George Ferguson Column: The rollercoaster is part of what made 2022 so memorable

Is there ever a year when sports don’t surprise us? Is there ever a year in which sports don’t provide us with so many memories, good and bad?

Well, 2022 was no different. For me, the last 365 days provided many lasting memories that I won’t soon forget, both in our local sports community, and in my personal life.

Of the greatest memories I’ll take from 2022, many happened right here at home, including the Havre High girls basketball team winning yet another Class A state championship. The Blue Ponies have just an incredible program, with incredible players who are talented and dedicated, and an incredible head coach in Dustin Kraske.

State championships are always fun to see happen, too.

And another one I won’t soon forget is Orion Thivierge winning his third consecutive state championship at last February’s All-Class State Tournament in Billings. Thivierge is just one of those amazing talents, a young man who is great at his craft, but at the same time so humble, so coachable, so intelligent and such a good person. It was truly an honor to cover along with stories about Orion during his years at Havre High, and I will never forget his string of state championships on the wrestling mat.

Big Sandy finally getting over the hump in football is another memory that 2022 provided me. I’ve written too many stories about the Pioneers coming oh so close in football, but not quite getting there. And while I didn’t personally cover the Pioneers this season, I had a front-row seat to their run to the 2022 Class C Six-Man state championship. It was a long time coming for Big Sandy, the program and their fans, and I’m really happy they were able to finally hoist that state championship football trophy.

Speaking of hoisting trophies — the Havre High tennis team housed another one this past spring. No matter what, bringing a trophy home from a state tournament is an amazing accomplishment, and I’m so proud of my 2022 boys tennis team for doing that. It was a memorable state tournament, with a senior class that was very near and dear to my heart, and seeing them leave Bozeman with more hardware is a feeling that, as a coach, never gets old. It is so gratifying to see your players finish a season with a smile on their face. To know that they are proud of the work they put in, and the end result, that’s the payoff for me. I just want these kids to have a great experience. That’s what really matters and the Blue Pony boys tennis team did that last spring, for sure.

Lifting trophies won’t all be good memories for me, though. And I end this trip down memory lane on some low notes, lol.

First, the Cat-Griz game back in November. Personally, it was a really low, low for me. As a Griz, I don’t know how the 55-21 beat down Montana suffered in the Brawl of the Wild could be worse. But it was because it was really cold that day, and if you have ever been on, or near the field at Bobcat Stadium, you know that the shadows make a cold day even colder. So, I was absolutely freezing, standing on the sidelines as the Griz got demoralized by the Bobcats for the fifth time in six years. The only thing that I can say was, at least I didn’t see the Cats take possession of the Great Divide Trophy. I didn’t see it because I was past Three Forks by the time the game was over.

I’m not usually one to quit on a game. My wife can attest to that, I’ve made her stay to the very end of some cold days and nights in Missoula, but there was no coming back for the Griz that day. That game was over before it started and I didn’t need to see the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t all bad, though, as it relates to the Cat-Griz football season. On a high note, I went to every Griz home game, seven trips to Missoula in all, and being at Cat-Griz in Bozeman meant eight games for me this season. I’m pretty happy with that.

Professionally, it was another exciting year covering both teams, too. I wrote a lot of content about both programs, and I know I was fair, balanced, honest and opinionated. That’s my job and that’s what I did, and if you read everything I wrote this season, from July up with now, there’s no way you can say that as a journalist I was a Griz homer or a Cat hater. Nope. Didn’t happen.

You know what I did hate though? The 2022 NCAA men’s national championship game. Talk about a low point. As a diehard North Carolina fan, the season was insane. Unranked for most of the year. But beat Duke, get to the ACC chipper and squeak into the March Madness field as a No. 8 seed. Then the Heels go on a run that includes another win over Duke in the Final Four of all places in game for the ages. As a Tar Heel fan it was almost perfect. But then the Heels go up by 15 points in the first half of the championship game. Damn, they’re really going to win the most improbable national championship ever.

Nope. And as Forrest Gump said, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

And that’s 2022. There were the highest of highs and lowest of lows in sports this year. But that’s how it’s supposed to be. If you live and breathe sports like I do, it’s going to be like that. It’s going to be an emotional roller coaster. After all, I’m also a Vikings and Cubs fan, so I know all about the ride on that roller coaster.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy New Year to all of you and here’s to a 2023 sports year chock full of great memories.

Editor's Note: Make sure to see Friday's Havre Daily News for our Top Local Sports Stories of 2022.