What's "honestly laughable" is you telling me what I am supposed to be embarrassed about. That's where this started, remember?
No, this started with me reading your post about you saying that you could not understand how the Utes did not have more viewers-- so I felt compelled to address something what to me seems quite logical.
But just to expound a bit more--no, I wasn't equating levels of fandom. But I'm saying the population base in the Pac12 region is SO LARGE, even compared to the total LDS church membership, that even if there's only a 5-10% chance of a random Pac12 fan tuning in to a Ute game* the numbers make sense to me.
You are missing my point again.
And I'm really not sure what you are arguing here. Are you saying there are more BYU fans than there actually are? Are you just saying there SHOULD BE more BYU fans than there actually are? If so, why are you saying that? Who are you to say someone else should be a fan? This whole discussion just seems bizarre.
* which seems very reasonable to me, considering the fans of the Pac12 opponent for the particular game plus perhaps a few other Pac12 fans who tune in as well
My posts have been quite-clear, and I don't feel like re-stating myself. Try reading them again. It's as if you are completely ignoring the fact that many people will root for athletics that represent their identity, regardless of whether they share a deep love for the sport or not. Sports are often an extenuation of deeply-entrenched pride, whether nationalistic or religious. Rooting for sports is not just a process were you like a sport, and root for your alma-mater. Why do you think we see riots form in highly nationalistic countries, after sports victories/defeats?
The religious undertones already establish BYU v. Utah as a top ten college rivalry (pretty damn impressive for a state with ~3 million people), and it would easily be a top 5 or top 3 if both teams were consistently good football teams at the same time.
Either way, I cannot believe I'm spending time trying to explain why BYU should have a fan base much more vast than a secular school in a state with 3 million people (event when you take into account the hard-core football-fans who already invest plenty of time following their own teams).
Essentially, if you really think that the Utes should have more fans tuned in than BYU, then thats your prerogative. I have no further motivation to continue this conversation.