From the Fringe…Cat-Griz this year was just as surreal as my life has been the last year

What a difference a year makes. For me, and for the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats.

A year ago last Saturday, I was at College Game Day in Bozeman, then freezing my ass off inside Bobcat Stadium watching the Grizzlies get destroyed by the Bobcats in the 121st Brawl of the Wild.

At that time, I had already accepted my new job here in Denver, and while a lot of people didn’t know it, I figured I wouldn’t be in Missoula for the 2023 Cat-Griz game.

And I wasn’t.

Instead, this past Saturday, Amy and I were in downtown Denver at a watch party for both Cats and Griz fans, over 600 to be exact. I was told that the Denver watch party is one of the biggest Cat-Griz watch parties in the country. And it was a big deal as former Montanans from all over packed a two-story bar across the street from Ball Arena to watch the latest installment of one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football.

For me, it was a surreal experience, just like this last nine months has pretty much been. Throughout Saturday’s game, as I met people formerly from all parts of the Treasure State, I couldn’t help but think how much my life has changed during that time. And there was no bigger indicator of how much life has changed than the fact that Amy and I weren’t in Missoula Saturday afternoon.

And you know what? That was OK. Because, not only are we enjoying our new adventure here, but we were starting a new Cat-Griz tradition, and on top of that, well, the outcome of Saturday’s game was pretty sweet, too.

Like I said, what a difference a year makes, or in the case of the Griz and Cats, a couple months too.

Last year at this time, most MSU fans figured the Cats were going to continue beating Montana badly for years to come, as MSU’s program is riding an incredible wave of momentum right now. Then, just back in August, the Cats were picked to win the Big Sky, while the Griz were picked as low as sixth. Fast forward just a month after that, and the Griz lost to Northern Arizona, and, there were even more MSU fans basically nailing the Griz’ coffin shut. 

And let’s be honest, so were a lot of Griz fans.

Yet, here we are. Three days removed from the Brawl, and Montana is the outright Big Sky champion, and the No. 2 overall seed in the FCS playoffs. For Griz fans, it’s like, all is finally right with the world again, while MSU fans, though the Cats are still a national championship contender, are somewhat wondering what the hell just happened?

Honestly, though, with what transpired Saturday, and what’s transpired over the course of the last year, I wonder what the heck happened, too.

Still, that’s the beauty of life, and ultimately the beauty of this rivalry. Both life, and college football take some amazing and twisted turns, and this last Cat-Griz game was no different as the Griz rolled to a 37-7 win, after coming in as 3.5 point underdogs. 

Yes, it’s been a strange trip for me and Amy these last nine months and last Saturday was just another part of it. A fun part, no doubt, but a strange one as well.

And with the playoffs upon us, and plenty of adventures still to come here in Denver, I can’t wait to see what happens next.