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Down Memory Lane …

IdaGriz01

Well-known member
Realistically, there’s just not much to talk about, football-wise, right now … unless you’re big on FBS matchups. Even STATS.com seems to be totally dead in terms of FCS football, hardly surprising under the circumstances. As a matter of fact, they’ve still not posted anything about the CAA plan for the spring season. And the Big Sky is making promises, but we’ve still heard nothing.

So to spark some interest, I thought I’d start a thread for some Griz football “war stories.” A post on the “How Did You Become a Fan” thread -- about the 2000 Nattie “rain game” in Chattanooga -- gave me the idea. Of course, the bad news from 2000 was that the Griz lost a close (-2 points) game. The difference was, basically “the other” Adrian Peterson. He’s the guy who won the Walter Payton Award and later spent eight years in the NFL (Chicago).

But the fan memory involved the rain, which was impressive. We too got pretty wet, although our ponchos worked okay, overall. Here was our fan topper: We stood up to cheer during a specially heavy cloudburst (actually, we were up a lot of the time.) Trouble is, a program had slipped and blocked the drain hole in the bottom of the plastic seat ... so there was an inch or more of water gathered there. Big sluuush, and we bounced right back up. :eek: Didn't make a lot of difference at that point, but its pretty bad when you have to wait for your seat to drain. :?

Having been fans for over a quarter-century, we have lots of memories, related to but outside the games themselves. (A champagne bottle gift from a Marshall fan after the 1995 NC … just one more example.)

So how about it? Tons of Griz fans, with far more years than we have … there have got to be some great stories out there. But please, try not to vent your most bitter yarns … let’s try to keep it fun.
 
Well, I had hopes … was sure some of you would have better stories than ours. Guess I’ll have to “prime the pump.” The post that started my line of thought also mentioned “when the Griz hung 70+ on SFA.”

That was in the 1995 playoffs, when the ‘Jacks came to Missoula in early December. The “official” game-time temperature was 6º … but the wind was 10-12 mph. That, of course, made a huge difference. We weren’t sure we’d brought enough layers to handle that, but we did the best we could. In any case, that game spawned a lot of good stories. One: The visitors stayed at Ruby’s and we heard that the coaches cleaned out every store they could find, buying warmer stuff for themselves and the players.

Mine (which I think I posted many years ago): I had a business trip that week, and had to hastily change my flight to return directly to Missoula. (My wife had to drive up alone :( .) I landed in Missoula on the last flight in. It happened that the SFA cheer squad was also in the terminal, waiting for their transportation. One of them stepped outside, came back in, and mumbled something to the others. Immediately, a plaintive cry went up, “Seven degrees! That’s not a temperature!” Of course, it was … and their morale was shot right from the get-go.
 
Almost all of my Griz stories revolve around “away” games since I moved away from Missoula for good in ‘83.

First game ever in Wa/Griz was the playoff game against Jackson State in ‘89. Couple of years later (‘93) I got off active duty and moved to Phoenix. For the next 20 years, with a few exceptions my Griz experience was going to Flagstaff every other year to watch the bi-annual beatdown of the ‘Jokes. I did make a side trip to Cal Poly one year (met SloStang) and watched the Griz lose to the Mustangs. Was at the ‘09 Natty, but had VERY bad judgment that year when it came to games to watch. I did NOT come home for the miracle comeback against SDSU, then made last minute plans and came home for the SFA beatdown. Went back to Phoenix and had to watch the famous App State snow game on TV at Dukes in Scottsdale, then decided to go to Chatty and watched them freaking lose to Szcuzr, et.al. Since I moved to Texas I’ve been able to get back home for a few more games, and a few additional road trips. Went to UW and watched them lose, was at UO last year to watch them lose, and found myself in northern Colorado when the Griz were in town to play the Bears, anticipating an easy win I instead watched Stitt’s team piss it down their leg. Was home for the ‘15 NDSU victory, came home in ‘12 for the Liberty game (I believe), and last year for the Idaho win. Was really hoping to get back this year for a game, since I’m not sure my dad will make it to next season....keep your fingers crossed. If they play in the spring I’ll be there for at least one game.

