It was like old times last Saturday night in Missoula and Bozeman, but the new reality is, it isn't like old times at all

The word surreal gets tossed around quite a bit, probably more often than it should. But Saturday night inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, there was certainly call to use that word.

For me anyway, and maybe I was in the minority, but the situation was surreal.

For starters, it was the first regular season, fall football game in Missoula since December of 2019.

And honestly, from the outset, it felt like 2020 never happened. In other words, it felt like old times.

There it was, a beautiful sunset over Hellgate Canyon, the Grizzlies rushing out of the tunnel to “Bring Em’ Out” in front of 25,000-plus screaming and adoring fans, and there they were, smashing an opponent in an exciting, dominant win, just like they had done so many times before. It was fun, to say the least.

And yet, I allowed myself to consider the fact, the night wasn’t like old times. It wasn’t even close.

Again, I was most likely in the minority, but I’m also sure I wasn’t the only one thinking — was this a good idea? And I feel plenty justified in at least asking myself that question. After all, we’re still in a global pandemic the world hasn’t seen in over 100 years, and Montana is currently experiencing a huge surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. So, I don’t feel the least bit bad for wondering if we should have all been there Saturday night. After all, it was just a question running through my mind at the time. And again, I doubt I was the only one in that stadium who asked themselves the same thing.

Now, when we purchased our season tickets last spring, I would have said it was absolutely a good idea. Things looked so good. Case numbers were bottoming out, people were getting vaccinated at a great pace, and all signs pointed to the pandemic having finally started to get under control. So, in May and into June, I couldn’t have been more excited about a jam-packed Washington-Grizzly Stadium, or Bobcat Stadium, or any stadium for that matter this fall.

And while the delta variant has changed that, I won’t say I wasn’t excited Saturday night, because I was. I, like so many in this great state, wanted college football back. I wanted Griz football and Bobcat football back. I wanted Big Sky football back. I want full stadiums, I want the fall Saturday’s that have meant so much to so many over the years. I want local businesses that rely so heavily on Bobcat and Griz football gameday’s to thrive again. I’ve missed it. We’ve missed it. And I was so happy to have it back Saturday night.

But I can’t help that I was conflicted. I was conflicted because I know there was COVID-19 inside both Wash-Griz and Bobcat Stadium Saturday night. I know people are going to get sick because they chose to attend those games. That’s just the way it is with this pandemic, and where the United States and Montana are in regards to it. People make choices and some people are going to unfortunately get sick as a result of those choices and the choices others also make.

So again, Saturday night in Missoula was a surreal moment, for me at least. I had a ton of emotions — happiness, joy, excitement, anxiety and a sense of conflict all rolled into one. And quite honestly, I probably won’t ever reconcile those emotions, because none of them are wrong. For me, they’re all justifiable.

But, I will say, no matter how conflicted I personally might have been Saturday night, I had a blast. I am so glad big time college football in Montana is back. It was long overdue, and I loved the fact that it was rocking again in Washington-Grizzly Stadium and Bobcat Stadium Saturday night. I also hope everybody who attended either game is safe and healthy, too.

Yes, that’s the crazy part of last Saturday night, and moving forward. It’s like football is normal again in Montana, only, it’s not. But at the same time it is. What a strange time we’re living in. And what an obviously surreal and emotional night last Saturday was.