Bobcatnation ripped by the Bozo Comical

Post by **SonomaCat** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 7:52 pm

I actually thought the article was kind of funny. Yes, he took a lot of the stereotypical potshots that most journalists tend to do (it has been fashionable to bash on message boards for quite awhile now), and BelgradeBobcat's points were perfect. All in all, though, he seemed to cut us a little bit of slack, wasn't too vicious in his characterizations (although a little more honesty about the content of the 95% of the posts that don't match what he described would have been nice), and he did somewhat implicate himself by showing that he had certainly spent a lot of time on message boards himself.

At the end, when he tries to theorize as to why this site and eGriz are a bit more highbrow than other sites he visited, I don't think he quite nailed it. He suggests that it is because the programs aren't big-time, or something like that. Clearly, he hasn't fully picked up on the intensity of Cat/Griz -- the nastiness is as much here as with any bigger programs in the country. I think the real difference is that since Montana is such a small state population wise, and people tend to know lots of people all around the state, so almost everyone ends up knowing a lot of the posters on the other school's board from their "real" life. It's hard to act like a total jackass when people know who you are -- you start to act like a real person again instead of the nonaccountable internet poster many people assume.

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Sun Jan 16, 2005 8:45 pm

I'm glad Mr. Welcsh has such a trying and busy job that he can take time out of it and talk about our lowly community here.

Mr. Welsch, unlike yourself, some of us here DO care about MSU and Bobcat athletics. This board isn't supposed to be PC. Sports are not supposed to PC, you above anyone else should know this. Of course a lot of us are biased towards the Bobcats, does any sports team in the world not have biased fans? Do you really assume this is the only place we talk about the Bobcats "without the fear of getting clubbed over the head with an empty beer bottle"? I talk to friends, family, people at the sports bar, wherever, just as I do on here. Not everyone on here lives in Bozeman, so not everyone has Bobcat fans to talk to on any other media than this one. And if everyone sat by and was satisfied with their current coaches, etc, then how would any school ever improve if they knew the fans didn't want more?

What a condescending, unnecessary, hypocritical, and slanderous piece of garbage you have just written yourself. Thank you Mr. Welsch, I was starting to run out of reasons to call the paper the Comical. That was truely a funny piece of "literature". Truely it was LOL.

I could go on, but I think it is best I stop here.

VictorG · Post by **VictorG** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:46 am

I thought he hit the nail on the head! The onlt fault I found with it, and of course I would, is that Egriz isn't exactly a small time board. (Not to say that Bobcat Nation is, as this site is growing as well!) In December, Egriz had between 10 and 11 MILLION hits! That's a lot of traffic!

CARDIAC_CATS · Post by **CARDIAC_CATS** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:56 am

VictorG wrote:I thought he hit the nail on the head! The onlt fault I found with it, and of course I would, is that Egriz isn't exactly a small time board. (Not to say that Bobcat Nation is, as this site is growing as well!) In December, Egriz had between 10 and 11 MILLION hits! That's a lot of traffic!

5 million of those were my hits though ... keeping Jagr in line

WYCAT · Post by **WYCAT** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:57 am

That is the first time I have ever gotten my name mentioned in the paper without the phrase "driving under the influence" included.

Just kidding, I have been lucky enough to never receive one of those jems. I think everyone has summarized my feelings pretty well about this article. I don't see a reason he would have had to attack us like he did - news must be slow I guess. For those of us not lucky enough to live in Bozeman this board is great and I have met several posters and enjoy chatting about something we all have in common - love for the Cats. Not something we should apologize for.

My recommendation - he should write a story on how crappy the internet feed is for games. There are a number of fans (more so for FB games) who tune in every game and either have to listen to the opponents website or hope MSU01 or HC are online and relaying updates to us. That is an editorial that could do some good and make a good story. Try that Jeff, instead of accusing people you don't know of having no lives or of being extremists. Like Belgrade so eloquently stated Jeff - bite me!

OZCAT · Post by **OZCAT** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:03 am

I thought the column was funny and that Jeff has improved the sports section of the Chronicle 100%. Thought he was going for tongue in cheek humor.

catatac · Post by **catatac** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:08 am

Oh, I don’t know guys. IMO (Did that for fun!) it wasn’t too out of line. Obviously it was written for entertainment purposes, and as others have stated, this article will definitely steer more people towards this site. He used BobcatNation as an example, but the article was really a jab at sports boards as a whole, and it was an attempt at humor. Plus, you gotta admit, there are some ridiculous things that get typed on all of these boards, so they probably deserve a little ribbing. I thought there were a couple funny parts, but nothing compared to that article floating around last year… man that was some funny stuff (Here’s to you, Mr. really really mad sports fan… you voice your concerns about your team where it will make absolutely the least amount of difference – an internet chat-room.).

