I grew up with blue blood, and it still flows, but when Kyle W. and two of his football players came out to our area (Roosevelt) and spoke at a high school banquet, I was impressed. It was really cool to hear the stories and work-hard ethics of the players. Coach gave a great talk.

It has become difficult to pull against the red team. I even found myself a little elated to see them beat Michigan.

Truth us, the state of Utah has a number of impressive college football coaches and programs. Hope all teams do well this year.

Eric Weddle was baptized while a player at The U. Does that mean Utah football brings people to Christ?

What a great story, its nice to see the influence of how the church effects two great programs in this state, Utah and BYU are truely blessed by having two great Head Coaches, Coaching staff and players.

I'm gonna throw up.

Thank you for the great article. Kyle is a spiritual man and a great example to these young men. This State has some wonderful youth leaders both at the High School and College level. I have often criticized the DesNews for printing so many of these types of articles about BYU athletic firesides to the exclusion of other coaches and players in the state. Thank you DesNews for showcasing another athletic program that also has a lot of class.

I'm a Cougar with season tickets, but I think Kyle Whittingham is a great guy. My nephew was a member of the Utah coaching staff last year. He thinks Kyle walks on water. It's really great to see these coaches and players express their testimonies and set a good example for others.

I always cheer for Utah when they aren't playing BYU. I was sitting in the Cougar Club room prior to the Northern Iowa game. We a had group sitting around a monitor watching the Utah/Michigan game. Almost everyone was cheering for Utah.

We wish Kyle Whittingham and the Utes well. Thanks for expressing your testimonies and setting a great example.

Morgan Scalley spoke at a fireside in our stake a couple of years ago. Loved the program and the spirit there. Thanks for those who see past the hoopla.

Now can you BYU haters please lay off on the firesides Bronco Mendenhall and his players participate in? This is a good thing and Kyle Whittingham realizes that he and his players can have just as much positive influence in spite of the fact that a good share of his Ute fans continually bash Bronco and the BYU program for doing THE EXACT SAME THING! Good on ya Kyle, keep it up! (Now, go practice your onside kicks...the Wyoming game is just around the corner!)

Did Brother Whittingham mention in his talk what inspired him to try an on-side kick against Wyoming last year when his team was up by 42 points? Just asking...

you are not the real ETB. You are an imposter.

I hope Kyle was asked to speak about good sportsmanship. You know what they say: the person giving the talk always learns the most from it.

I truly appreciate the article. As I have often felt that it often gets forgotten, that Whittingham is also a steadfast member of the church with a great message and a testimony of truth which is much more important then the game of football which we choose to entertain ourselves with.

Please take note of the fact that ONE HALF of this team and its coaches are members of the LDS Church. We're not the bunch of drunken rabble-rousers you zoobs so typically accuse us of being.

I wonder if Whittingham and those Ewets with him chanted some of the hateful and bigoted things they aim at Cougar fans when they visit SLC.

I attended the Ewe for almost two years and never in my life have I heard such vicious things (which I can't even repeat here because they gate keeper wouldn't allow them).

Needless to say, after my experience I only attended that one game.

TO: To the U haters from Down South: Your right the players and coaches are not, that's not saying ANYTHING for the fans though!

I believe you ARE the real Ernest T. Bass. I find your comments erudite and enlightening.

He felt pity for Wyoming because they had yet to get their offense past the 50 yard line. Utah could have easily got that onside kick, but they let the Pokes get it so they could have the ball on Utah's side of the field. They still couldn't score. I think that is ultimate sportsmanship.

Would you and all others of your ilk please refrain from using the offensive term ewets, yewts, etc. It is one thing to throw insults at the fans and opposing team but this term is offensive to the Ute Indian tribe of this State. It has no place in your hate speech. I implore the monitor of this board to cease posting comments that express the name Ute in this manner.

To Mike: It is too bad you had such a negative experience at the U; it probably just wasn't the right place for you. You seem a little thin-skinned.

