This statement by Jeffrey Holland, a former BYU president and current LDS Apostle, is interesting by itself, but the responses from BYU fans are even more interesting. This is from
a CES fireside talk he gave from the Dixie College campus:
I saw lots of BYU fans, on two message boards, say Elder Holland is wrong. That phenomenon points up the schizophrenia among many BYU fans: on the one hand, they think their team has special status in God's eyes, and yet they don't have to adjust their behavior or their expectations of their teams. It's very interesting.
Look, I am active LDS and I recognize that from an LDS perspective BYU does many wonderful things for my church and for many people. My dad is a BYU grad and so are my brother and a a bunch of extended family, as well as many of my very close friends. But BYU sports are not the church. In fact, I am convinced that all BYU's Board of Trustees want out of BYU sports is that they reflect well on the church -- not that they produce national championships. If BYU were like the military service academies -- tough teams that stand for something honorable, but don't win big bowl games or NCs or even have winning seasons every year -- I think the Board would be happy.
But the fan base ties the athletic teams to the church's mission and a lot of bad things come from that. At the same time, many in the fan base don't want to be called out on any bad behavior. It's a weird dynamic. I am glad to be a Utah fan and just to cheer for a university I am proud of, without all that religious baggage.