CARDIAC_CATS · Post by **CARDIAC_CATS** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:25 am

catatac wrote:Oh, I don’t know guys. IMO (Did that for fun!) it wasn’t too out of line. Obviously it was written for entertainment purposes, and as others have stated, this article will definitely steer more people towards this site. He used BobcatNation as an example, but the article was really a jab at sports boards as a whole, and it was an attempt at humor. Plus, you gotta admit, there are some ridiculous things that get typed on all of these boards, so they probably deserve a little ribbing. I thought there were a couple funny parts, but nothing compared to that article floating around last year… man that was some funny stuff (Here’s to you, Mr. really really mad sports fan… you voice your concerns about your team where it will make absolutely the least amount of difference – an internet chat-room.).

You know what, I just reread it again and the 2nd time it did come across as being more funny than poking a stab so I will backtrack from my original post, but I think he could have made a more positive article about the whole thing to boost the BobcatNation board (give it some props etc.). Maybe he has that one coming up next

.

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:25 am

Well we had 5 new member sign up yesterday, the most in quite some time I would imagine!

jagur1 · Post by **jagur1** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 11:59 am

I liked it.

'

Bozo. Dec or St. V.

PapaG · Post by **PapaG** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:36 pm

I thought the article was funny, displayed some wit not ordinarily seen in a Montana paper, and pretty much encapsulated the message board experience in a humorous manner.

Well done Mr. Welsch!

For those who are upset about this article, sometimes laughing at yourself is the most productive thing to do. Besides, the writing in that article was a Pulitzer winner compared to the Butte "Boz Angeles" screed we were all lambasting in fall 2003.

Mods - great job on the site. I wish I had more time to spend here, but having a life and all doesn't leave for a lot of time!

Cat Grad · Post by **Cat Grad** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 12:52 pm

Hey, Welsch is just a poor, rejected NODAK fan. What do you expect? He needs to move back "east" and surround himself with like ilk and savor their victory two seasons ago against the fizzlies...

HelenaCat · Post by **HelenaCat** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:37 pm

I would like to cast a vote to give the benefit of the doubt to Jeff. My guess is that he meant no harm to all of us at BobcatNation. I give Jeff the benefit of the doubt because I truly like the direction the Chronicle has taken in the last six months or so in terms of coverage of MSU athletics. I also used to think that Scott Mansch and the GF Tribune covered MSU better than anyone in the State, but that has changed in my opinion. The Tribune is a statewide paper and still does a good job for MSU, but the Chronicle has certainly had more articles consistently every day than them. So instead of alienating the Chronicle staff, give them some kudos for changing things very much to the positive overall.

Post by **kmax** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 1:42 pm

mslacat wrote:Well we had 5 new member sign up yesterday, the most in quite some time I would imagine!

Well, by averages, we had been averaging just under 1.5 new users per day. Many of those came in big groups when we opened the board and towards the beginning of football season though. So I would say 5 new members is a pretty good surge.

A better sign of the free advertising that I alluded to earlier though is the new record for most users online at the same time, which was 41 set yesterday afternoon. Once again, thanks to the Comical and Jeff!

raincat · Post by **raincat** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 2:31 pm

Welsch lacks VIM, IMHO, LOL!

MSUcantouchus · Post by **MSUcantouchus** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 6:27 pm

nice one rain cat

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 8:34 pm

I suppose I over-reacted a little bit.

That is all.

Post by **rtb** » Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:29 pm

I don't think you over reacted. Yes there are some things in the article that are funny, but again making fun of/putting someone down to make yourself feel better isn't the best way to be funny. I agree that this needs to be taken lightly and we should recognize that we have new members joining due in part to the article, but it is fair to be critical of the author.

velochat · Post by **velochat** » Tue Jan 18, 2005 10:01 am

I have no problem with anything Welsch said. If he remains an objective journalist, that's OK with me. He continues to do a great job, IMHO. Like he said, it's a difficult subject to ignore and folks are attracted to look at this gossip as to a car wreck. I certainly think gossiping about recruiting has the potential to be harmful to a coach's recruiting stragegy. I sure wouldn't want the paper to use this board as a source, without checking out the facts very carefully.