Oh, and SFA’s morale may have been shot at the airport, but Chris made SURE it was shot after shot after shot at Reds the night before the game. :lol: :lol: Still one of my favorite stories: Sat in the NEZ for the SFA game...guy in front of me had “homemade root beer schnapps” that he’d pass around every time the Griz scored. Well if you remember that game, SFA’s vaunted offense had something like 9 turnovers, and we were up like 35-0 at halftime and me and everybody around me were drunk as shit by halftime. I asked the guy “how do you make that stuff?” And he says....”well, I start with Everclear....” :shock: :shock: Holy shit! i thought I was drinking 40-proof schnapps and instead it was 180 proof Everclear....no WONDER we were all shitfaced....
 
Yes, we now have the spring schedule to kick around (i.e., bitch about). But we could still use some other items of "historical" interest to spark some memories.

How about the "play up" game at Wyoming in 2014? The Griz lost (by only 5 points) ... but our memory of the event was the lightning bursts that kept stopping play. If you've ever been in Laramie when lightning is in the area, you know how scary that can be.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Yes, we now have the spring schedule to kick around (i.e., bitch about). But we could still use some other items of "historical" interest to spark some memories.

How about the "play up" game at Wyoming in 2014? The Griz lost (by only 5 points) ... but our memory of the event was the lightning bursts that kept stopping play. If you've ever been in Laramie when lightning is in the area, you know how scary that can be.
I was at that game and my memories were the lightning really killing the flow of the game. I'm the kind of fan who believes that if it wasn't for the lightning we'd have won and if we'd won the lightning had no effect on the game.
Game wise I remember Burke? throwing a TD to Jansen, Kose with a big pick to kill a Cowboy drive, and unfortunately the Bohl coached Cowboys grinding us down in the second half.
Trip wise; how beautiful is Wyoming when the sky is blue? And sleeping under the stars in some ranchers field south of Broadus on the drive home.
 
SaskGriz said:
IdaGriz01 said:
Yes, we now have the spring schedule to kick around (i.e., bitch about). But we could still use some other items of "historical" interest to spark some memories.

How about the "play up" game at Wyoming in 2014? The Griz lost (by only 5 points) ... but our memory of the event was the lightning bursts that kept stopping play. If you've ever been in Laramie when lightning is in the area, you know how scary that can be.
I was at that game and my memories were the lightning really killing the flow of the game. I'm the kind of fan who believes that if it wasn't for the lightning we'd have won and if we'd won the lightning had no effect on the game.
Game wise I remember Burke? throwing a TD to Jansen, Kose with a big pick to kill a Cowboy drive, and unfortunately the Bohl coached Cowboys grinding us down in the second half.
Trip wise; how beautiful is Wyoming when the sky is blue? And sleeping under the stars in some ranchers field south of Broadus on the drive home.
I agree. Just looked at the stats to refresh my memory. The Griz had virtually no running game (42 yards net), and it's always harder (IMHO) to keep the flow going for a pass-heavy offense. JJ had an OK day (24/45), but just couldn't seem to get it going.
 
Went with my dad to Chatty in 2004 to watch that incredible team - Ochs, Segars, Hilliard, Heidelberger (to name a few) finish their roll through the playoffs. I think we got screwed in that game for a number of reasons but I digress.

We went to the world famous Sticky Fingers for ribs and naturally there were Griz fans everywhere. Chattanooga used to love Montana fans coming in - and all over town there were specials for Montana Red Beer.

My dad and I are in the middle of our meal and I figure, what the hell. I look at him and smile and say "Watch this."

I then let out a big "MONTANA!" and the ENTIRE place immediately, thunderously responds with "GRIZZLIES."

We do this a few more times while the place erupts.

Always a party on the road. Good times.
 
I’m glad that some others have come up with some great memories. Wish we could get more … so here I go again, “priming the pump.”

This one made us sweat, but it had a happy ending: September 1, 2018, opening game against Northern Iowa … at WaGriz. (Also, Bobbie’s first game back at UM.)

The thing that sticks out was the role reversal at half time, but with a different ending. The Griz (specifically, Dalton Sneed) came out hot. And the defense was all over the place. With a missed PAT, UM led 26-0 at halftime.

Halftime beers were downed happily, but with some concern. UNI was supposed to be a good team: 8-5 the year before and two-deep in the playoffs. Ranked #13 pre-season. And we were right to worry. Hauck and company had devised a great game plan, offensively and defensively. It worked very well for a half, given that he didn’t have “his” players in place.

