Cap'n Cat's Bison Game Soliloquy
Was motoring back to my home between Rochester and St. Paul and it dawned on me that the game I just attended was my first sober college football game in at least 26 years. Have to admit, though, that I have much more fun after 19 Leinenkugels and a half bottle of wine, four brats and a halfa bagga barbecue chips. It's fun at the time, but you pay for it later, as I did, bigtime, in December. And, I had my youngest son there. After a while, I noticed over the years, the drunken hugs and ribbing aren't so funny to him anymore. Dad had to grow up.
First things first: the better team won on Saturday. UNI pulled out all the stops but could not close the deal. Championship teams do what they need to do to win and NDSU did that. I've witnessed UNI do the same thing a dozen times at the UNI-Dome and elsewhere. Both teams are damned near equal, with an edge to the Herd. Glad I was sober, I took the loss in great stride, knowing that, if UNI can duplicate most of that effort down the road, they will make a long run into the playoffs.
My son, Lieutenant Cat, was very distraught in the fourth quarter - tears, anger, etc. Hates like Hell to see UNI lose. However, took the result as an opportunity to help the little guy learn how to take a loss with a little more maturity. He, like, The Cap'n, was stunned at that pass interference call which happened right in front of us. Bad, bad call. But, that kind of thing happens to every team, even NDSU. You get good calls, you get bad calls, it's part of the game, like it or not. He was so hurt by the loss that he ditched Dad on the way out of the stadium to walk it off among the cheerful Herd crowds. Visited some NDSU people after the game, then headed to the Catmobile to wait for him. He arrived after 20 minutes, still sad.
Laid on him my best Dad-shtick about learning to lose the right way and tomorrow-is-another-day, we'll still be in the playoffs and we're still 4-1, etc, etc. He wasn't having it.
Turned on the Bison post-game show on the radio as we searched all around for JL Beers, the place lakesbison said to go after the game. The callers and hosts were all very complimentary of UNI and that made my little guy feel monumentally better. Fans of the opposing team are not all assholes, he learned. There existed tremendous respect for the team that almost took down the vaunted Herd. By the way, JL Beers looked nice, but can only fit about 12 people and we weren't going to get a seat, so we opted for Burger King in Fergus Falls.
Enjoyed the tailgating scene, even if I wasn't taking part in the alcohol. Met (again) lots of super Bisonville people - TransAm, SDBison, Longhorn, Tatanka, Izzy, many others - all good Herd fans and fun people. Lesson for everyone is, again, that not all fans of the other team are dickheads, no matter what is said on forums. (Closed circuit to TransAmBison: Can you have one of those furry coats made for The Cap'n?)
The line of the weekend was uttered by one of the Herd guys and, forgive me, I forget who said it. We were all talking about how people on the forums are generally silly and, if they are not players, coaches or administrators, they positively DO NOT know what's going on with the teams. They think they do, but they are way off. Anyway, the conversation was suspended as the noisy band walked by with all the chubby percussionists, flabby clarinet players and tubby tuba puffers. As they passed by, one of the Bison guys quipped, "And there goes the rest of Bisonville." LMAO!! If I was sitting down, I woulda fell outta my chair. It's true! The vast majority of any teams' forum is comprised of misinformed dorm rats and band geeks, most just out of high school a year or two, just trying to fit in, brave behind a keyboard. Hats off to the guy who nailed it!
All fans like to poke fun at the other team's facilities, but, I am now very impressed with the FargoDome as a football venue. Hell, cushioned seats for the visitors? What luxury, it was like sitting in a movie theater. Good stuff. Got a large kick out of the massive security surrounding the Panther fans, too. Big, bald-headed cop down in the aisle, constantly attentive to any difficulties. Lots of others ready in case a riot broke out in the northwest corner.
One final observation and it has to do with the radio show. A couple of the callers said they liked the fact that UNI was not taking cheap shots or playing dirty "this time". I had to shake my head vigorously at that. One guy gets hit nearly out of bounds three or four years ago in a Herd loss and UNI is all of a sudden a bunch of goons. Come on. The word they used was "chippy". I'm a fan of both teams and I would never use that word, it's feminine, for one thing. Women use the word "chippy". Have never heard that said about UNI in any other rivalry in the conference, either. What UNI is, rather, is an intense, aggressive, hard-hitting team....just as the Herd are. Again, as with bad penalties, you'll get a few later hits in a game, it's nothing to lose one's head about. Anyone could cite obscure late hits by the Herd and do the same thing, but, by and large they don't. Also, Farley is no asshole. Tough, intense, yes. Asshole, no. I was a co-captain with him on the 1985 team and he is nothing but a straight-up good man who loves football and coaching.
Bottom line: Fun time up at NDSU. You people have a terrific thing going there, keep it up.
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Originally Posted by RowdyRabbit
