Football is a high priority in the medium-sized cities...and there are several in Montana. I taught in Great Falls for a year. The caliber of play was very high.
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Football is a high priority in the medium-sized cities...and there are several in Montana. I taught in Great Falls for a year. The caliber of play was very high.
Who the hell came up with this game?
I've always thought it was ridiculous: "Let's have an all-star game seven months after these kids have played any meaningful football and after they've graduated and are getting ready to move on to college or the real world!" If the game was played in December or January, maybe it would be better.
I think it's a couple of things. First is population, Montana has over a million people in the state, that makes a huge difference. 2nd, players in ND do not take it seriously as Montana, being from the west, I've heard it from both sides and I've witnessed it for myself on the ND side. My senior year in high school, we had 2 that were all state players and were asked to play in the Badlands Bowl but both declined for reasons mentioned earlier about it being in June and also they just gave up on football all together while moving on with their lives. This was a normal theme every year just from MY school...so just imagine. Now some of you may think Montana must go through the same problems of putting together a team, but this is where the population factor comes in play. Montana has the luxury of backup talent as equal to or a slight drop off from the first team selection waiting for the opportunity, if the first selected opts not to play. North Dakota on the other hand, cannot afford the impact of attrition.
Are there discrepancies in the selection process between the two states, for both players and coaches? Are coaches who have won state championships in the prior season selected as the coaches in both states? I'm not sure if this is the best idea, especially in North Dakota...if this is the case, just because they won a championship doesn't mean they are the most qualified. Back in my days, I know those coaches would also pick players from their own team...this needs to change unless of course they are deserving of it. I don't care about fairness to classes either...if the best players are all from Class A or B then so be it. Put the best players on the field no matter what class they are from. If not, just cancel the damn series! (Of course this is all moot if both states are following same guidelines when picking players and coaches)