But the Panthers were indeed a good team (they went two-deep in the playoffs again that year). With essentially no running game (Sneed gained the most ground yards), the Griz did not score in the second half. We could barely stand it, watching UNI creep back in. We all remembered all too well the years before (not just under Stitt, so try not to go there) where the Griz failed to hold a lead.

When the Panthers made that two-point conversion after their last score, I think we all thought: OMG, there’s too much time left on the clock. The Griz have no ground game to “run it out.” We still remember the huge strain we felt, while Dalton and his receivers “refused to lose” and used dink pass plays to burn the clock. (Just looked at the old stats, and see that Toure caught two of those. Sigh.) The jubilation was incredible when the Griz finally went into “victory formation.”
 
Just remember going down to Flagstaff for my first game there and thinking it would be an electric atmosphere like our home games. Well I was a bit shocked with the lack of enthusiasm at the dome, and pregame. With the amount of students that NAU has I just don't get that they can't attract a crowd. Have not been back since. By the way it was like 20 years ago.
 
Dillon said:
Just remember going down to Flagstaff for my first game there and thinking it would be an electric atmosphere like our home games. Well I was a bit shocked with the lack of enthusiasm at the dome, and pregame. With the amount of students that NAU has I just don't get that they can't attract a crowd. Have not been back since. By the way it was like 20 years ago.
I'm wondering how high you were if you went down to Flagstaff.
 
To this day I kick myself for not getting back to Missoula for perhaps the most epic FCS playoff game of all time: the 2009 semis vs App State.

My wife and I were spending the weekend in Seattle and we found a sports bar a few minutes into the first for an ESPN telecast.

Naturally much of the bar didn't have a dog in the fight but, when Keith Thompson laid the wood on Matt Cline - the cleanest, nastiest hit I've ever seen - the reactions in the bar were priceless. The first hit, but then the replay as about 75 people all turned their attention to it and collectively let out a loud "OOOOOOOOOOOHHHH." I think that hit was #1 on SportsCenter that night.

75 new Griz fans (for the day) in Seattle, WA from then on.
 
Seems the only way I can keep this thread from sliding out of sight is to nudge it with another story of ours. At least that sparks some other posters.

Yet another memory involves Northern Iowa. We often have memorable games with them, and 2016 was no exception. It was another nail-biter with a happy ending (funny how that helps your memory ;) ).

The Griz had looked not very impressive in their home opener against a relative cupcake. Meanwhile the Panthers had gone into FBS Iowa State and pulled off the win. That got them an FCS ranking of #3. (Meanwhile, many on here wondered if the Griz really deserved their #14 ranking.) Now UNI was back home to face the Griz. Any letdown after the upset should be offset by a “grudge match” against a team they had never beaten in five tries.

Three memories stand out from that game, two specific and one general.

Right at the end of the 1st quarter, UNI drove the ball down for a first down at the Griz 6-yard line. Twice they got it down to the 1 (set back by a false start penalty). After the quarter change, they had two more tries from a yard out: Stuffed for a yard loss, pass incomplete. We didn’t know it at the time, but that goal line stand really set the tone for the game.

Next, with just under 7 minutes left in the half, the Panthers did a really, really dumb thing: They punted to Jerry Louie-McGee. Some seconds later, UM had its last touchdown … the one that would prove to be the difference in the game.

That leads to the third general point: In the end, stout-beyond-belief defense when it mattered won this game. The Griz offense did not score anything after leading 20-7 at the half. The Panthers actually out-gained UM by almost 150 yards, overall. But the Griz D only allowed one more TD (with about 8 min left in the game). Then they survived a last-second “hook and lateral” play to seal the deal.

I'm sure many Griz fans had the same reaction I did: Good God, I need a drink!

(FWIW: The Griz record is now 7-0 against UNI. :D )
 
Pardon me for going so far back, but my first memory was as a college freshman waiting for my ROTC class to start in the old Schreiber Gym and watching the freshman play Northern Montana college as Willie Jones ran back the opening kickoff when the old stadium was where the library now sits.

My next memories are how tough Mike Tilleman was as a lineman, what a great running back Brian Magnuson was, how hard Herb White hit - all in the 60s.

Plus, going to Bozeman in 67 on the train (we all hiked downtown to the railroad station for a special train to Bozeman). There was a band (Mojo's Mark 5??) that had a drum filled with hidden bottles of Thunderbird wine for sale. At that game, the Cats had a half-time show that involved an old biplane that did diving runs directly on the stadium and then pulled out at the last moment. Scared the pee pee out of me.
 
