Griz fans showed how it should be done
By Jason Barfield/Assistant Sports Editor
Incredible. Truly incredible. Those are the only words that come to mind when thinking about the crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday.
Everyone has always said Montana has the best crowd in Division I-AA.
Well, I'm willing to go one better -- Montana has the best crowd in all of college football.
Not only were there more than 23,000 people packed into the stadium, but the fans were loud -- real loud. They were also very knowledgeable. When the Grizzlies were on offense, the stadium was silent. Everyone on the sideline could hear the quarterback audible a play.
When the Bearkats were on offense it was totally different. Every single person in the stadium was on their feet making as much noise as possible. It is hard to describe how loud the crowd actually was. Try to imagine standing inside an airplane engine -- it was louder.
Texas A&M fans pride themselves on how loud they are during a game, calling themselves the 12th man. Well if Kyle Field is the home of the 12th man, then Washington-Grizzly Stadium is home of the 13th, 14th and 15th men.
From the moment the official signals the start of the play clock, the noise is deafening. All day long, the SHSU offense was forced to go on a silent count. Three times in the first half, the Bearkats were called for a false start and once, they were given a delay-of-game penalty.
After the game, SHSU quarterback Travis Tobaben said the crowd was giving the offense fits all day.
The game day atmosphere is incredible as well. Beginning on Friday night, fans start arriving at the stadium, and early Saturday morning they are already tailgating.
Some of the parties are private, but many were open to the public. Everyone was very hospitable, and I was able to eat just about anything I wanted. Even if I didn't feel like eating, it didn't matter. They all made sure I tried something. It was like that at nearly every tailgate party.
Another nice thing about the fans is they are all positive. They wished the SHSU players good luck before the game and afterwards were there to tell them good game. Even during the contest, there was never a negative word spoken to the SHSU players.
It was a very refreshing atmosphere after years of making road trips in the Southland Conference. Some of our neighbors to the east could certainly take note of how to behave at a football game.
The trip to Missoula was by far the best trip I have taken in nine years following SHSU football, and I hope it is not the last.
The Montana Grizzlies are the class of the Big Sky Conference and year in and year out contend for the national title. If the Kats are going to win it all, they will probably have to go through Missoula to do it.
Next season Montana will visit Huntsville, and I hope the SHSU fans can show just as much hospitality and courtesy as the 23,000 Griz fans showed us. Hopefully, the Montana offense will also have as much problem with the noise as the Bearkats did
By Jason Barfield/Assistant Sports Editor
Incredible. Truly incredible. Those are the only words that come to mind when thinking about the crowd at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday.
Everyone has always said Montana has the best crowd in Division I-AA.
Well, I'm willing to go one better -- Montana has the best crowd in all of college football.
Not only were there more than 23,000 people packed into the stadium, but the fans were loud -- real loud. They were also very knowledgeable. When the Grizzlies were on offense, the stadium was silent. Everyone on the sideline could hear the quarterback audible a play.
When the Bearkats were on offense it was totally different. Every single person in the stadium was on their feet making as much noise as possible. It is hard to describe how loud the crowd actually was. Try to imagine standing inside an airplane engine -- it was louder.
Texas A&M fans pride themselves on how loud they are during a game, calling themselves the 12th man. Well if Kyle Field is the home of the 12th man, then Washington-Grizzly Stadium is home of the 13th, 14th and 15th men.
From the moment the official signals the start of the play clock, the noise is deafening. All day long, the SHSU offense was forced to go on a silent count. Three times in the first half, the Bearkats were called for a false start and once, they were given a delay-of-game penalty.
After the game, SHSU quarterback Travis Tobaben said the crowd was giving the offense fits all day.
The game day atmosphere is incredible as well. Beginning on Friday night, fans start arriving at the stadium, and early Saturday morning they are already tailgating.
Some of the parties are private, but many were open to the public. Everyone was very hospitable, and I was able to eat just about anything I wanted. Even if I didn't feel like eating, it didn't matter. They all made sure I tried something. It was like that at nearly every tailgate party.
Another nice thing about the fans is they are all positive. They wished the SHSU players good luck before the game and afterwards were there to tell them good game. Even during the contest, there was never a negative word spoken to the SHSU players.
It was a very refreshing atmosphere after years of making road trips in the Southland Conference. Some of our neighbors to the east could certainly take note of how to behave at a football game.
The trip to Missoula was by far the best trip I have taken in nine years following SHSU football, and I hope it is not the last.
The Montana Grizzlies are the class of the Big Sky Conference and year in and year out contend for the national title. If the Kats are going to win it all, they will probably have to go through Missoula to do it.
Next season Montana will visit Huntsville, and I hope the SHSU fans can show just as much hospitality and courtesy as the 23,000 Griz fans showed us. Hopefully, the Montana offense will also have as much problem with the noise as the Bearkats did
