things I learned in Cheney

[91catAlum]

Questions: For those who were there, how many MSU fans (approximately) made the trek. Also, being as new to the Big Sky as I am, which fan base travels the best...if any?

I'd say at least 2500, probably not more than 4000. The west side bleachers were 80% plus Cat fans. Enough so that I'd say Eastern fans on our side felt like they were at an away game. Certainly not a hostile crowd or an unfriendly environment for the Cats.

I don't really hold EWUs facilities against them. They aren't a flagship school in their state-they're a commuter school in a region with some pretty top tier academic & athletic programs. WAZZU plays football 90 miles to the south and Gonzaga plays BB 20 miles to the East, so EWU is sort of a no-mans land. They're a ways from the facilities at UM & MSU, but they are a fair shake ahead of SUU or ISU.

Allcat-I wouldn't post smack talk about their facilities until we prove that we can beat them on the field. How long has it been? 10 years?

6 years.

[clawman]

1. They absolutely could care less about anybody not sitting on the hill side. Concessions are minimal, Bathrooms are minimal.
2. They teach their guys to try to intimidate. Just one example Troy goes down, as he is getting up the guy hangs onto his foot. I saw them attempt to get guys to retaliate all day long.
3. Beau Baldwin is still the head coach. They put up a new tarp extolling Cooper Kupp, bat also left up Baldwin's where it says he is the hc.
4. For actually being the flagship program, that stadium is an embarrassment. For any body whining about the east bleachers, you should thank god for what you got.

I wasn't going to drop down here but could not resist.
#1. Do you mean why isn't anyone sitting on the hillside? If so it could be that there are bleachers between the hill and field. How many restrooms and concessions do you need for 10,000 people? Frankly I have been to two games in your stadium and I do not see a lot of difference in concessions especially when you consider the capacities.
#2. I think I know of the play you are speaking of... were you scared? That did not seem overly intimidating but perception is reality.
#3. He is a local hero, still admired but no one thinks Best is not in charge.
#4. Flagship? The Cats and Griz would be the flagship, the Eagles are relatively new to the Big Sky.
To be clear you have better facilities than we do. We do not have donors with deep pockets to build better, maybe some day.
Anyway we just keep winning.
Now I'll tell you what I learned about Bobcat fans. Not last year but 3 years ago when the Eagles visited Bozeman, after the game my wife and I went to a place on the main street coming off of the freeway near the Holiday Inn, think it was called Cats Paw or something like that. When we came out someone had broken a beer bottle on our windshield, probably because we had WA plates.
Welcome to Bozeman!

Someone broke your window at the Cats Paw because you were at the Cats Paw. That's what goes on there. Had nothing to do with your plate. Were you scared?

More disappointed

[DriscollCat]

1. They absolutely could care less about anybody not sitting on the hill side. Concessions are minimal, Bathrooms are minimal.
2. They teach their guys to try to intimidate. Just one example Troy goes down, as he is getting up the guy hangs onto his foot. I saw them attempt to get guys to retaliate all day long.
3. Beau Baldwin is still the head coach. They put up a new tarp extolling Cooper Kupp, bat also left up Baldwin's where it says he is the hc.
4. For actually being the flagship program, that stadium is an embarrassment. For any body whining about the east bleachers, you should thank god for what you got.

I wasn't going to drop down here but could not resist.
#1. Do you mean why isn't anyone sitting on the hillside? If so it could be that there are bleachers between the hill and field. How many restrooms and concessions do you need for 10,000 people? Frankly I have been to two games in your stadium and I do not see a lot of difference in concessions especially when you consider the capacities.
#2. I think I know of the play you are speaking of... were you scared? That did not seem overly intimidating but perception is reality.
#3. He is a local hero, still admired but no one thinks Best is not in charge.
#4. Flagship? The Cats and Griz would be the flagship, the Eagles are relatively new to the Big Sky.
To be clear you have better facilities than we do. We do not have donors with deep pockets to build better, maybe some day.
Anyway we just keep winning.
Now I'll tell you what I learned about Bobcat fans. Not last year but 3 years ago when the Eagles visited Bozeman, after the game my wife and I went to a place on the main street coming off of the freeway near the Holiday Inn, think it was called Cats Paw or something like that. When we came out someone had broken a beer bottle on our windshield, probably because we had WA plates.
Welcome to Bozeman!

Someone broke your window at the Cats Paw because you were at the Cats Paw. That's what goes on there. Had nothing to do with your plate. Were you scared?

More disappointed

To tell you the truth, I am disappointed to hear that too. I can imagine how that would color your perspective on Bozeman/MSU.

