My understanding of the 37 tradition was that you had to have graduated from a Montana high school, not necessarily have been born in Montana. It was generally felt Robby Hauck was not eligible to wear 37 as he did not graduate from a Montana HS, yet he was born in Missoula.
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37
- Thread starter michigangriz
- Start date
garizzalies
Well-known member
So a guy named Michigan was born in Washington and lives in Arkansas wants to cancel Montana’s coolest tradition because he “hates” it.
michigangriz
Well-known member
Ditto
michigangriz
Well-known member
No, you completely misunderstand me… I am not wanting to cancel anything about the University of Montana, I only wanted to issue a valid complaint….if bearing the 37 jersey requires birth in Montana, then I am not for it…I love Montana, endlessly…. Sorry, but what are you missing?
michigangriz
Well-known member
AZ Doc, in time you may be completely vindicated about certain coaches, it’s just that I coached for 32 years and I am sensitive to criticism of coaches, not that we are not subject to such criticism… but I know you get it… Go Griz, forever…
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
michigangriz said:
Where has it ever been said it requires birth in MT?
michigangriz
Well-known member
PR, you know this has been said on here endlessly, I never proclaimed that this is a fact, but I am only saying this, if it is the case, I am not for it.
michigangriz said:
I respectfully disagree. I believe the unofficial rules is graduated from a Montana High School, not born in Montana. I believe if someone really did some research, we could find at least on 37 who graduated here but was not born here.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
michigangriz said:
I don’t recall anyone saying 37 had to be born in MT. At least, anyone who seemed to know what they were talking about.
So when does an action become a tradition? Do you think that whomever assigned Craig Paulson #37 for the "83 season thought this is going to be tradition? We might what to credit the manager of the bookstore with its success by making every casual fan aware of the number by putting it on all the jerseys sold at the UC back in the 80's. I would contend it started as a motive for culture/team building and continued to grow into what it is today. I too was born and grew up in Montana, graduated from UM and have continued to be a loyal and faithful fan for over 50 years. "37" wasn't even a thing when I was growing up or attending school but I've enjoyed watching it evolve into something the encapsulates what growing up in Montana means. Lots of traditions exist in college football, some come and go and some live on to represent something special which is what I believe the "37" tradition has done. If nothing else it guarantees people remember it's about Montana and the unique sense of belonging everyone wants or seems to be defending.
What I know for sure is that it takes a lot for an action to become a tradition, sometimes a generation, sometimes a lifetime...and they rarely become of any meaning because we want them to but more so for how they are embraced. I also know its not my award its a player tradition. I feel bad debating it on social media and certainly feel honored when I get to tell my non-Griz friends who attend games with me what it means. I for one would hate to see it go away because I feel it does have meaning and it does contribute to the unique culture that is Montana and the Griz! Leave it to the players... celebrate whomever gets the honor...whether they play much or not...offense, defense, special teams...it's still the Griz!
What I know for sure is that it takes a lot for an action to become a tradition, sometimes a generation, sometimes a lifetime...and they rarely become of any meaning because we want them to but more so for how they are embraced. I also know its not my award its a player tradition. I feel bad debating it on social media and certainly feel honored when I get to tell my non-Griz friends who attend games with me what it means. I for one would hate to see it go away because I feel it does have meaning and it does contribute to the unique culture that is Montana and the Griz! Leave it to the players... celebrate whomever gets the honor...whether they play much or not...offense, defense, special teams...it's still the Griz!
I doubt any out of state players on the GRIZ are upset they don't qualify to wear number 37. It IS, after all, the University of MONTANA.
I will say this about it, and I've tried to listen very hard to a lot of thoughts from people who are very reasonable. CDA, in particular, has had points that make me sit back and really think.
What I will say is that one of my kids is a little girl who attended her first game at age 7 (I hadn't gotten back to Missoula back then). She had only ever remembered on player's name before that (Sneed), but for some reason when she was little I told her what the number 37 stood for and why it was special for a player to wear it. At that first game, 37 went down and stayed down for a bit, and she her eyes never left him. She squeezed my hand and asked if he was okay, and she clapped when he certainly was okay. Every game since then, she has watched for 37, cheered for 37, and that little girl may have been the most excited person in the stadium when she saw 37 get raised up on the flag.
