Grisly Fan said:
As many of you know, I have dedicated the past 25 years of my life to researching the question of why state college would place a prominent "M" on their football helmets. I'm proud to announce that I'm in the final stages of negotiation with Penguin Books for my soon to be published book, "Mystery of the M." I believe I have for once and for all answered the perplexing question of the meaning of the "M".
My years of research have been arduous. Of course the msu administration has routinely stonewalled any questions regarding the history and tradition of the prominent "M" on the side of state college's helmets. My numerous attempts at Freedom of Information Act requests have resulted in repeated reams of fully redacted pages from the state college.
For many years, the leading theory of the "Mystery of the M" was thought to represent state college's deep historic ties to the Masons. Although it is true that in the 1930's, former state college President Theodore ""Bucky" Stroop reached the Freemason's exalted status 0f 32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret, I could find no evidence of a connection with the football team or the "M" appearing on any of state college's athletic apparel from that time period. The "M" on the side of the helmet mysteriously appeared during the 1967 football season. It's debut was never explained by the football program or the school's administration. For no good reason, the 1967 state college football program began putting an "M" on the side of their helmets.
There were other tantalizing connections to Freemasonry: the msu quarterback club routinely met at the Masonic Temple in Bozeman from 1948-1954; the large number of state college administration members and alumni boosters who were recognized Master Masons; the common myth that the "M" stood for Masonic World Order; and the obvious connection with engineers and their propensity to join secret (nerdy) societies and worship false gods and losing athletic programs. Attempting to investigate the Freemason connection proved to be a long and difficult journey given the societies many secrets and symbolisms. In the end, it turned out to be a rabbit hole. Frankly, I was about to abandon my search for the true reason why the "M" appears on the state college's football helmets until earlier this year when a picture was posted on egriz.
http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69699&hilit=Eydie&start=100
Back in February, Longtimecatfan (AKA: Loveyoulongtime) posted an obviously photo shopped picture of the mythical 1984 cat "championship." The picture was easily debunked by egriz posters but the picture left some interesting clues, including a picture of Steve and Eydie Gorme in attendance at the game.
I did some research into this and it turns out that Steve and Eydie were fans and secret benefactors of the state college's football program dating back to 1966. Apparently, in the fall of 1966, Steve and Eydie were on a flight from New York to Seattle to headline, Rainfest. Mechanical trouble forced their aircraft to land prematurely at the Gallatin County Airport (BZN). Being marooned in the tiny little town of Bozeman, Steve was furious and reportedly said, "I'm starting to get the shakes. If I have to spend time in this shithole, I'm going to do it drunk." He then ordered a car and the couple were taken to a downtown tavern. After a few too many drinks, the couple fell in love with the quaint little town and its simple people. At near closing time, the couple met a group of football players from the local college. This is where the true "Mystery of the M" begins. Steve was rumored to have been passed out on the bar while Eydie had a very quick amorous encounter with an undersized but strapping young starting quarterback in the bathroom stall of the Chrystal Bar.
That strapping young man would later became a football coach.
This began Eydie's interest in the state college football program. The very next year, Eydie won a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance for her version of "If He Walked Into My Life", from the musical Mame. As a result of the increased wealth and exposure, she secretly made a large donation to the state college athletic fund with the only stipulations being that the gift remain ananomous and the college honor the gift by prominently displaying an "M" for Mame on their athletic apparel. Eydie could of course never divulge her connection with the donation because Steve would question why she made such a large donation. She would later tell him that he lost the small fortune while on a two-day bender in Las Vegas with Sammy Davis Jr. Eydie would keep the secret of the tryst from Steve to her death in 2013. She would always talk Steve into attending a game in Bozeman every couple of years. He enjoyed the trips because, "the booze is cheap there." She enjoyed those trips as a sweet pilgrimage to the site of that romantic three minutes in the ladies bathroom stall at the Chrystal Bar.
So ends the mystery of the "M" . . .