In all the years that I have lived here in Bozeman (though I just moved back after being out of state for 5 years) very few things like that have happened to me or those close to me. It is actually generally a very warm and welcoming place, like most of Montana, but there are bad eggs no matter where you go. Anyone who wants to say that their fan base is free of them is dilusional (that or they don't have a very successful team, as the worst fans tend to be attracted to the most successful teams).

I genuinely hope your future visits to Bozeman/MT are much more welcoming.

[91catAlum]

1. They absolutely could care less about anybody not sitting on the hill side. Concessions are minimal, Bathrooms are minimal.
2. They teach their guys to try to intimidate. Just one example Troy goes down, as he is getting up the guy hangs onto his foot. I saw them attempt to get guys to retaliate all day long.
3. Beau Baldwin is still the head coach. They put up a new tarp extolling Cooper Kupp, bat also left up Baldwin's where it says he is the hc.
4. For actually being the flagship program, that stadium is an embarrassment. For any body whining about the east bleachers, you should thank god for what you got.

I wasn't going to drop down here but could not resist.
#1. Do you mean why isn't anyone sitting on the hillside? If so it could be that there are bleachers between the hill and field. How many restrooms and concessions do you need for 10,000 people? Frankly I have been to two games in your stadium and I do not see a lot of difference in concessions especially when you consider the capacities.
#2. I think I know of the play you are speaking of... were you scared? That did not seem overly intimidating but perception is reality.
#3. He is a local hero, still admired but no one thinks Best is not in charge.
#4. Flagship? The Cats and Griz would be the flagship, the Eagles are relatively new to the Big Sky.
To be clear you have better facilities than we do. We do not have donors with deep pockets to build better, maybe some day.
Anyway we just keep winning.
Now I'll tell you what I learned about Bobcat fans. Not last year but 3 years ago when the Eagles visited Bozeman, after the game my wife and I went to a place on the main street coming off of the freeway near the Holiday Inn, think it was called Cats Paw or something like that. When we came out someone had broken a beer bottle on our windshield, probably because we had WA plates.
Welcome to Bozeman!

Someone broke your window at the Cats Paw because you were at the Cats Paw. That's what goes on there. Had nothing to do with your plate. Were you scared?

More disappointed

To tell you the truth, I am disappointed to hear that too. I can imagine how that would color your perspective on Bozeman/MSU.

In all the years that I have lived here in Bozeman (though I just moved back after being out of state for 5 years) very few things like that have happened to me or those close to me. It is actually generally a very warm and welcoming place, like most of Montana, but there are bad eggs no matter where you go. Anyone who wants to say that their fan base is free of them is dilusional (that or they don't have a very successful team, as the worst fans tend to be attracted to the most successful teams).

I genuinely hope your future visits to Bozeman/MT are much more welcoming.

+1 Great post.

[Woodenshoe]

"Now I'll tell you what I learned about Bobcat fans. Not last year but 3 years ago when the Eagles visited Bozeman, after the game my wife and I went to a place on the main street coming off of the freeway near the Holiday Inn, think it was called Cats Paw or something like that. When we came out someone had broken a beer bottle on our windshield, probably because we had WA plate"

Just remember there's always one asshole in every bar.

[CelticCat]

I have a hard time believing taht incident was simply because you had WA plates, there are lots of WA plates in Bozeman all through the year.

That being said it does suck and I'm sorry it happened, and I truly hope it wasn't intentional. Bozeman can get rowdy sometimes...

[ewuranger29]

Our stadium, in fact, does suck. And trust me, no one is more acutely aware of that fact than EWU fans. So much so that there is a 76 page thread on our forum that dates back 7 years and it is constantly being discussed by our fans and AD. It is the central theme of the football program amongst fans, even above and beyond wins and losses.

There was some real steam generated when our former President, Dr. Arevelo was still around. But since his retirement, little has happened as I don't think there's a lot of institutional support from our new President, other than hiring a firm about a year ago to conduct an analysis and identify funding streams. I guess we'll see what the outcome of that is.

All that said - yes, the MSU game had the 5th or something highest attendance in school history, but we cram 10K+ into little Roos Field every weekend. Every weekend is a sellout, it isn't just against one of the Montana schools...we continually draw those sort of crowds. The infrastructure surrounding the stadium is a major problem. It just wasn't intended to accommodate the crowds that we draw these days. There have been gradual improvements throughout the years, but they haven't been enough to mitigate the increasingly larger crowds. Something will eventually get done, but trust me...99% of EWU fans think it should have been done yesterday. Unfortunately it will take millions to kick-start the project and that's the rub. Identifying that funding stream...we have several high profile Alums, but apparently none willing to fork over several million...at least at the moment. Until then we'll continue to make due as long as the W's are there and people continue to come out, but trust me, there isn't one person that isn't aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to fix it.

