If the crowning glory, the true mark of achievement, the signature of success in sports is a parade thrown in your honor, complete with bands marching, girls dancing, and politicians crowding in, the Utes have reaped an uncommon reward. Flatbeds are, as we speak, warming their engines, roads are being closed, speeches are being rehearsed, grandstands are being erected.

The undefeated Utah football team will be awash, then, in a rare kind of love today, floating down State Street toward Washington Square, where crowds will gather and superlatives will be hurled.

Before all of that, though, perspective is needed in order to find the appropriate measure of appreciation.

How good were these Utes? How magnificent was their accomplishment? Where does it rank in the pantheon of team athletic achievement in a state that through the years has had a number of bright moments?

We'll take it one achievement at a time, and then rank them:

» 2008 Utes, football. Went 13-0. Voted No. 2 in the AP poll, No. 4 in the BCS. Beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. All in a climate where non-BCS-league teams were being widely doubted and, in some cases, disparaged. Utah's victory helped stir rancor toward a BCS system that is antiquated and un-American. That contribution is significant. What marked this team and its season were numerous close calls, games it could -- and maybe should -- have lost. It trailed Oregon State by eight points with less than two minutes to play at home. It benefited from two missed field goals by TCU in a three-point win at Rice-Eccles.

It might have lost to Air Force and New Mexico on the road, taking, instead, tight wins. Destiny itself seemed to don crimson in this case.

» 2004 Utes, football. Went 12-0. Voted No. 4 in the final AP poll. Beat Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl, the first time a non-BCS team busted the BCS. This team didn't see the same kind of competition the 2008 Utes faced, settling for a relatively lousy Big East champion in the Fiesta, and a Mountain West slate that wasn't exactly formidable. But they crushed nearly everyone they played, and hatched the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft -- quarterback Alex Smith. Many believe this team was better than the 2008 Utes.

» 1998 Jazz. Finished the regular season 62-20, closing with a 32-5 run. Beat Houston, San Antonio in the playoffs, and swept the Lakers in the conference finals, over a stretch during which the Jazz played the best basketball ever played in the state of Utah. Lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in a disappointing NBA Finals, 4-2, but were the second-best team through an important span _ maybe the NBA's golden era _ in league history.

» 1998 Utes, basketball. Had a record of 30-4. Beat San Francisco, Arkansas, West Virginia, defending national champion Arizona, and No. 1-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, before losing in the championship game to Kentucky. Led that game at the half by 10, but could not hold on through the closing minutes. A remarkable run against tough competition.

» 1997 Jazz. Finished the regular season 64-18. Included in that record is a win over Denver in which the Jazz trailed by 36 points in the first half, but stormed back in the second to outscore the Nuggets, 71-33, and complete the biggest comeback in NBA history. Defeated the Clippers, the Lakers, and the Rockets, with John Stockton's famous three-pointer at the end of that playoff series, sending them to the NBA Finals for the first time, and sparking an impromptu celebration at the airport when the team plane arrived back in Salt Lake. They subsequently fell to the Bulls in six games.

» 1984 BYU, football. Cougars went 13-0. Won the national championship, ranked No. 1 in the major polls. Beat Michigan in the Holiday Bowl. Another season where fate seemed to favor a college football team from Utah. BYU blew out some opponents, but squeaked by Pitt, Hawaii, Wyoming, and Air Force. LaVell Edwards' crowning achievement put the pioneering Cougars in the middle of a swirling controversy about whether they deserved the title.

Early in the following season, they beat Washington, 1984's runner-up, 31-3. Some believe the controversy stirred the power leagues to come up with the Bowl Alliance, which turned into the BCS cartel that has held college football hostage in subsequent decades.

There were other notable team achievements in earlier years, including the old ABA's Utah Stars winning that league's title in 1971, and the Cougars winning the NIT, twice, in the 1950s, when that tournament was in the national forefront, and the Utes winning the NCAA Tournament in 1944. We'll acknowledge them, but put them in the old-timer's wing, and leave them alone in this discussion.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Monson and Graham Show" weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.