PROVO -- For BYU's Brandon Doman, winning over the heart of his new bride was quite an accomplishment. Want to know what's been tougher? Converting her into a true blue Cougar fan.
Brandon, a quarterback/receiver, and Alisha Doman started dating when they were students at Skyline High School. He was a big-time BYU fan. She was a big-time Utah fan. Didn't exactly seem like a match made in heaven.While Brandon has had three older brothers play football for the Cougars, Alisha's father, Randy Barker, is a Utah alum and the walking, breathing, dictionary definition of a Utah Man. For the past few years, he has worked as one of the line judges at Rice Eccles Stadium during Ute games, holding the first down markers. He even lives in Utah coach Ron McBride's neighborhood.
"I grew up red," Alisha said. "My dad had tickets to every event. We wore red sweatshirts and painted our faces red."
But now that Brandon and Alisha are married, her allegiance has changed. Sort of.
"It's a hard thing to say," she said. "I guess my husband comes first."
Pity Randy Barker. He has lost a daughter, twice. Once to marriage and once to the dreaded school to the south.
Still, you get the idea that Alisha hasn't allowed Cougar-mania to sink too deeply into her psyche. "I have yet to stand and sing the school fight song at the games," she said proudly.
This ought to be a fun week for the Domans and their extended families as the the Utes and Cougars clash for the 75th time Saturday afternoon.
With such strong ties to each school, chances are the Domans will never be able to avoid the rivalry.
They are reminded of this fact every morning when they start their days by going in opposite directions. Brandon, of course, attends classes in Provo. Alisha is a student in the University of Utah nursing program. The couple resides in Lehi, to split the difference on the commute.
"People at school ask me who I'm going to cheer for this week," she said. "I tell them I've got to stick with my man. I'm rooting for my hubby. I also tell them I'm going to wear a blue sweatshirt, with a red one underneath."
Even their wedding reception last summer had a BYU-Utah flavor.
After the Domans got engaged, Alisha tried to find just the right place to hold the reception. "She told me she had two places in mind and that she would show them to me," Brandon said. "She drove me to the U. of U. football stadium. I said, That's our last option.'"
Being a good sport, he agreed to have the reception at the stadium tower of Rice-Eccles Stadium anyway.
"It was a beautiful room," he recalled. "It was just strange seeing the pictures of the Utah football players on the wall. It was fun. The BYU coaches came dressed in blue. We had an ice sculpture that had a U and a Y connected. The reception was something we'll remember all our lives."
At the wedding dinner, Brandon's father wore a BYU necktie and his father-in-law wore a Utah necktie. As a joke, and maybe in an underlying gesture of good will, they exchanged ties.
This season, Brandon's father-in-law and mother-in-law have attended all of BYU's home games with Alisha. They've sat in the BYU section, among the Cougar fans. "It's weird for them," Alisha said.
While the in-laws tease him good-naturedly about being a BYU guy, Brandon doesn't mind. "They've been very supportive," he said.
Of course, they will be back at Cougar Stadium this week, likely wearing red. "We'll see if they sit in the BYU section," Brandon said, laughing.
Both the Domans and Barkers have a good sense of humor about their place in the rivalry. But that may be put to the test on Saturday.
"We better not lose," Brandon said, "or it's going to be a long year."