[ewueagle2010]

Sorry that your trip disappointed. I don't think you're going to find any EWU fan claiming our facilities are top notch and that we don't need improvements, but we look at it as that much more impressive we've been able to sell out 23 straight regular season games and build a nationally known FCS product.

There was a good number of Cat fans in attendance, although not as many as in previous years. The visitor side bleachers seat 1,600 and it was probably about 80% Cat fans, as someone else said, but that still only is about 1200-1300 cat fans. There were not another 1,000 plus scattered throughout the end zone and home side of the field. Someone here is still claiming the old worn out narrative that we need a Montana school to sell out games or get record numbers. FYI, last home game against Sac St, the attendance was 10,900+ and I'm sure you can imagine, Sac St didn't bring many fans.

I still enjoy playing the Cats, I think most of your fans are great. I really had a great time in Bozeman last year and look forward to my trip over next year. It's a fun game that I really look forward to every year! Best of luck the rest of the way.

[Bobcatsinmso]

Will the Vandal fans show up like the MSU and dUMb fans when they visit Cheney going forward? One would think so right

[Cat_gld]

Will the Vandal fans show up like the MSU and dUMb fans when they visit Cheney going forward? One would think so right

What Vandal fans?

[Bobcat4Ever]

Not last year but 3 years ago when the Eagles visited Bozeman, after the game my wife and I went to a place on the main street coming off of the freeway near the Holiday Inn, think it was called Cats Paw or something like that. When we came out someone had broken a beer bottle on our windshield, probably because we had WA plates.
Welcome to Bozeman!

Unfortunately you picked a place that most grownups in Bozeman would totally avoid. There are many places you would be welcomed. Please ask for advice next time.

[Bobcatsinmso]

Will the Vandal fans show up like the MSU and dUMb fans when they visit Cheney going forward? One would think so right

What Vandal fans?

There has to be few of em...I know 2 or 3.

[John K]

Questions: For those who were there, how many MSU fans (approximately) made the trek. Also, being as new to the Big Sky as I am, which fan base travels the best...if any?

I'd say at least 2500, probably not more than 4000. The west side bleachers were 80% plus Cat fans. Enough so that I'd say Eastern fans on our side felt like they were at an away game. Certainly not a hostile crowd or an unfriendly environment for the Cats.

I don't really hold EWUs facilities against them. They aren't a flagship school in their state-they're a commuter school in a region with some pretty top tier academic & athletic programs. WAZZU plays football 90 miles to the south and Gonzaga plays BB 20 miles to the East, so EWU is sort of a no-mans land. They're a ways from the facilities at UM & MSU, but they are a fair shake ahead of SUU or ISU.

Allcat-I wouldn't post smack talk about their facilities until we prove that we can beat them on the field. How long has it been? 10 years?

6 years.

And EWU has won 13 of the last 15. Since 2002, our only two wins against EWU came in 2010 and 2011. We've been much more competitive against UM...6-9 in our last 15 against them.

[onceacat]

Questions: For those who were there, how many MSU fans (approximately) made the trek. Also, being as new to the Big Sky as I am, which fan base travels the best...if any?

I'd say at least 2500, probably not more than 4000. The west side bleachers were 80% plus Cat fans. Enough so that I'd say Eastern fans on our side felt like they were at an away game. Certainly not a hostile crowd or an unfriendly environment for the Cats.

I don't really hold EWUs facilities against them. They aren't a flagship school in their state-they're a commuter school in a region with some pretty top tier academic & athletic programs. WAZZU plays football 90 miles to the south and Gonzaga plays BB 20 miles to the East, so EWU is sort of a no-mans land. They're a ways from the facilities at UM & MSU, but they are a fair shake ahead of SUU or ISU.

Allcat-I wouldn't post smack talk about their facilities until we prove that we can beat them on the field. How long has it been? 10 years?

6 years.

And EWU has won 13 of the last 15. Since 2002, our only two wins against EWU came in 2010 and 2011. We've been much more competitive against UM...6-9 in our last 15 against them.

Ouch. I knew it was bad. We've been to 3 games their since 2009, all losses. Didn't know it was that bad.

EWOO has a massive recruiting advantage over us-I'm really psyched to see Choate going after the same pool of talent. I'm hopeful that our facilities can help us compete with their talent pool.

