BYU and Utah State have decided to postpone the game that was scheduled to be played tonight in the wake of what happened at an Aggie practice yesterday.
Danny Berger, a 6-foot-7 junior from Oregon, collapsed and had to be revived by CPR and an AED device. According to a statement put out by USU last night, Berger was in “stable, but criticial” condition, and it doesn’t appear as if much has changed in his condition since.
What has changed, however, is that the reported postponement of this intrastate rivalry has been made official.
For those that don’t know, the fanbases at BYU, Utah State and Utah don’t like each other, with students camping out for days in order to get tickets. When the Cougars visited Logan last season, USU fans spent three days in the cold to get tickets. BYU fans were two days into their wait when the game was postponed.
There are things in life that are more important than sports, and one of those things is the life of a teammate. Berger may be stabilized, but the fact that he remains in critical condition tells you that he’s still a long way from in the clear. Asking a team to play while one of their brothers -- because, really, that’s what a college teammate is -- is laid up in the hospital just 24 hours after watching his life get saved by a defibrillator is not only unfair, it’s simply not the right thing to do.
So kudos to BYU and Utah State for making the correct, and obvious, decision.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the Berger family at this time. Here’s to hoping for a happy and healthy conclusion.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.
