I've been a Gopher fan as far back as I can remember. I can sort of remember cheering for QB Sandy Stephens when the Gophers last won the Rose Bowl. However, with a few exceptions, the state of Gopher football has been horrible for the past 40 years. It's no wonder that the real diehard Gopher fans are those 80 year old guys with those ragged old Gopher jackets.

I got two degrees from NDSU in the early 1980's and then I cheered for NDSU and the Gophers at the same time when we were DII. However, once we went DI, it has become much more difficult to cheer for both teams. For the first time ever, I actually cheered against the Gopher was in 2006 when we played in the dome. I remember telling the Gopher fans around us at the game that we were there to help them get Glen Mason fired and they were instantly our buddies. We had a great time at the game.

I feel sorry for Gopher football fans but this will continue on forever as long as they are the second most favorite football team in the cities. What do Columbus, OH, Ann Arbor, MI, Madison, WI, and Lincoln, Neb all have in common? None of these cities have professional football teams to compete with their local university football teams.