Should MSU Fans Root for the Griz Against #1 NDSU? [poll]
This weekend, the Griz kick off the 2015 football season against defending champs North Dakota State (NDSU) in a non-conference game. The game is at 1:30 MDT on ESPN. We know Griz fans will be watching, but what about MSU fans? And who will they be rooting for? Is it Montana first or always root against your in-state rival?
We posed this question to the Montana Mint Superfans (see their Grantland-style Season Preview here) which you can read under the poll. Let us know what you think and we’ll announce the results.
Poll
Montana Mint Superfans
Hot Take Nate (Cats fan): I will never, ever cheer for the Grizzlies. What’s that you say? “You HAVE to cheer for a Montana team if it’s not Cat-Griz. It’s state pride.” The hell it is. You think I want to have all Griz fans holding a win over our head? You think I want the media’s already inflated view of the Griz to get larger?
I hate the Griz. Yes, I use the word “hate.” I hate the color maroon. I hate Monte. I hate when the Griz win. I always will and I will passionately watch their games and cheer as hard for them to lose as I cheer for the Cats to win.
Is this healthy? Probably not. Is it because I was 17 when I saw my first Cat win against the Griz? Probably. Is it because we have been right there on the precipice of being THE team in Montana the last few years only to lose our way at the end of the season? Hell yeah.
Bear Tycoon (Griz fan): For non-conference play, I always find myself rooting for Big Sky teams. I rooted for the Cats against Oklahoma State a few years back and against SMU. I will root for EWU against Oregon next weekend, but fully expect a blowout.
Honestly, I never really hated the Bobcats. Using baseball terms, I think our generation views the rivalry less as the Yankees/Red Sox, and more as the Yankees/Mets. The Mets definitely view the Yankees as their top rival, and the Yankees view the Mets as a fun local rivalry that doesn’t factor in much to their overall run of success.
Z-Train (Griz fan): I say Montana first, and whoever is playing EWU. I hate EWU. I don’t hate the Cats. EWU is like some nouveau riche upstart just flaunting their riches with that gaudy field. Griz are old money snobs–we are the DuPonts of the FCS. We know how to handle our successes with class. EWU is like Frank Lucas–getting a little too big for their britches and wearing gauche mink coats that attract the attention of the fuzz. I am always more anxious about UM’s game with EWU each year. They seem to have had the Griz’s number more often lately than the Cats.
Coach (Cats fan): I completely disagree with Z-Train and Bear Tycoon. I think UM is the most classless group of winners in the FCS. They’ve been so good for so long that they have a host of bandwagon fans that gear up at K-Mart and Wal-Mart and then pretend to be die-hards. They rub success in your face and act like they had a hand in it. For this reason (and because we lost to these fuckers for 16 consecutive years during my childhood) I always root against the Griz. I do respect the program they’ve built, but I don’t like em, won’t support em…anytime for life!
Z-Train (Griz fan): COACH, I think the definition of bandwagon is recent fans based on new-found success. In fact, the third definition of “bandwagon” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “a current or fashionable trend.” So, if we play this out, UM’s success, and its fans, are, literally by definition, the opposition of “bandwagon.”
I would actually say that MSU’s recent success in attracting statewide interest/legitimacy, along with its new stadium, fits the definition of bandwagon. And don’t confuse arrogance with confidence. I think UM players and coaches are just confident because they’ve been to the mountaintop, know what it takes, and expect to get back there again with hard work. that’s just my unbiased opinion though.
Scotty Mint (Cats fan): I’m with Coach and Hot Take Nate on this one. Griz fans strut around with a big brother complex claiming they root for the Cats, but they do it with a pity fuck attitude that comes from years of dominance. Already sounding like a Cat’s fan, bitter from growing up rooting for a losing team, I’ll continue to shout FTG until I’m blue in the face.
The Lulay era started a turnaround for the program. The Griz are finally seeing themselves consistently ranked behind the Cats but until we start putting together a respectable win/loss ratio in the Cat/Griz game the UM fans will continue to hold that metaphorical loogie hanging over little brothers helpless head.
Clarence Toole (Griz Fan): I absolutely root for MSU when there’s no repercussions for UM. In fact, back in 2012 when MSU eeked out a playoff win against Stony Book, I was in Bozemen watching the game at Spectators and I was one of the most vocal Cat supporters there.
I care about the state of Montana and the efforts generated from within. There are loads of Montana-made athletes for each team and I want them all to be All-Americans. Last year my heart broke for Bleskin. I swell with pride when I hear of an MSU player getting signed in the NFL.
My dream is to one day see a UM-MSU championship game. It will be the biggest event in Montana history.
Z-Train (Griz Fan): Mostly what I am seeing is a serious inferiority complex among these cat fans. It’s not healthy. Come over to the Griz side, we are much happier.
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