Dear Bobcat Fans, Thank You For Being So Mean

Dear Montana State University Bobcat Students and Fans,

Thanks for being mean and fueling the rivalry.

I was at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday for the Grizzly Radio Pregame/Postgame Show and sideline reporting during the game. It was a raucous environment - the second-best Big Sky environment I've attended behind Washington-Grizzly Stadium. It pains me to praise Cats fans but I appreciated how rude and nasty y'all were.

I'm not even a player and the Cats student section let me hear it. Some of the insults I heard included:

"F**k you, Griz!"
"Go back to Missoula you dumb f**k."
Dozens of middle fingers

Don't believe me? Take a look at how the Cats student section responded to our marketing team videoing them during pregame.

This seems like an unpopular opinion but I absolutely loved being public enemy number one. That's what rivalries should be about because I don't believe those random students hate me as a person. They hate me because I wear Griz maroon. It's not an attack on me as a person, so I don't take it to heart. I enjoyed walking through the parking lot hearing "FTG" and "I hope you lose today." That, to me, is the best part about college athletics. The irrational way you tell strangers "You suck." It's fun. It's entertaining.

After the game, I flew out of Bozeman to Minneapolis for the Lady Griz game. Boarding the plane, seeing all these Cats fans eyeing me and whispering Griz-based insults or jabs at me wearing my maroon was amusing. It makes college football great.

For it to be a rivalry, we need the illogical hatred towards one another for simply rooting for the other guys. It's art.

Now do I think the trash-talking should be taken to the level of physical altercations or keying cars or tossing out hateful slurs? No, of course not. Don't be complete idiots, but have fun trash-talking your arch-rivals.

Anyways, go Griz.