To James: I would hazard a guess that if half of the players and coaches are LDS, then at least half of the U fans are LDS as well. There are numbskull U fans just as there are numbskull Y fans.

Nice try whoever you are, posting a comment about your own post.

at both schools.

As a Utah grad, but avid BYU fan, I've seen good and bad at both universities.

Utah has a majority of outstanding students, both LDS and non-LDS. Some, unfortunately, are drunken, rabble-rousing, obscenity chanting types. I seriously doubt, however, that very many of the obscenity chanting fans are active LDS.

BYU has it's share of obscenity shouting fans, also, you just don't hear it from a whole section of students like occurs at every BYU/Utah game at RES.

Kyle is a good man. He learned a valueable lesson with the onsides kick and I'm sure he'll be more circumspect with his heat-of-the-moment decisions as he matures as a head football coach.

Should Kyle and his players really be mixing religion with football? What about separation of church and state? Should he even be doing this at all? Could he lose his job over something like this?

I mean, I can understand Bronco Mendenhall and his players speaking at church firesides since BYU is a private religious school run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Is Kyle just trying to imitate Bronco on this too? Is he trying to build a Bronco-like program?

Maybe he's just preparing himself to become Bronco's DC someday. But why isn't he wearing a coat in the picture? He's the only speaker not wearing a coat. He should wear a coat when he speaks at Church so people will take him more seriously. Not trying to be a GA or anything, just my 2 cents.

re-fireside-inspirition. Why do you insert anything to do with any games played?. This is about good being the common link with both teams..I've said it before and I'll say it again for you two," You need to re-charge your learning, so go read a comic book". I'm out

Just let it lay. I'm sure Kyle was asked to talk. He would not seek to do anything to down grade the Utah program. It hard enough being a great coach of a great program but in his own time, I am sure he can do just about anything he want to. GO RED AND BLUE.

To Ernest T. Bass.

The coach and his players were invited to speak at a fireside sponsored by an institution org of LDS students in the university. This has nothing to do with the separation of religion and state. The institution is a part of the university. My questions to you is: why the military provided chaplains and chapels on base for religion services for free...what happen to the separation of religion and stake? Or better of, why the fed, state and counties are using chapels for voting on election time?

To: Ernest T Bass -I can guarantee you that Kyle is not copying bronco... Kyle spoke at a fireside in my ward while he was an assistant coach... so as hard as it is to believe bronco did not invent "the fireside" just like he didn't invent "playing the game where and when it is scheduled"...

And to the byu fans who like to lump all ute fans together, please stop with the judgemental stereotyping already.

YES! PLEASE, for heck's sakes, STOP using these stupid and offensive misspellings of "Ute" and "Cougs." They are not only mean-spirited and disrespectful--yes, that's the point, but I don't give a hoot anyway--but they make you look like idiots who never learned how to spell.

Of course, if you want to reveal yourselves as true idiots who never learned either proper grammar or manners, maybe you'd better go right ahead and use those words. But you're insulting yourselves more than you're insulting anyone else.

I just don't feel that Kyle is sincere. It all seems like a show.

talk about puttin on a show look at bronco. he sits on the sidelines recrating that little lavell edwards stare. treats his coaching job like a church calling.

Not all of them, but a lot of byu fans are thinking that only Bronco is allowed to do firesides because of the byu affiliation. I like the fans that can see some good out of both coaches doing firesides though.

right and Joe Glenn wasn't flipping Kyle off after that play. He was just letting Kyle know the utes missed recovering the on-side kick by one yard...

so we can put the most ridiculous feud in all of college football to rest and come together as one.

ETB @ 7:51 is the real Ernest T.
It's a shame when imposters ruin a perfectly good moniker.

Coach Whittingham is a credit to his profession. I appreciate his attitude and spirit. Nice to have such good people and athletes representing the state. I have known the Whittinghams from their days in Provo and am happy for his success.

