Biggest Bobcat Town in Montana

[Nick]

How was the outcome of a 10-7 game already known with 5 minutes left - in Washington Grizzly stadium?

When one team goes for 4th down and doesn't make it. Then the other team runs a few plays and the clock and eventually gets a first down on a 3rd or 4th and short situation. They proceed to run a couple plays and take a knee.

[Slackjaw]

I remember once going through Livingston which I guess you would say is Bobcat country after the 2000 game when the Cats stunk it up all over the place and went 0-11 and there was a HUGE "15 STRAIGHT OVER STATE" sign hanging from one of the buildings. It was grand.

I grew up in Livingston and yes it is in bobcat country but by no means is it a bobcat town. There are way too many pot head / hippies in that town for it to be a bobcat town.

[Nick]

I remember once going through Livingston which I guess you would say is Bobcat country after the 2000 game when the Cats stunk it up all over the place and went 0-11 and there was a HUGE "15 STRAIGHT OVER STATE" sign hanging from one of the buildings. It was grand.

I grew up in Livingston and yes it is in bobcat country but by no means is it a bobcat town. There are way too many pot head / hippies in that town for it to be a bobcat town.

[theblackgecko]

I grew up in Livingston and yes it is in bobcat country but by no means is it a bobcat town. There are way too many pot head / hippies in that town for it to be a bobcat town.

You'd have to take Bozeman off the list then. Bozeman has it's fair share of tokers and trustafarians.

[Slackjaw]

As far as percentages, not quite as much as livingston.

I'm not trying to say that all griz fans are hippies or pot heads. All I'm saying is that Livingston has more then its fair share of pot heads/ hippies and these people tend to follow the more liberal of the two schools. Then the rest of us livingston folk are probably split down the middle, due to the grizzlies' winning tradition.

[SonomaCat]

As far as percentages, not quite as much as livingston.

I'm not trying to say that all griz fans are hippies or pot heads. All I'm saying is that Livingston has more then its fair share of pot heads/ hippies and these people tend to follow the more liberal of the two schools. Then the rest of us livingston folk are probably split down the middle, due to the grizzlies' winning tradition.

I'm not sure the pothead/hippie category in the last census polled out as being all that interested in college sports, regardless of school. I believe that there was a strong preference shown by this demographic for the establishment of more state-sponsored hackey-sack teams, however.

[catatac]

How was the outcome of a 10-7 game already known with 5 minutes left - in Washington Grizzly stadium?

When one team goes for 4th down and doesn't make it. Then the other team runs a few plays and the clock and eventually gets a first down on a 3rd or 4th and short situation. They proceed to run a couple plays and take a knee.

Uh - the math isn't working out for me here. Down by 3 - 5 minutes on the clock. That's 300 seconds. I don't care who's ball it is, what down it is, what yard line you're on, how many time-outs you have, etc. The game wasn't over. And this is Cat\Griz in Missoula mind you...

[grizzh8r]

As far as percentages, not quite as much as livingston.

I'm not trying to say that all griz fans are hippies or pot heads. All I'm saying is that Livingston has more then its fair share of pot heads/ hippies and these people tend to follow the more liberal of the two schools. Then the rest of us livingston folk are probably split down the middle, due to the grizzlies' winning tradition.

I'm from L-town too, and I would concur. However, I see more MSU liscence plates in Livingston than dUMb plates.

It is off topic, but I'm really starting to loathe Livingston. It's all gas stations and hotels, and about two dozen art galleries/boutiques, and NOTHING ELSE.

[CelticCat]

I fear Montana is turning into the rest of the country's resort.

[Nick]

I fear Montana is turning into the rest of the country's resort.

I agree -- thanks to Charles Schwab's Bitterroot Stock Farm. I've done some of the valet parking up there which actually isn't too shabby, and I'll be damned if Brent Musberger doesn't tip well.

But in Hamilton area with the wealthy moving in, the middle class is almost non-existant. It's haves and have nots.

[HelenaCat]

This at least the second or third time this idiot has posted on this board instead of the smack board. Can the moderators just ban this idiot and we can enjoy this board more. I thought BB was bad, but at least he obeys the rules.

[SonomaCat]

Noted. Keep it on the smack board, gsg, or else you will be banned.

I deleted his post ... carry on.

[mquast53000]

Noted. Keep it on the smack board, gsg, or else you will be banned.

I deleted his post ... carry on.

Tough, but fair… BAC you run a tight ship.

[Nick]

The MSU students showing loyalty to their team during the 99 asskicking was great too -- they were throwing trash at the Cat bench!! Classic...

This comment baffles me. I was on the at team, and I never had any garbage thrown at me during the Cat/Griz game or for that matter the entire season… I guess you are simply making things up… Are you able to make stories up in other facets of your life? It amazes me that you even posted this- your post is complete bs.

I have not missed a Grizzly home game since `99 so yes I was at the game in 02. Everyone returned to their seats in the third quarter as they do in every Griz game.

The 2002 Cat/Griz game was empty after halftime. I felt that it was due to the sensation that the Griz were getting beat much worse then the score showed, but more likely it could have been due to the cold weather. To show just how fair weather the Griz fans are they left because it was too cold! It was definitely one of the coldest games that I had ever played in (I am from MN), but for crying out loud it is Cat/Griz! I guess the Griz fans went home to go sip on some hot cocoa… If you were at the game you know damn well that stadium was ½ empty by the start of the 4th quarter… I know that the Cat fans have a tendency to disappear during games, but we are not always self proclaiming our fans as the best fans in 1-AA.

