George Ferguson Column: The elements are part of Havre's sporting charm

Early in the first half of Saturday’s clash between the Montana State University-Northern Lights and Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears, Northern senior kicker Tommy Langley watched as an RMC punt went nowhere in the 35 mph west wind that was blowing through Blue Pony Stadium.

Langley looked at me and smiled: “It’s nasty out there,”.

Indeed, for guys like Langley, wind is one of his biggest enemies, and Saturday’s wind, a classic, cold fall wind whipping through Havre, was as nasty as it gets.

It also got me thinking, Havre is a place you really have to love, especially if you’re going to play outdoor sports here.

Windy days in October are the norm at Blue Pony Stadium. I’ve covered so many Lights’ home games where the wind seemed to come through Cycle Valley like a freight train, so many I’ve lost track.

In other words, that’s just Havre, and you have to get used to it, even love it a little, if you’re going to make it here.

For the Lights in recent weeks, they’ve been through the wringer when it comes to weather too.

The record-setting snow storm that decimated most of our trees, also had a big effect on Northern’s ability to practice that week. You just don’t get 14.5 inches of snow off your practice field over night, so, in the very first week of October, the Lights had to get ready for a Frontier Conference road trip on a snow-covered practice field.

No other team in the conference last week, including Eastern Oregon, Northern’s opponent, had to prepare for a game in conditions like that.

Then comes Saturday. The snow was gone, and the cleanup in Havre from that awful storm is ongoing. The sun came back out, and we were back to regular fall conditions, but those conditions include wind. Yes, October is generally the second-windiest month in Havre, and Saturday was especially windy.

Now, I’m not saying, or in anyway implying that Saturday’s wind had anything to do with the outcome of the game. No, the outcome had everything to do with Rocky, which had to play in the same conditions, putting on a rushing clinic, and playing a spectacularly efficient game on both sides of the ball. Wind or not, the Bears were dominant.

What I am saying is playing sports outdoors in Havre is unique. Folks in Cut Bank and Browning and Livingston know what I’m talking about. They deal with some of the same elements. But for most part, playing football, running track, playing tennis in the spring in Havre, it’s just different than most other places, not just in the U.S., but even in Montana.

It’s something you have to get used to, and if you live here long enough, it’s something you better start to embrace, even love a little. Otherwise, howling days like Saturday, when the Lights and Bears met in Blue Pony Stadium, a notorious wind tunnel, they’ll drive you crazy, and in rare cases, even drive you away all together.