Thousands of people will gather later this week and not give thanks. Instead, they will grumble about tradition and whether our day-after-Thanksgiving activity will ever be the same.
No, I’m not talking about the movement of Black Friday into Turkey Thursday. I’m talking about the loss of a post-Thanksgiving tradition in Colorado that dates back to the last century.
OK, it only dates back to 1996, but still. In that inaugural year of the Big 12, the football gods essentially forced the University of Nebraska to acknowledge the University of Colorado as a rival, something the Buffs had been pushing since the Bill McCartney era. To seal the deal, they scheduled it annually for the day after Thanksgiving and put it on national TV.
Ever since, CU fans have known that even if the skiing was bad, even if we had to work on what should be a national holiday or — worse still — even if we were forced to start holiday shopping, we still had something better than leftover pie to look forward to.
It wasn’t the Iron Bowl, the Red River Shootout or even the Border War. There wasn’t a Bronze Boot, Little Brown Jug or Seminole War Canoe on the line.
Nebraskans were all too happy to tell you that the game was something more akin to a scrimmage. But for a few years at least, it felt like a rivalry on this end.
The matchup disappeared when the teams bolted the Big 12. In its place, the PAC-12 has scheduled CU vs. fellow newcomer Utah. Rivalry Week.
I don’t know if it will catch on.
The recipe for a good rivalry generally involves what Utah has in its “Holy War” with BYU — history, proximity and stakes.
CU and CSU have proximity, history and the catchy name for their annual hookup — the Rocky Mountain Showdown — but not much else.
This new matchup certainly has history. The teams played every year but four between 1903 and 1962. They haven’t played since.
Since neither team has much on the line in this game, what they need is something else to take away in victory: a remarkable trophy.
A few suggestions …
A severed bison head.
Pros: If you keep up with the news, you know that one is available. Police in Boulder last week were called when said head was found outside a Boulder home. After checking to make sure Ralphie was still in one piece, police found the head’s owner, who said he obtained it from a ranch in Nebraska and planned to display it. Fits within the Utes vs. Buffs construct.
Cons: CU players and fans would probably prefer to see a live buffalo. The same can be said for PETA.
A bronze ski boot.
Pro: It would recognize the importance of the ski industry to both states (and help explain empty seats in both stadiums).
Con: It would be viewed as a cheap, commercial rip-off of the CSU-Wyoming Bronze Boot.
Wyoming.
Pros: Both Utah and Colorado have seen large population gains over the last 20 years, so the land would be welcome. The Cowboy State has such a small population that it would be easily raided, particularly in elk season when most of the guns are in the woods. One less square state out West would be helpful to White House staffers when looking at maps.
Cons: It’s Wyoming.
The Outdoor Retailer show.
Pros: Denver has been lobbying hard to land the annual merchandise show held in Salt Lake.
Cons: Somebody would lose out.
And that’s the knock, in my estimation, on this new “rivalry.”
While the Rocky Mountains divide us, they also bring Utah and Colorado together in largely positive ways.
From incredible scenery to fantastic outdoor-sports opportunities, we have much in common with our neighbors to the West.
So take a moment this week to be thankful for that. And for the fact that you don’t live in Nebraska.
Got a trophy suggestion? E-mail it to chubbard@denverpost.com.