Don't mean to bring this back up, but just to let you know I wasn't making this up mquast.....

Again sorry to bring smack into this forum, but I also thought this was an enjoyable and funny article. Reminded me of our student section during basketball games at HHS aka "The Lowd Crowd." We never really won a game and during the tournament we would get so desperate as to start chanting things like "we have better uniforms" and towards rivals like Stevensville "higher test scores" or refer to other sports and when we are getting pummeled break out the "soccer state champs" cheer

A nice article from the Bozeman Chronicle...

Sunday, November 21, 1999
Bobcat fans grateful for beer
By JOHN MILLER

At a Bobcat-Grizzly football game that featured almost nothing on the field for the hometown crowd to cheer about, at least there was beer.



Rowdy parking-lot tailgate parties -- from the disco going on in Chad Harp's black Toyota to Bill Warden's lower-key barbecue two trucks down -- had Montana State University fans smiling even as their team was getting pummeled 49-3.


"We do this every year," Warden said, flipping a homemade Polish sausage and enjoying the company of a dozen or so buddies.



"It's like I got hydraulics," said Harp, filled with about 60 ounces of school spirit. In the back of the MSU student's truck, some 15 of his friends were raving to an odd combination of rap music and the band Everything But The Girl.



"Even if we lose, we win on this party," said Harp's buddy, Bobby Sidenberg III, propping himself up on the open passenger-side door.



Inside Bobcat Stadium -- where many of the tailgaters didn't bother to return after halftime -- the traditionally loud, typically raunchy MSU student section didn't disappoint. Guys in clever "The Grizzlies are going down" T-shirts screamed, "F--- the Grizzlies, Go Cats, Go."



In the first row, one kid in glasses observed to a friend, "If I wasn't one of them, I'd be ashamed."



University of Montana's "If I've told you once ..." T-shirts alluded to the now 14-game winning streak Grizzly gridders enjoy.



The wind picked up and the weather grew colder, but many Bobcat faithful stuck around, even after the conference-champion Grizzlies put the game hopelessly out of reach.



The Hairy Back Guy, who has become almost a Martel Field icon with the shaved "MSU" logo in his bountiful pelt, said he wouldn't have dreamed of leaving, but did pull a green warm-up jacket over his ample torso in the fourth quarter as snow hid the summit of Mount Ellis from view.



"It's getting pretty cold," Hairy Back Guy admitted.



What's the matter, not enough beer?



"No, I drank too much," he said.



Around the end of the third quarter, crazy Bobcat student antics went south of the border as they hucked dozens of burrito-size tortillas -- they fly like frisbees with a little wrist action -- in the general vicinity of the home team bench.



Snow blew into the stadium for a few minutes, and the creative Cat-Grizzly chants were replaced by "Snow! Snow! Snow!"



Dan Schmitz made the six-hour drive from Spokane to watch his high school buddy, MSU defensive tackle Matt Horlacher, play.



While the Bobcats' performance on the field fell a bit flat, Schmitz was duly impressed by the crowd.



"The fans are great out here," he said. "I love the atmosphere."



Back out at the tailgate party, a couple of guys who identified themselves as "The Planalp Brothers" chomped on Pershing missile-size cigars and chowed down on steaks and ribs from their loaded barbecue grill.



A friend, Bill Nordwick, offered his motto for the day: "I haven't been drinking, I've been chugging."



The Planalp Brothers watched the first half of the game before opting for the more exhilarating tailgate party. They said the first half was great, especially when their buddy, MSU linebacker Cody Schrader, managed an impressive special teams performance.



"He returned a kick for about 13 yards, and he's fat and slow," said Kevin Planalp. "Cody is No. 1. No. 1 in our program, No. 1 in our hearts.



A pair of MSU policeman strolled through the crowd of tailgaters, occasionally pulling a young-looking reveler aside and asking for identification. Police Chief Roger Rippy, one of the officers, said most of the kids were well-behaved, content to enjoy the 99th annual Bobcat-Grizzly pairing in peace and harmony.



"Of course, you've got to knock on wood," he said. "We're just trying to promote responsible drinking. We haven't had any disorderly problems."

[mquast53000]

The MSU students showing loyalty to their team during the 99 asskicking was great too -- they were throwing trash at the Cat bench!! Classic...

Around the end of the third quarter, crazy Bobcat student antics went south of the border as they hucked dozens of burrito-size tortillas -- they fly like frisbees with a little wrist action -- in the general vicinity of the home team bench.

You said throwing trash, a little different then shells... I knew some of the guys that were throwing the shells and they said they were trying to copy Arizona State (or is it Arizona?). It was a small group of college guys trying to copy a Pac 10 school. I remember the shells landing everywhere on the field. I could see how you and the writer of the article would think that they were throwing them at the bench, because they were in the student section and therefor they were to far away to hit the Grizzlies sideline. Of course the article did say "general vicinity," which could mean that people were just throwing shells inside the stadium- a stadium is relatively small and general vicinity could mean pretty much anywhere on the field of play. I guess that if you were an unreasonable person you would think that the Bobcat fans were throwing “trash” at the Bobcat bench…

[Cat-theotherwhitemeat]

I thought I saw a couple of the Cat players picking up the tortilla's and eating them. I believe they were defensive line players if my memory serves me.