[Catfanatic84]

Our stadium, in fact, does suck. And trust me, no one is more acutely aware of that fact than EWU fans. So much so that there is a 76 page thread on our forum that dates back 7 years and it is constantly being discussed by our fans and AD. It is the central theme of the football program amongst fans, even above and beyond wins and losses.

There was some real steam generated when our former President, Dr. Arevelo was still around. But since his retirement, little has happened as I don't think there's a lot of institutional support from our new President, other than hiring a firm about a year ago to conduct an analysis and identify funding streams. I guess we'll see what the outcome of that is.

All that said - yes, the MSU game had the 5th or something highest attendance in school history, but we cram 10K+ into little Roos Field every weekend. Every weekend is a sellout, it isn't just against one of the Montana schools...we continually draw those sort of crowds. The infrastructure surrounding the stadium is a major problem. It just wasn't intended to accommodate the crowds that we draw these days. There have been gradual improvements throughout the years, but they haven't been enough to mitigate the increasingly larger crowds. Something will eventually get done, but trust me...99% of EWU fans think it should have been done yesterday. Unfortunately it will take millions to kick-start the project and that's the rub. Identifying that funding stream...we have several high profile Alums, but apparently none willing to fork over several million...at least at the moment. Until then we'll continue to make due as long as the W's are there and people continue to come out, but trust me, there isn't one person that isn't aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to fix it.

I would guess the red turf is getting near end of life....curious if EWU will replace it with red turf again or go back to a green grass like turf?

[91catAlum]

Our stadium, in fact, does suck. And trust me, no one is more acutely aware of that fact than EWU fans. So much so that there is a 76 page thread on our forum that dates back 7 years and it is constantly being discussed by our fans and AD. It is the central theme of the football program amongst fans, even above and beyond wins and losses.

There was some real steam generated when our former President, Dr. Arevelo was still around. But since his retirement, little has happened as I don't think there's a lot of institutional support from our new President, other than hiring a firm about a year ago to conduct an analysis and identify funding streams. I guess we'll see what the outcome of that is.

All that said - yes, the MSU game had the 5th or something highest attendance in school history, but we cram 10K+ into little Roos Field every weekend. Every weekend is a sellout, it isn't just against one of the Montana schools...we continually draw those sort of crowds. The infrastructure surrounding the stadium is a major problem. It just wasn't intended to accommodate the crowds that we draw these days. There have been gradual improvements throughout the years, but they haven't been enough to mitigate the increasingly larger crowds. Something will eventually get done, but trust me...99% of EWU fans think it should have been done yesterday. Unfortunately it will take millions to kick-start the project and that's the rub. Identifying that funding stream...we have several high profile Alums, but apparently none willing to fork over several million...at least at the moment. Until then we'll continue to make due as long as the W's are there and people continue to come out, but trust me, there isn't one person that isn't aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to fix it.

I would guess the red turf is getting near end of life....curious if EWU will replace it with red turf again or go back to a green grass like turf?

They love their red turf, and love that everyone else hates it. I'm sure they'll stay with it.

[John K]

Our stadium, in fact, does suck. And trust me, no one is more acutely aware of that fact than EWU fans. So much so that there is a 76 page thread on our forum that dates back 7 years and it is constantly being discussed by our fans and AD. It is the central theme of the football program amongst fans, even above and beyond wins and losses.

There was some real steam generated when our former President, Dr. Arevelo was still around. But since his retirement, little has happened as I don't think there's a lot of institutional support from our new President, other than hiring a firm about a year ago to conduct an analysis and identify funding streams. I guess we'll see what the outcome of that is.

All that said - yes, the MSU game had the 5th or something highest attendance in school history, but we cram 10K+ into little Roos Field every weekend. Every weekend is a sellout, it isn't just against one of the Montana schools...we continually draw those sort of crowds. The infrastructure surrounding the stadium is a major problem. It just wasn't intended to accommodate the crowds that we draw these days. There have been gradual improvements throughout the years, but they haven't been enough to mitigate the increasingly larger crowds. Something will eventually get done, but trust me...99% of EWU fans think it should have been done yesterday. Unfortunately it will take millions to kick-start the project and that's the rub. Identifying that funding stream...we have several high profile Alums, but apparently none willing to fork over several million...at least at the moment. Until then we'll continue to make due as long as the W's are there and people continue to come out, but trust me, there isn't one person that isn't aware of the problem and trying to figure out how to fix it.

I would guess the red turf is getting near end of life....curious if EWU will replace it with red turf again or go back to a green grass like turf?

