky enough to serve a mission in the Salt Lake valley, and this blog reminded me of a few things I noticed during my stay there is the Lords state.
A: of how small minded (mormon) Utahns are about their little micro-culture inside The Bubble.
B: that Utah collegiates view their school as being "rivals" allows them to reason that there athletics are worth being proud of. Well, it doesn't. They all sucked pretty bad.
C: many utahns think it (the schools, mountains, people, cities, the church, etc) is better than anywhere else. That goes back to what you were saying- they just don't know any better.
Cynical? Probably. But that's better than fanatical.
Sort of related but not totally...I took the rugrats on a field trip to Pizza Hut for lunch. The entire time one of my kids kept screaming out, "Domino's Pizza! I want Domino's Pizza!" I seriously thought we were going to get kicked out. He finally settled down and ate his pizza but did also throw out a few outbursts of "Go to Zaxbys!" I told his mother I recommended that eat at home more often. Ha.
Cougars and Aggies... U. Houston Cougars and the Texas A&M Aggies. I'm a coog <3 I'm sure y'all's Cougars are better than the Aggies too.
Also, I love how you write it L**** most of the time and then call it Logan every once in a while ;-)
My husband met and were married while we lived in L**** going to USU. I will always kind of miss it there, especially when PG is 104 degrees this summer and our air conditioner is dying. However, in the winter, when your windshield ices over every two blocks, buses don't run because people will freeze to death at the bus stops, wolves are howling three blocks over and visibility is reduced to 10 yards because of the inversion smog..... I don't miss it quite as much.
Well, in all fairness to BYU, the Wyoming Cowboys are just low class.
"C: many utahns think it (the schools, mountains, people, cities, the church, etc) is better than anywhere else. That goes back to what you were saying- they just don't know any better."
Ahh, I do love the smell of patronization in the early morning. Because it just couldn't be possible to have lived all over the world and the United States, and actually still love Utah the best. No, most certainly not.
Anyone who had been relieved of their ignorance in such a fashion would surely never choose to live in Utah. Impossible.
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