717s7e said:
Pardon me for going so far back, but my first memory was as a college freshman waiting for my ROTC class to start in the old Schreiber Gym and watching the freshman play Northern Montana college as Willie Jones ran back the opening kickoff when the old stadium was where the library now sits.

My next memories are how tough Mike Tilleman was as a lineman, what a great running back Brian Magnuson was, how hard Herb White hit - all in the 60s.

Plus, going to Bozeman in 67 on the train (we all hiked downtown to the railroad station for a special train to Bozeman). There was a band (Mojo's Mark 5??) that had a drum filled with hidden bottles of Thunderbird wine for sale. At that game, the Cats had a half-time show that involved an old biplane that did diving runs directly on the stadium and then pulled out at the last moment. Scared the pee pee out of me.
Not a problem ... Hey, us old geezers got to stick together. Wonder how many young squirts even remember the original Thunderbird? (According to items on the web, Gallo is trying a re-do on T-bird as a more "respectable," real wine brand.) Of course, if you had enough of the old fortified stuff ... you didn't remember a damn thing. :lol: :lol:

Just as a matter of curiosity: Was that a real (looking) drum, and did they actually pound on it?
 
503Griz said:
To this day I kick myself for not getting back to Missoula for perhaps the most epic FCS playoff game of all time: the 2009 semis vs App State.

My wife and I were spending the weekend in Seattle and we found a sports bar a few minutes into the first for an ESPN telecast.

Naturally much of the bar didn't have a dog in the fight but, when Keith Thompson laid the wood on Matt Cline - the cleanest, nastiest hit I've ever seen - the reactions in the bar were priceless. The first hit, but then the replay as about 75 people all turned their attention to it and collectively let out a loud "OOOOOOOOOOOHHHH." I think that hit was #1 on SportsCenter that night.

75 new Griz fans (for the day) in Seattle, WA from then on.

503, I too, kick myself to this day for not making it back for that game. Missed the epic comeback against SDSU, came home for the snoozer against SFA, chose to stay home for the App State game, then went to Chatty for the loss to Villanova....literally EVERY decision i made was wrong.

that’s why I wasn’t about to miss the ‘15 NDSU game. And man, am I glad I was there. :thumb: :thumb:
 
My best memory is also my most recent - flying up to Msla last year for the North Alabama game. The game itself wasn't terribly exciting (other than watching Gavin Crow break his leg in the north end zone right below us 😱) but just being there in person with my folks for the first time in 17 years meant the world to me. Not only that, but it was a night game, the weather was perfect, I got to eat a Viking (so yum) and of course the Griz won. What's not to love??
 
717s7e said:
Pardon me for going so far back, but my first memory was as a college freshman waiting for my ROTC class to start in the old Schreiber Gym and watching the freshman play Northern Montana college as Willie Jones ran back the opening kickoff when the old stadium was where the library now sits.

My next memories are how tough Mike Tilleman was as a lineman, what a great running back Brian Magnuson was, how hard Herb White hit - all in the 60s.

Plus, going to Bozeman in 67 on the train (we all hiked downtown to the railroad station for a special train to Bozeman). There was a band (Mojo's Mark 5??) that had a drum filled with hidden bottles of Thunderbird wine for sale. At that game, the Cats had a half-time show that involved an old biplane that did diving runs directly on the stadium and then pulled out at the last moment. Scared the pee pee out of me.
I was in that game in '64 with Willie; he ran wild; the Northern players had never seen that kind of speed and mobility. He ran several 9.4 hundreds and long jumped nearly 25.' Magnuson was a stud; too bad we had him for only one year. The MSU game was a heartbreaker; cold, cold, cold in Bozeman. Very frozen field. Magnuson had them worn down; his number was called for the winner at the one at the end of the game. They could not have stopped him, but Ed Steiner decided instead to take it himself and was swarmed. MSU 14; UM 8. That was a good team, Swarthout's first year; had Utah St. on the ropes in Logan the following week and lost another squeaker, 20-14. Finished 7-3, could easily been 9-1. Finished the year with a 55-7 beatdown of PSU in Portland, so bad that PSU fired the coach and hired a guy named Don Read.
 
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