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 Photo courtesy of the Great Falls TribuneMy Week with Grizzly Adams (9/9/03) --Any good Happy Gilmore fan can rattle it off almost word-for-word.Happy Gilmore: (Something to the effect of) I'm going to win that gold jacket for Chubbs. Shooter McGavin: Yeah, and Grizzly Adams had a beard. Lee Trevino: Grizzly Adams DID have a beard. This same exchange could plausibly have been seen in Missoula, Montana this weekend as the football squad from my school, North Dakota State, ventured into Montana. Alright, no big deal, right? Just a couple of redneck states whose teams are battling it out. Why should I care about this? Let's break it down this way. The Division II Bison (North Dakota State) are coming off their worst season in my lifetime, finishing last year's campaign an embarrassing 2-8. A proud tradition of eight national championships only made it that much harder to swallow. A new coach was hired to help rebuild what was an awful mess created by the not-so-dearly departed former head coach, Bob Babich. Montana, on the other hand, appears to be in the middle of their defining years in regards to their dynasty. Since 1999, Montana has been listed in the Division 1-AA Top 10 every week. They won the title two years ago, were ranked #3 in 1-AA going into the game, and were expecting a stadium record 23,000+ for the game. The Leonardite: NDSU is going to beat Montana this weekend. Any sane person: Yeah, and Grizzly Adams had a beard. The only difference here is that I didn't say NDSU was going to win, nor did anyone else around here. It was undoubtedly the signature moment of what was a great, check that, tremendous sports week for me. You know that week, and you long for it until it strikes you again. Every swing, kick, block, jump shot, and slap shot leaves you hoping that you can put together the week of greatness we all shoot for. Ladies and gentlemen, I lived the dream this past week. Twins vs. Angels (Wed. 9/3/03)--- As I was driving out to my incredibly lucrative and prestigious job as the defensive backs and wide receivers coach at my former high school, I was punching around on the radio dial. No matter what station I hit, I just wasn't in the mood for it. From Sara Evans to Spineshank, nothing was floating my boat so to speak. In times like these, the sports radio station always seems to be a good alternative. And to my excited ears, the Twins were having a day game. Win or lose, this would keep me interested in the half-hour drive to practice. In this game, the Twins just appeared like they wouldn't get over the hump. The Angels were up 5-4 going into the ninth when an interminable commercial break ensued. Commercial after commercial after commercial. It got to the point that I started daydreaming and had actually forgotten about the game. When the studio engineer finally woke up and reconnected the station to the game feed, the Twins were down to their last out in the ninth with nobody on base. At this point, I was miffed. Rookie Justin Morneau then proceeded to gallantly battle with Angels ace Troy Percival until earning a full-count walk. Hey, there was still a small chance they could tie it up as Dustan Mohr came in to pinch run for Morneau. Unfortunately, I was not about to hear it as the feed cut out completely. At this point, I was pissed. This had all the trappings of a terrible listening experience. If the feed cuts out, the next batter is going to strike out and I'm going to be mad when it comes back on and I hear that they lost. Quickly executing cub scout-like resourcefulness, I punched over to another AM frequency to find the broadcast. What came next, was pure gold. You knew it had to be good when Sportscenter played the replay no short of FOUR times in one hour. A summary of the radio call from Minnesota icons, John Gordon and Dan Gladden: Gordon: Shannon Stewart to the plate. He lines one into the outfield an....FAIR BALL! FAIR BALL! Mohr is hustling... Gladden: He's going to try to send him! Gordon: Here comes the throw to the plate... Gladden: Oh no... Gordon: He... Gladden: HE KNOCKED IT LOOSE! HE KNOCKED IT LOOSE! Gordon: (Having an aneurysm) Gladden: (Random, unorganized syllables) Gordon: SHANNON STEWART SLIDES IN.............TWINS WIN! OH MY, WHAT A FINISH! This was one of those moments when greatness is upon a guy and he is sage enough to realize it. The reason for this was three-fold: A) The Twins pulled out an incredibly important game in dramatic fashion. B) I, by chance, found out there was a game and consequently heard the best radio baseball call in my life. C) I had the foresight to switch stations and therefore hear the game instead of silence. Indeed, when