They love their red turf, and love that everyone else hates it. I'm sure they'll stay with it.

I agree. I can't imagine any reason why they'd want to change it. I know that it's awful on TV, but to be honest I don't think it's that bad in person. I've been to a couple of games in Cheney and after awhile (like by the end of the 1st quarter or thereabouts), I really didn't even hardly notice it any more.

[marceag]

When Eastern replaces their turf I’m sure it will be red again. It’s a tough watch on TV, but it’s really not bad at all in person. And all that matters is what 18 to 22-year-old kids think, and they eat it up, they absolutely love it. It’s a unique recruiting advantage in a way…

As far as the stadium, yes, it sucks. Concessions suck, and the bathrooms are a nightmare. But...Just going back seven years ago, we would only bring in 5000 fans Including the year we won the national championship, so it’s a nice problem to have now, but definitely one that needs to be fixed…

[WalkOn79]

Questions: For those who were there, how many MSU fans (approximately) made the trek. Also, being as new to the Big Sky as I am, which fan base travels the best...if any?

I'd say at least 2500, probably not more than 4000. The west side bleachers were 80% plus Cat fans. Enough so that I'd say Eastern fans on our side felt like they were at an away game. Certainly not a hostile crowd or an unfriendly environment for the Cats.

I don't really hold EWUs facilities against them. They aren't a flagship school in their state-they're a commuter school in a region with some pretty top tier academic & athletic programs. WAZZU plays football 90 miles to the south and Gonzaga plays BB 20 miles to the East, so EWU is sort of a no-mans land. They're a ways from the facilities at UM & MSU, but they are a fair shake ahead of SUU or ISU.

Allcat-I wouldn't post smack talk about their facilities until we prove that we can beat them on the field. How long has it been? 10 years?

6 years.

And EWU has won 13 of the last 15. Since 2002, our only two wins against EWU came in 2010 and 2011. We've been much more competitive against UM...6-9 in our last 15 against them.

Ouch. I knew it was bad. We've been to 3 games their since 2009, all losses. Didn't know it was that bad.

EWOO has a massive recruiting advantage over us-I'm really psyched to see Choate going after the same pool of talent. I'm hopeful that our facilities can help us compete with their talent pool.

Let's not forget that the recruiting advantage is also aided by lower academic standards.

[onceacat]

Questions: For those who were there, how many MSU fans (approximately) made the trek. Also, being as new to the Big Sky as I am, which fan base travels the best...if any?

I'd say at least 2500, probably not more than 4000. The west side bleachers were 80% plus Cat fans. Enough so that I'd say Eastern fans on our side felt like they were at an away game. Certainly not a hostile crowd or an unfriendly environment for the Cats.

I don't really hold EWUs facilities against them. They aren't a flagship school in their state-they're a commuter school in a region with some pretty top tier academic & athletic programs. WAZZU plays football 90 miles to the south and Gonzaga plays BB 20 miles to the East, so EWU is sort of a no-mans land. They're a ways from the facilities at UM & MSU, but they are a fair shake ahead of SUU or ISU.

Allcat-I wouldn't post smack talk about their facilities until we prove that we can beat them on the field. How long has it been? 10 years?

6 years.

And EWU has won 13 of the last 15. Since 2002, our only two wins against EWU came in 2010 and 2011. We've been much more competitive against UM...6-9 in our last 15 against them.

Ouch. I knew it was bad. We've been to 3 games their since 2009, all losses. Didn't know it was that bad.

EWOO has a massive recruiting advantage over us-I'm really psyched to see Choate going after the same pool of talent. I'm hopeful that our facilities can help us compete with their talent pool.

Let's not forget that the recruiting advantage is also aided by lower academic standards.

Its not as though MSUs academic standards are keeping a lot of talented guys out. This isn't UC Davis.

Washington has 7 million people and only 3 D1 schools. Neither UW nor WSU recruit Washington all that heavily. And nobody out of state really recruits Washington that heavily. EWU is left with a ton of talent to pick from with in-state tuition & partials.

Imagine you are a highly touted recruit from Seattle. If you go to EWU, you get to play for a national title contender. Your mom gets to watch you play every home game. If you get hurt or quit football, you won't have to transfer. There are people the same race as you in the community and on the college campus.

Its even better for the coaches. Aaron Best can leave town on a Friday afternoon, catch a game in Seattle, talk to a half dozen recruits, and be back home by midnight. If Choate wants to recruit in Seattle, its automatically an overnight trip, and its going to cost the school $1000.

Bottom line, we need the facilities to compete on an even footing. But if it makes you feel better to blame it on academic standards.