Honestly, I can't really tell you why it stuck in her little brain so much. But it did, and it has been something that captured her into Grizzly football and has helped give her the bug. For that, I'm forever grateful to that tradition. I've said many times that many of you are overthinking it if you think it is specific to where you are born, or specific to where you graduated. If a kid lived 18 years in MT, then his family moved the last semester of high school and he still came back to play for the Griz, he would be eligible for 37. There is no specific metric, just a tradition made by young men from a state they were proud of and to point to someone and say "hey, this guy is considered by us a Montana and stands for the Montana cultural values we hold dear." That is it, that is the entire requirement, and now that I have seen the effect it has on a little Montanan, I can admit to getting a little misty at the thought of what that has come to mean to generations of people.
Keep it, and maybe we should all just quiet let the 37's have it the way they have want it around the tradition they have built. Its the fans making drama around the number, not the players.
What I will say is that one of my kids is a little girl who attended her first game at age 7 (I hadn't gotten back to Missoula back then). She had only ever remembered on player's name before that (Sneed), but for some reason when she was little I told her what the number 37 stood for and why it was special for a player to wear it. At that first game, 37 went down and stayed down for a bit, and she her eyes never left him. She squeezed my hand and asked if he was okay, and she clapped when he certainly was okay. Every game since then, she has watched for 37, cheered for 37, and that little girl may have been the most excited person in the stadium when she saw 37 get raised up on the flag.
Honestly, I can't really tell you why it stuck in her little brain so much. But it did, and it has been something that captured her into Grizzly football and has helped give her the bug. For that, I'm forever grateful to that tradition. I've said many times that many of you are overthinking it if you think it is specific to where you are born, or specific to where you graduated. If a kid lived 18 years in MT, then his family moved the last semester of high school and he still came back to play for the Griz, he would be eligible for 37. There is no specific metric, just a tradition made by young men from a state they were proud of and to point to someone and say "hey, this guy is considered by us a Montana and stands for the Montana cultural values we hold dear." That is it, that is the entire requirement, and now that I have seen the effect it has on a little Montanan, I can admit to getting a little misty at the thought of what that has come to mean to generations of people.
Keep it, and maybe we should all just quiet let the 37's have it the way they have want it around the tradition they have built. Its the fans making drama around the number, not the players.
goatcreekgriz
Well-known member
EverettGriz said:
Didn’t seem to slow down Gubner.
After a really quick cursory search, 11 of the 17 have a Montana town listed as their Birthplace, six others; Kidder, Utterback, Pitcher, Crebo, Ericson, and Paulson have a Montana town listed as their Hometown. In all cases but one the players birthplace and hometown are the same. The exception being Tim Hauck who was born in Butte but left for a better place, i.e. anywhere else.grizatwork said:
michigangriz
Well-known member
I knew the responses to my post would eventually draw disdain, I was not mistaken. You can do what you do, but don’t question my love for Montana or the University of Montana, one exception, I hate this place called Montana State, I really dislike those son of a bitches…
michigangriz said:
Was not intending that, good sir or ma'am. I think most folks are just keeping up a friendly discussion.
michigangriz said:
This is a 35+ year "UM Griz Player Tradition" and I hope that fans, media, college administration, athletic directors, coaches, etc. can keep their hands off it IMO.
mthoopsfan
Well-known member
A No. 3 story. Back when kids could be taken onto the field with passes, and stand in the section behind the players, our friend Krista Redpath took my young son onto the field. He was wearing, No. 2/Young. Krista told us that at one one point, my son said: "Krista, look. There's Trey Young. He's wearing my number." We always went down on the field after games and my son would talk to and interact with the players for an hour or so. We had talked to Trey many times. Trey was in Frisco. We saw him at a bar near the stadium after the game. Great guy.