I switched back to the original station, the manager was apologizing profusely and promising to find the replay so the listeners could hear the unbelievable finish they just missed. Patting myself on the back, I had just witnessed the catalyst to my very big week. Kindred vs. Northern Cass (Fri. 9/5/03)--- After being embarrassed by our ugly little sisters, a Parochial School in nearby Fargo, the Vikings took to the field for the second game of the year. Now let me sugarcoat and use clever subterfuge to describe the play of my respective units: It was atrocious. Watching game film was like watching a Dell commercial. I desperately wanted to change the channel, but it was my job to watch the brutality. But on this night, after a good week of practice, the young stallions answered the bell, delivering me numerous pass receptions, including two touchdowns. On defense, key tackles and turnovers were forced. And in the end, the Vikings prevailed 20-13. It was a very satisfying feeling to see the "Mafia" play well, especially since I got to rub it in that it was all because of my tutelage. And of course the fact that a Leonardite had three interceptions and two TD's didn't hurt either. Tennessee vs. Marshall (Sat. 9/6/03)--- I have to be honest and say that I watched maybe five minutes of this game, but the Vols fought off a potential upset and now roll forward to Florida unbeaten. Can't argue with that. Minnesota vs. Green Bay (Sun. 9/7/03)--- Nobody can accuse me of being a big Vikings fan, but I do cheer for them (when not playing the Bears). And I especially cheer for them when they play Green Bay. Minnesota wins at Lambeau? Eat your heart out, cheeseheads. But when you get right down to it, the week was defined by the "Miracle in Montana." North Dakota State University vs. Montana (Sat. 9/6/03)--- I will post a link to a site that contains the write-up of the game as well as highlight video, which can be found at the University of Montana's website (This is one of my favorite developments in the internet era. Not only can you read the hometown reaction to your team's victory, but you can go to the opposing team's pages to read the fallout articles from that area. Pure, egotistic fun.) Therefore, I'm not going to break it down newspaper-style. Instead, let me give you the cliffs notes version. --Montana scores on four play drive --NDSU forces Montana to punt --Montana fakes said punt --Montana follows fake with WR pass for touchdown --Montana adds a field goal. --NDSU pins Montana deep on a punt. --NDSU records a safety. --Montana scores on a TD pass at the end of the half. Halftime score, 1-AA #3 Montana 24....D-II NDSU 2. NDSU come back? Puh-lease. Here's my favorite part of this whole story. In Leonard, it was the annual Fall Festival celebration. And on Saturday, the highlight of the events is a rodeo just out of town. Naturally, my brothers and cousins set up a TV to watch during the rodeo in the back of a pickup. (Now if this doesn't qualify as redneckism, I don't know what does. It's hard to imagine a team going into Montana of all places and outscoring them in the hillbilly factor, but the fact that we had die-hards with a TV in the back of a pickup truck at a rodeo raises serious questions.) While I had long retired to a comfortable living room to watch the rest of the massacre, my brothers and cousins were still baking in the sun watching a rodeo and a football exhibition. Now to the second half. --NDSU scores on 83-yard scoring drive. --NDSU Defensive End intercepts pass. --NDSU kicker makes field goal, only to be negated by penalty. --NDSU kicker makes penalty-lengthened field goal. --NDSU scores on Wide Receiver reverse. --NDSU fakes field goal with 2:00 remaining. TE dives to catch ball from HB. Touchdown. --Montana misses 40 yard game winning field goal. --Leonardites go crazy at rodeo when nothing was happening at the event. Crowd is puzzled by their exuberant outbursts at apparently nothing. --North Dakota redneck meter measures an unusually high reading from Cass County. It was pandemonium. An unbelievable comeback, an unbelievable statement game for a program on the move up to Division 1-AA themselves. From the dusty rodeo, to my comfy couch, to taverns across the region, the roar went out as Bison football was back. As for me, I was just living the dream. The week had reached its peak and I was able to bask in its wonderful glory. When, if ever, such a week occurs again, I hope that I will again have an acute awareness of its presence. And yes, Grizzly Adams did have a beard. He did indeed. NDSU vs. Montana game recaps and highlight video (Current as of 9/9/03) The Leonardite |
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