Just a few thoughts about last night’s Shrine Game and some comments I have seen/read and heard during and after the game, not only on this board but elsewhere as well.
There were comments made about the condition of the field, the tv commentators/reporters and the camera work during the game. I watched the pre-game and the game itself so I saw and heard the same things everyone else did.
First, let’s not lose sight of the purposes of the game. It’s a benefit game for the Shriner’s Hospital in Spokane. It is also a chance for the best football players in Montana from last’s year’s high school senior class to play against each other and in front of the entire state. Many of those players will continue to play football at the college level but for the rest of them it was likely the last football game they will ever play in. Either way, they got a chance to be introduced to the state in the pre-game ceremony and play a football game on statewide tv, something that has only begun in recent years. ‘Back in the day’ I don’t even remember there being radio coverage of the game, let alone tv. In addition to being able to tape the game as a keepsake, there were probably many family members, friends, acquaintances, etc. of the players who were unable to attend the game in person who nevertheless got to watch their son/grandson/nephew/cousin/friend/student/player/neighbor/whatever play in the Shrine game. That’s worth a lot to a lot of people, both last night and as a memory.
Next, keep in mind that a few short years ago this game was on the ropes due to a ‘financial problem’ that arose. There was serious talk about not continuing the game as a result. The Shriners and others were able to overcome that problem and in the course of doing so decided to revamp the format by rotating it among multiple sites/cities rather than holding it in Great Falls every year as had been the case for many years. That format change is still a work in progress as everyone involved gets up to speed on everything involved in putting on that game in their community. In addition, it is my guess that funds are tight and therefore there are some things that perhaps many would like to see done that simply are not financially feasible right now. Therefore, the people involved do the best they can with the resources they have to work with. I would further guess that there are a lot of volunteers involved with these games and again, many are new to everything it takes to put on one of these games. Give it some time.
Regarding the tv production (announcers and camera work), keep in mind that for many years there was no live tv coverage of the game at all. It is now on statewide tv, as discussed above. Again, I would guess that the MTN is not making a lot of money by putting this game on the air and therefore there is not a lot of money available for game production. They do it in part because it is truly a statewide event involving people from all corners of the state, which is saying something given the vast size and growing diversity of the state. The on-air people are local people we are familiar with (this year’s Butte game was worked by MTN affiliated people from Bozeman e.g. Dawson. Last year the MTN Great Falls crew did the on-air work for the game in GF e.g. Melby) and they do not do football play by play/color commentary for a living. With those things in mind, they do what they can to put the product on the air. I would suggest to those who have a problem with the product to simply turn the channel or turn off the tv completely. It’s the Montana Shrine Game done by the Montana Television Network, not the NFL on Fox/CBS/ NBC/ ESPN. It is what it is.
While I’m on my soapbox, let me add this thought. I suspect some/many of you reading this are lifelong Montana residents. I am a native Montanan and have been fortunate to have lived the vast majority of my life here. I have also lived out of state for several years and in a large metropolitan area for some of those years. I recall watching a statewide all-star football game similar to Montana’s Shrine Game while living out of state several years ago. It was played in a bigger stadium on artificial turf. The announcers were from a radio network that did the statewide radio broadcasts for a BCS-level college in the state. In other words, they had called a lot of football games and it showed. The camera work was very good and there were numerous graphics, in-game sideline reports, interviews, etc. etc. It was a polished production – as I said, they had done it before and the tv network carrying the game had invested the time, money and personnel to make it so. It was what it was.
I was thinking about that out of state game while I was watching last night’s game. I was thinking that things last night were a little ‘rough around the edges’, shall we say. It was a somewhat unpolished production. It was somewhat unsophisticated, I guess you could also say. And you know what, I enjoyed it that way. I enjoyed watching last night’s game a whole lot more than I did watching that game in that other state some years back. I like unpolished; I like unsophisticated; I like rough around the edges.
I like things like that because that’s still the way we do things in Montana, to some degree anyway. And I like it because it means I am back home in Montana instead of sitting in some city in some other state watching their game. I like it because I was watching a bunch of Montana kids running around the field playing football.
I think you have to be away from Montana for a while to fully appreciate what it is like to be here and when you do get back here, whether it’s moving back here to live or whether it’s just coming back for a visit for a week or two every year, you learn that ‘polished’ and ‘sophisticated’ aren’t as great as they may seem to be. If you prefer ‘polished and sophisticated’, then stay wherever it is that you are out of state (or move there if you currently live in Montana). If that’s what works for you, so be it. But don’t expect things to be that way here because we don’t do ‘polished and sophisticated’ real well in many instances. That’s the way it is and I hope it stays that way.
So, I thank the Shriners for hanging in there and keeping this game going. I thank the MTN for airing this game across the state and their people for their work on-air and behind the cameras. I thank the game sponsors for putting up the money to get the game on the air. I thank the players, coaches and cheerleaders for making it a Montana football game. And to those who want to criticize what they saw last night, I would suggest you move out of state for five years, at least, and live at least two of those years in a metropolitan area. While you are living there, think about how things are here versus how they are there, wherever ‘there’ is. I’m guessing most of you will wish you were here rather than there.
Just something to think about. :twocents:
