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Are we spoiled? Yeah, but at least we're not Butte
Story Discussion By MARK VINSON Independent Record | Posted: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 12:25 am | (16) Comments
As the seconds ticked off the clock at Nelson Stadium that fine autumn Saturday, a palpable sense of uneasiness spread like a virus among the purple and gold clad faithful.
Their beloved Carroll College football trailed Rocky Mountain College by a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, no less. Suddenly, the realization dawned that the Fighting Saints, long thought to be invicible in these parts, might actually lose a football game. At home, no less.
As most know, the Saints got their act together that day and scored a pair of late touchdowns to subdue the upstart Bears and remain undefeated and in their rightful place atop the Frontier Conference. It was the Saints' 30th consecutive home victory and 41st in their last 42 home games.
And the adoring throngs let out a sigh of relief on their way to the nearest watering hole where the debate began anew: "What on earth is wrong with those guys?"
I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
Helena, meet thy neighbors from Butte.
Margin of victory is rarely a subject of debate in Butte. Any victory, no matter the margin or the foe, is cause for celebration.
After a recent Carroll football thrashing of Montana Tech, one IR staff member walked in the newsroom and simply said "That was a boring game."
These Butte kickings have become so routine that they can be pretty well taken for granted in these parts.
The rivalry between Helena and Butte has grown markedly one-sided in recent times. This fall, the score in head-to-head meetings is 10-0 in favor of the Capital City, when including Carroll College, high school varsity teams and NorPac junior hockey teams.
A closer look shows why that really isn't surprising.
Capital High is the top-ranked, three-time defending state AA football champions and enters the playoffs this week riding a state record 31-game winning streak and as the favorite to make it four in a row.
Helena High, while living in the Bruins' exaggerated shadow, has turned in a fine 7-3 season in its own right. No one, not even Capital or second-ranked C.M. Russell, wants to face the Bengals in the playoffs.
Townsend won the District
5-B title and has advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Sheila Williams' Helena volleyball team has a good shot to win state later this month, an unfortunate illness to star Monica Grimsrud not withstanding.
Helena's Matt Barker, just a sophomore, captured the AA state cross country title two weeks ago. Townsend's Chiarra Warner won the girls' B title as a freshman, for crying out loud.
Carl Straub's Bengal boys soccer team took third place at the state tournament last weekend.
Carroll has clinched Frontier Conference titles in football and women's soccer. Moe Boyle's volleyball squad will try to make it a triple crown if it can win at least one of two tough road matches this week.
The Helena Bighorns are the envy of the Northern Pacific Hockey League, having won the past two championships and winning their first 10 games out of the gate this season.
Is it any wonder Helena sports fans expect to win?
Have we, after so many victories, become intoxicated on the wine of our own success?
Butte fans, on the other hand, might drink for an entirely different reason.
The Butte High Bulldogs have posted records of 1-9 (football), 0-11-1 (girls soccer), 5-9-2 (boys soccer) and 7-15 (volleyball) this autumn. Nary a winning record to be found.
Butte's one playoff appearance was the boys soccer team's surprising run to the state tournament consolation game, where the Bulldogs were summarily shut out by - you guessed it - Helena.
The NorPac's Roughriders aren't much better, starting the season 1-12. This coming on the heels of last winter's 3-45 campaign. The two meetings thus far between the Bighorns and Roughriders have a cumulative score of Helena 15, Butte 0.
Carroll holds a 75-28-4 series edge over Montana Tech (formerly Montana Mines) in a series that dates back to 1920.
Some days I feel for my colleagues at the Montana Standard. Bruce Sayler, Pat Ryan and Bill Foley are all fine hard-working blokes, to be sure, but - save the gridiron success of Class A power Butte Central Catholic and a girls softball team that advanced to the Little League World Series last summer - haven't much to crow about recently.
So why has Helena enjoyed so much athletic success when Butte has not?
Beats me. Could be many factors. Certainly coaches like Mike Van Diest, Boyle, Dave Thorvilson, Pat Murphy, Tony Arnston, Scott Cunningham, Glen Wall, Straub and Williams are among the best at what they do.
Maybe its just a bumper crop of athletes like Matt Miller, Nelo Butler, Chase Kloker, Grimsrud, Micah Meadows, Bubba Bartlett, Katie Beall, Meaghan O'Connell and on and on.
If there's one thing that three decades of watching sports has taught, it's that success tends to be cylical. Even the best of programs aren't immune to lean times.
As one University of Nebraska football fan wrote on an internet message board, shortly after the Cornhuskers had been thrashed 70-10 by Texas Tech a few years back: "I suppose you have to be willing to take it as well as dish it out. But it sure was a lot more fun when we were the ones dishing it out."
Helena sports fans can certainly drink to that.
Mark Vinson: 447-4070 or [email protected]
======================================================================================
Follow-up article by Butte paper:
Even Odds: No lack of champs in Butte
By Pat Ryan, of the Standard sports staff - 11/04/2009
Oh my. Where to begin?
Upon my arrival at The Standard Tuesday afternoon, I was greeted with the Tuesday edition of the Helena Independent Record on my desk.
It didn't take long to see the happy little smile on the face of Helena writer Mark Vinson and his sports column, Perspectives. And really, I had to read it twice just to make sure it wasn't some kind of joke.
Now, I hesitate to attack Vinson to Helena, since I'm not really sure where he's from, but the new guy on the sports staff at the IR took repeated cheap shots at Butte in his column.
Whether his jibes were factual or not is not my point. Butte is my home, as it was my Dad's, my grandfather's and my great grandfather's. I will always rally behind Butte and defend her like I would my family.
And the brand-new Helena resident threw a few sucker punches at Butte.
I'm not sure if the IR decided it needed some extra Web traffic, but here's the link to Vinson's column.
http://helenair.com/sports/article_6d669c88-c84a-11de-9b7b-001cc4c002e0.html That's a handful to type, but you can find the clickable link in my column online at mtstandard.com. And I urge you to read it.
Of course many Butte readers choose to get their news in the old fashioned paper version, so I'll take the liberty of sharing a few snippets right here and now.
Let's start with the headline: "Are we spoiled? Yeah, but at least we're not from Butte." Don't you wish? There's more pride that goes with Being From Butte than Vinson might ever understand.
Vinson takes great pains to point out how successful Helena teams have been lately. At least as long as he's been around, anyway. In doing so, Vinson berates not only our athletes, but our coaches and fans as well.
"Margin of victory is rarely a subject of debate in Butte. Any victory, no matter the margin or the foe, is cause for celebration." Vinson hails the prowess of Helena's coaches in their domination of those from Butte, but he might want to look a little more closely at the resume of some of his Helena coaches before he sheds such an anti-Butte light.
Take Maureen Boyle for example. Vinson mentioned Carroll College's volleyball coach twice in his column, but conveniently omitted that Boyle is originally a Tutty. A Butte Tutty.
Then, by name, Vinson calls Bruce Sayler, Bill Foley and myself out, saying we "haven't much to crow about lately." Maybe Vinson hasn't been in the area long enough to hear about a few of our latest athletic successes. Vinson tips his cap to Butte Central's football team and our Little League World Series softball team from this last summer, but there are a few more stories he should take the time to read up on.
Let's start with Butte's Robbie Johnson, who has worked his way into a starting role with the Seattle Mariners. Yes, the Major League Baseball Mariners. Johnson spent much of the last season behind the plate catching for the the M's, as an incredible work ethic got him to where he is. It's part of what made him successful as an athlete in Butte, and it's something he's sharing with up-and-coming Butte athletes as well.
Another Butte kid who's turning heads is Colt Anderson. He's the guy who walked on at the University of Montana — yeah, after his Butte High team had a rough season — and went on to become one of the best defensive backs ever to play for the Grizzlies. He's currently waiting in the wings on the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad, working hard as ever and waiting for his shot.
Then there's a guy who rides bicycles from Butte of whom Vinson may or may not have heard. Levi Leipheimer is among the top road racers in the world, having finished among the top riders in recent runnings of the Tour de France. He's won an armload of other major races as well.
There are a couple of Butte brothers who like to do some fancy skiing. Bryon and Brad Wilson are world-class freestyle skiers with their eyes on the Olympics.
Butte's Erin Popovich holds numerous Paralympic world swimming records, and owns more gold medals than some small countries. Another Butte swimmer, Lew Yong Gerbrandt, is the Class AA state champion in the 100 butterfly and was the runner up in the 100 freestyle, but she's got plenty of time to improve on that because she's still just a sophomore.
And just this last weekend, Butte sent a contingent of runners to New York City, every one of whom finished the 26.2-mile Marathon to help raise money for Mariah's Challenge, another excellent effort to come out of Butte.
And what about the teams? Well, let's start with the defending Class AA state champion Butte High girls' track team. The Bulldogs got outstanding efforts all across the board in winning the title less than six months ago.
Also, the Butte High girls' basketball team capped a strong run through its last season with a second-place finish.
Since Vinson spoke of the athletes from Townsend as Helena's own, I feel that I can include other teams in our reading area in my assessment of sports talent.
How about the Anaconda girls Class A state championship basketball team, or the Copperheads' undefeated volleyball team?
What about the undefeated Sheridan Panther football team, or the defending state Class C state champion boys' basketball team from Twin Bridges? Can we also mention the repeated success of teams from Dillon? The Beavers are defending state Class A boys basketball champs, and are a perennial threat on the football field.
With apologies to those I've missed, this is me, Pat Ryan, speaking positively about just a few of the outstanding athletes in and from Butte, Montana and the surrounding area. You'll notice that not once did I mention how bad anyone else is to make these stars seem just a little bit brighter.
It's really too bad Vinson missed such a great chance to tell his readers (and us) how great Helena kids are. Instead, he had to remind them of some losing records here in The Mining City.
Butte's kids have had more than their share of tough seasons lately, but they're on their way back. You, however, have given them one more reason to work even harder.
Butte as a city has also been down before, but it has managed to fight its way back. Take the early 1980s for example. The mines shut down and a lot of people said Butte would do the same.
It was around that time that an old Butte guy named Jim Street started coaching some Butte kids on the wrestling mat. The Bulldogs won the state wrestling title a couple of years before the mines shut down. Then they won state the year the mines shut down. Then they won the next 10 years too, just for good measure.
And yes, Butte's wrestling program isn't what it was then, but you can bet it will find a way back.
"These Butte kickings have become so routine that they can be pretty well taken for granted in these parts." I challenge every coach in Butte to read Vinson's column to his team and let them do the rest. Helena's players and coaches may have a word or two for their newest cheerleader, Mr. Vinson.
To the players and coaches in Helena: Congratulations. You've worked hard and earned everything you have. Your fans have every reason to be proud of you and your successes.
To Helena's newest cheerleader: Enjoy the rewards that have been hard earned by the athletes and coaches in your new hometown. And have all the fun you can by kicking us while we're down.
I'm pretty sure the rest of Helena doesn't need to rub salt in our wounds just to feel a little better about themselves, so I'm really not sure why you feel that urge.
As one sports writer to another, yes, it's easier to write about a winning team. When the tables turn, which they certainly will, you may or may not still live in Helena, but I hope you do.
Though I grew up in Butte, I spent a few years in the Capital City as well, and I can tell you that Helena kids have a lot more in common with Butte kids than they do with you.
— Pat Ryan's column appears here most Wednesdays. Contact him at 496-5570 or at [email protected]
Are we spoiled? Yeah, but at least we're not Butte
Story Discussion By MARK VINSON Independent Record | Posted: Tuesday, November 3, 2009 12:25 am | (16) Comments
As the seconds ticked off the clock at Nelson Stadium that fine autumn Saturday, a palpable sense of uneasiness spread like a virus among the purple and gold clad faithful.
Their beloved Carroll College football trailed Rocky Mountain College by a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, no less. Suddenly, the realization dawned that the Fighting Saints, long thought to be invicible in these parts, might actually lose a football game. At home, no less.
As most know, the Saints got their act together that day and scored a pair of late touchdowns to subdue the upstart Bears and remain undefeated and in their rightful place atop the Frontier Conference. It was the Saints' 30th consecutive home victory and 41st in their last 42 home games.
And the adoring throngs let out a sigh of relief on their way to the nearest watering hole where the debate began anew: "What on earth is wrong with those guys?"
I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
Helena, meet thy neighbors from Butte.
Margin of victory is rarely a subject of debate in Butte. Any victory, no matter the margin or the foe, is cause for celebration.
After a recent Carroll football thrashing of Montana Tech, one IR staff member walked in the newsroom and simply said "That was a boring game."
These Butte kickings have become so routine that they can be pretty well taken for granted in these parts.
The rivalry between Helena and Butte has grown markedly one-sided in recent times. This fall, the score in head-to-head meetings is 10-0 in favor of the Capital City, when including Carroll College, high school varsity teams and NorPac junior hockey teams.
A closer look shows why that really isn't surprising.
Capital High is the top-ranked, three-time defending state AA football champions and enters the playoffs this week riding a state record 31-game winning streak and as the favorite to make it four in a row.
Helena High, while living in the Bruins' exaggerated shadow, has turned in a fine 7-3 season in its own right. No one, not even Capital or second-ranked C.M. Russell, wants to face the Bengals in the playoffs.
Townsend won the District
5-B title and has advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Sheila Williams' Helena volleyball team has a good shot to win state later this month, an unfortunate illness to star Monica Grimsrud not withstanding.
Helena's Matt Barker, just a sophomore, captured the AA state cross country title two weeks ago. Townsend's Chiarra Warner won the girls' B title as a freshman, for crying out loud.
Carl Straub's Bengal boys soccer team took third place at the state tournament last weekend.
Carroll has clinched Frontier Conference titles in football and women's soccer. Moe Boyle's volleyball squad will try to make it a triple crown if it can win at least one of two tough road matches this week.
The Helena Bighorns are the envy of the Northern Pacific Hockey League, having won the past two championships and winning their first 10 games out of the gate this season.
Is it any wonder Helena sports fans expect to win?
Have we, after so many victories, become intoxicated on the wine of our own success?
Butte fans, on the other hand, might drink for an entirely different reason.
The Butte High Bulldogs have posted records of 1-9 (football), 0-11-1 (girls soccer), 5-9-2 (boys soccer) and 7-15 (volleyball) this autumn. Nary a winning record to be found.
Butte's one playoff appearance was the boys soccer team's surprising run to the state tournament consolation game, where the Bulldogs were summarily shut out by - you guessed it - Helena.
The NorPac's Roughriders aren't much better, starting the season 1-12. This coming on the heels of last winter's 3-45 campaign. The two meetings thus far between the Bighorns and Roughriders have a cumulative score of Helena 15, Butte 0.
Carroll holds a 75-28-4 series edge over Montana Tech (formerly Montana Mines) in a series that dates back to 1920.
Some days I feel for my colleagues at the Montana Standard. Bruce Sayler, Pat Ryan and Bill Foley are all fine hard-working blokes, to be sure, but - save the gridiron success of Class A power Butte Central Catholic and a girls softball team that advanced to the Little League World Series last summer - haven't much to crow about recently.
So why has Helena enjoyed so much athletic success when Butte has not?
Beats me. Could be many factors. Certainly coaches like Mike Van Diest, Boyle, Dave Thorvilson, Pat Murphy, Tony Arnston, Scott Cunningham, Glen Wall, Straub and Williams are among the best at what they do.
Maybe its just a bumper crop of athletes like Matt Miller, Nelo Butler, Chase Kloker, Grimsrud, Micah Meadows, Bubba Bartlett, Katie Beall, Meaghan O'Connell and on and on.
If there's one thing that three decades of watching sports has taught, it's that success tends to be cylical. Even the best of programs aren't immune to lean times.
As one University of Nebraska football fan wrote on an internet message board, shortly after the Cornhuskers had been thrashed 70-10 by Texas Tech a few years back: "I suppose you have to be willing to take it as well as dish it out. But it sure was a lot more fun when we were the ones dishing it out."
Helena sports fans can certainly drink to that.
Mark Vinson: 447-4070 or [email protected]
======================================================================================
Follow-up article by Butte paper:
Even Odds: No lack of champs in Butte
By Pat Ryan, of the Standard sports staff - 11/04/2009
Oh my. Where to begin?
Upon my arrival at The Standard Tuesday afternoon, I was greeted with the Tuesday edition of the Helena Independent Record on my desk.
It didn't take long to see the happy little smile on the face of Helena writer Mark Vinson and his sports column, Perspectives. And really, I had to read it twice just to make sure it wasn't some kind of joke.
Now, I hesitate to attack Vinson to Helena, since I'm not really sure where he's from, but the new guy on the sports staff at the IR took repeated cheap shots at Butte in his column.
Whether his jibes were factual or not is not my point. Butte is my home, as it was my Dad's, my grandfather's and my great grandfather's. I will always rally behind Butte and defend her like I would my family.
And the brand-new Helena resident threw a few sucker punches at Butte.
I'm not sure if the IR decided it needed some extra Web traffic, but here's the link to Vinson's column.
http://helenair.com/sports/article_6d669c88-c84a-11de-9b7b-001cc4c002e0.html That's a handful to type, but you can find the clickable link in my column online at mtstandard.com. And I urge you to read it.
Of course many Butte readers choose to get their news in the old fashioned paper version, so I'll take the liberty of sharing a few snippets right here and now.
Let's start with the headline: "Are we spoiled? Yeah, but at least we're not from Butte." Don't you wish? There's more pride that goes with Being From Butte than Vinson might ever understand.
Vinson takes great pains to point out how successful Helena teams have been lately. At least as long as he's been around, anyway. In doing so, Vinson berates not only our athletes, but our coaches and fans as well.
"Margin of victory is rarely a subject of debate in Butte. Any victory, no matter the margin or the foe, is cause for celebration." Vinson hails the prowess of Helena's coaches in their domination of those from Butte, but he might want to look a little more closely at the resume of some of his Helena coaches before he sheds such an anti-Butte light.
Take Maureen Boyle for example. Vinson mentioned Carroll College's volleyball coach twice in his column, but conveniently omitted that Boyle is originally a Tutty. A Butte Tutty.
Then, by name, Vinson calls Bruce Sayler, Bill Foley and myself out, saying we "haven't much to crow about lately." Maybe Vinson hasn't been in the area long enough to hear about a few of our latest athletic successes. Vinson tips his cap to Butte Central's football team and our Little League World Series softball team from this last summer, but there are a few more stories he should take the time to read up on.
Let's start with Butte's Robbie Johnson, who has worked his way into a starting role with the Seattle Mariners. Yes, the Major League Baseball Mariners. Johnson spent much of the last season behind the plate catching for the the M's, as an incredible work ethic got him to where he is. It's part of what made him successful as an athlete in Butte, and it's something he's sharing with up-and-coming Butte athletes as well.
Another Butte kid who's turning heads is Colt Anderson. He's the guy who walked on at the University of Montana — yeah, after his Butte High team had a rough season — and went on to become one of the best defensive backs ever to play for the Grizzlies. He's currently waiting in the wings on the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad, working hard as ever and waiting for his shot.
Then there's a guy who rides bicycles from Butte of whom Vinson may or may not have heard. Levi Leipheimer is among the top road racers in the world, having finished among the top riders in recent runnings of the Tour de France. He's won an armload of other major races as well.
There are a couple of Butte brothers who like to do some fancy skiing. Bryon and Brad Wilson are world-class freestyle skiers with their eyes on the Olympics.
Butte's Erin Popovich holds numerous Paralympic world swimming records, and owns more gold medals than some small countries. Another Butte swimmer, Lew Yong Gerbrandt, is the Class AA state champion in the 100 butterfly and was the runner up in the 100 freestyle, but she's got plenty of time to improve on that because she's still just a sophomore.
And just this last weekend, Butte sent a contingent of runners to New York City, every one of whom finished the 26.2-mile Marathon to help raise money for Mariah's Challenge, another excellent effort to come out of Butte.
And what about the teams? Well, let's start with the defending Class AA state champion Butte High girls' track team. The Bulldogs got outstanding efforts all across the board in winning the title less than six months ago.
Also, the Butte High girls' basketball team capped a strong run through its last season with a second-place finish.
Since Vinson spoke of the athletes from Townsend as Helena's own, I feel that I can include other teams in our reading area in my assessment of sports talent.
How about the Anaconda girls Class A state championship basketball team, or the Copperheads' undefeated volleyball team?
What about the undefeated Sheridan Panther football team, or the defending state Class C state champion boys' basketball team from Twin Bridges? Can we also mention the repeated success of teams from Dillon? The Beavers are defending state Class A boys basketball champs, and are a perennial threat on the football field.
With apologies to those I've missed, this is me, Pat Ryan, speaking positively about just a few of the outstanding athletes in and from Butte, Montana and the surrounding area. You'll notice that not once did I mention how bad anyone else is to make these stars seem just a little bit brighter.
It's really too bad Vinson missed such a great chance to tell his readers (and us) how great Helena kids are. Instead, he had to remind them of some losing records here in The Mining City.
Butte's kids have had more than their share of tough seasons lately, but they're on their way back. You, however, have given them one more reason to work even harder.
Butte as a city has also been down before, but it has managed to fight its way back. Take the early 1980s for example. The mines shut down and a lot of people said Butte would do the same.
It was around that time that an old Butte guy named Jim Street started coaching some Butte kids on the wrestling mat. The Bulldogs won the state wrestling title a couple of years before the mines shut down. Then they won state the year the mines shut down. Then they won the next 10 years too, just for good measure.
And yes, Butte's wrestling program isn't what it was then, but you can bet it will find a way back.
"These Butte kickings have become so routine that they can be pretty well taken for granted in these parts." I challenge every coach in Butte to read Vinson's column to his team and let them do the rest. Helena's players and coaches may have a word or two for their newest cheerleader, Mr. Vinson.
To the players and coaches in Helena: Congratulations. You've worked hard and earned everything you have. Your fans have every reason to be proud of you and your successes.
To Helena's newest cheerleader: Enjoy the rewards that have been hard earned by the athletes and coaches in your new hometown. And have all the fun you can by kicking us while we're down.
I'm pretty sure the rest of Helena doesn't need to rub salt in our wounds just to feel a little better about themselves, so I'm really not sure why you feel that urge.
As one sports writer to another, yes, it's easier to write about a winning team. When the tables turn, which they certainly will, you may or may not still live in Helena, but I hope you do.
Though I grew up in Butte, I spent a few years in the Capital City as well, and I can tell you that Helena kids have a lot more in common with Butte kids than they do with you.
— Pat Ryan's column appears here most Wednesdays. Contact him at 496-5570 or at [email protected]
