1. Griz Nation is on fire! Why? We're playing the Huskies! Not the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Washington Huskies! Number Seven, Big Boys. No matter we're 39 point dogs. Some 9000 fans will attend. Why? This is the Big Time! Nothing like the Big Time to set Griz Nation on fire! Alas, that'll be our last brush with Big Time Football for several years. Not basketball. That's Big Time every year. Pitt, Penn State, UCLA, Stanford, Washington. And if we make it through the Big Sky, we get more Big Time --with our seeding, do we ever! New Mexico, Wisconsin, Syracuse, in my favorite, most compelling national sports event, The Big Dance. A win here, as with Nevada, means more ink for our school than any FCS championship. A Sweet 16 appearance would blow the lid off for Montana.
2. For many high school kids, football is not worth the concussions or the nagging lifelong injuries. Oh, yes, I love football too. But it's increasingly difficult to root for a sport you wouldn't let your own son play. And the NFL? I've had it with those greedy, franchise-hopping owners. And while maybe you haven't noticed, the Big Schools now monopolize the College Football Scene as well. Don't buy a Sports Illustrated hoping to read about the Montana's of the world. They've been consigned to the children's table. Not so basketball, where upsets are always a prominent feature of the Big Dance--a Gonzaga, a George Mason, a Davidson, a Butler, going on incredible late-season runs. Not possible anymore in football.
3. Basketball is international; American football never will be.
4. Basketball trends younger than football. Younger than any sport except soccer. I like to be on the side of evolution.
5. Basketball has superior athletes. I wager this: More NBA players could make NFL rosters, than NFL players making the NBA.
Oh, yeah. I'll be right there in front of my TV this Saturday, giving every ounce of devotion I have for our beloved Griz against Washington. And I'm more than grateful for the many grand rides I've enjoyed the past 20 years in the fabulous ole' Cadillac that Don Read built, and Joe Glenn, Bobby Hauck and Bob Stitt customized. But at the same time, Travis Decuire and his team are doing some serious tinkering over at Dahlberg. Basketball will soon be where it's at, and I'm getting there first.
2. For many high school kids, football is not worth the concussions or the nagging lifelong injuries. Oh, yes, I love football too. But it's increasingly difficult to root for a sport you wouldn't let your own son play. And the NFL? I've had it with those greedy, franchise-hopping owners. And while maybe you haven't noticed, the Big Schools now monopolize the College Football Scene as well. Don't buy a Sports Illustrated hoping to read about the Montana's of the world. They've been consigned to the children's table. Not so basketball, where upsets are always a prominent feature of the Big Dance--a Gonzaga, a George Mason, a Davidson, a Butler, going on incredible late-season runs. Not possible anymore in football.
3. Basketball is international; American football never will be.
4. Basketball trends younger than football. Younger than any sport except soccer. I like to be on the side of evolution.
5. Basketball has superior athletes. I wager this: More NBA players could make NFL rosters, than NFL players making the NBA.
Oh, yeah. I'll be right there in front of my TV this Saturday, giving every ounce of devotion I have for our beloved Griz against Washington. And I'm more than grateful for the many grand rides I've enjoyed the past 20 years in the fabulous ole' Cadillac that Don Read built, and Joe Glenn, Bobby Hauck and Bob Stitt customized. But at the same time, Travis Decuire and his team are doing some serious tinkering over at Dahlberg. Basketball will soon be where it's at, and I'm getting there first.