Still a Cougar Fan, but but learning respect for the UTES and wish them well, in all but one game....?

Kyle is an outstanding example on and off the football field. Good luck with the season coach!

Go Utes!!!!!!!!

We don't care if you him or not, honestly, we dont care.

You don't feel that Kyle is sincere, but yet Im sure you are fine with the blatant two-facedness of Mendenhall. We expect players to honor their commitments to us while on their mission, but we can poach missionaries that have committed to other schools all day long.

This is football folks. I think firesides and testimonials are a little much. Lay off on this topic, as this is why BYU will never be accepted into a major conference. BYU cannot seperate sports and religion and it would be sad to see Utah go down the same road. It is a sport people leave your BOM at home and have fun for a change!

Why are you spreading lies about Bronco Mendenhall? It's obvious you do not have all the facts about what happened with the recruiting. Your comment is a great example of why Ute many fans get so little respect (and deserve so little respect). It's obvious that anger and jealousy are behind your comments. I think it would be best if you didn't post anymore comments about events of which you know nothing.

Funny how you say lay off this topic and than try to get a jap in you last sentence. We have lots of fun with our BOM. Thats why we don't need to take jabs at people like that. Utah staff and students have been doing firesides since the day the U opened and we always will. The strong LDS students at the U are one of the things that make it such a great school.

Go UTES!!!
Pittsburgh Ute

Ridiculous... MormonTimes.com is incredibly crossing the line. This "Mormons and Football" non-sense is deplorable and highly disrespectful.

What really explodes me is the rhetoric applied by the authors and editors of the newspaper who insist in setting up football players and celebrities in a pedestal like they are some sort of example to follow in our lives and citizens and our lives as we strive for eternal salvation. Doesn't anybody that reads this sees the bleeding flaw here? How does this person qualify as far more significant than a firefighter, a mom of 3 kids, or a poor father in a developing country? How dare we generate football coaches and players into a status of idols, while this is the very same thing that our religion strives us to do, to get away from those silly distractions and truly choose to follow God? Haven't we had enough of this bigotry shown by this utterly disappointing newspaper that continues to indoctrinate general population under the platform that is relevant to religion?

My constructive recommendation is to get some real journalists, and make it a job requirement to have a Masters, and also to have some dignity and respect towards us.

This article was a breath of fresh air and it was good to hear Coach W and the rest tell how they cherish what their religion brings into their lives. They struggle with things just like the rest of us do in our daily lives and look to a greater source for comfort and strength than themselves.

To "good and bad" - you lost all fan respect from me with your comment about being a Utah graduate, but an avid BYU fan - I guess the concept of school loyalty is something outside your grasp. If you graduated from Utah you should be a Utah fan. Period. I'd say the same thing if you graduated from BYU. [but you can always repent and become a Ute fan].

I doubt if the University has ever promoted a fireside. The Institute might have.

In the Mormon Times we read about Mormons and it is football season, so we read about Mormon Football players, coaches and their programs. Read the rest of the paper and we read about the accomplishments of all others, firefighters, policemen, mothers w/children, fathers in developing countries. Read the "rest of the story" in the rest of the newspaper!
Please don't insult Bronco on things you don't understand.

Kudos to this group of coaches and players for volunteering their personal time, which is extremely limited during the football season, to accept requests to speak at firesides like this. Personally I feel it has been refreshing that the current administration at the Univ. of Utah is willing to embrace the predominant local culture instead of kicking against it. Given the demographics of their fan base, it should be no surprise to Dr. Chris Hill that they have been setting records each year for season ticket sales and attendance. Whittingham and his staff embracing the principles that are a core part of their lifestyles and communicating them in forums like this fireside can only be a positive influence on the community--whether you espouse the beliefs of the LDS Church or not. I did not see one thing in what they laid out in their talks that was the exclusive domain of LDS theology--they were basic Christian principles of living. And like Kyle said, they aren't novel or unique, but it is helpful to be consistently reminded of them.