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So how did you become a fan?

Dillon

Dillon

Well-known member
Well I became a Griz fan when I first came to Missoula to visit my Sister who was enrolled at the U. Just fell in love with the city and University. It was probably around 1968.
I became a Minnesota Vikings fan quite by accident or a very poor performance in a Punt Pass and Kick contest in a small town in the middle of the state. My Mom forced me into the competition as I had never touched a football to that point. When I punted the ball it came down and hit me in the head. They felt so bad for me that they gave me a Minnesota Vikings uniform for being the hard luck cowboy. Hooked ever since.
What say you?
 
I became a Griz fan when they were in the Skyline Conf. and used to play Wyoming in Billings. In spite of them consistently getting their butts kicked....
 
I had never been to a college football game but my brother in law was filming the home games in 95. I had been following them on the radio etc. but was more of a casual fan. He snuck me in with him and I got to watch from his camera positions even got to go down on the sidelines and up into the press booth and carry his bags around. Happened to be the Boise St game when they said farewell to them in fashion with a DD beat down of epic proportions. 54-28 or something like that. Been hooked ever since.
 
My dad attended UM for a quarter in 1965 and left because he hated the air pollution at the time. I also had an uncle attend UM and my great-grandparents, which I didn't really know, had retired in Missoula where great-grandpa worked at the Missoula Mercantile. Due to these ties, I was always a casual Griz fan coming from a small Montana town. I was in the 8th grade when my grandpa took me to my first Griz football game in 1987. I was blown away by the support around town with billboards cheering on the Griz and business windows painted everywhere for the Griz. I fell in love with skydivers, the Montana/Grizzlies chant, the cannon going off, the high-scoring passing offense, the crowd cheering, etc. I have been a huge fan and supporter ever since. This is a special place and I'm thankful I have been able to raise my own family in this environment.
 
Moved to Missoula from Seattle when I was 11. Very first Griz game I watched on TV was the 1996 "Montana Power Classic." Realized that the neighbors were just like the cat school in the Palouse. Been hooked ever since.
 
From birth. My first breath(cough,cough) was at St. Pats. Saw my first game, on TV(black and white at that)from Old Dornblaser, scat game of course.
The air pollution at the time was real, go96griz. 'LOOK' magazine listed Missoula as the fourth worst air in the country, with Hoerner-Waldorf and TeePee burners all around town. Even into the early '70s an inversion would play hell with the air. One day I stood at the west end of the Oval and couldn't tell the time on Main Halls clock tower.
 
I was a kid discovering the joy of sports. The first athlete to impress on me was Brian Salonen playing for GFH and a state basketball championship on statewide tv. The rest is history.
 
I started as a Griz BB fan in the MIchael Ray Richardson era before attending college. Then started going to football games at Dornblaser while in school. Yes, I am old and feeling older as I type this.
 
It's my dad's fault. He's a man's man who loves football (and played in high school) but God gave him two daughters instead of sons. When I was young, he followed the NFL and was a Seahawks and Broncos fan, and tried to teach my sister and me about football but we just didn't care.

Once Dad started working at UM in the mid 80s, he began to pay more attention to the Griz, especially after the new stadium was built. Over the years he still tried to convince my sister and me to get interested in Grizzly football, and he finally succeeded in 1994/1995. Oh course, the winning records, playoff appearances and ultimately the national championship(s) helped nudge me to be a completely addicted fan.

I think my dad really gets a kick from the fact that both of his daughters are big fans now. My folks and my sister have season tickets (they all still live in Msla) while I watch every game online or on tv.

I can't wait for the stupid pandemic restrictions to be over so I can get back up there to some games while my folks are still alive and healthy.
 
Born and raised in Missoula. Started going to games at Dornblazer in the early ‘70’s, during the Swarthout years....suffered through the Gene Carlson years, and the Larry Donovan years while attending University of Idaho. Moved to Phoenix in ‘93 and began watching every game at Dukes in Scottsdale, plus taking large groups up to Flagstaff every other year for the bi-annual Lumberjacks beatdown....try to make it back for one game a year (or a road game — UW, and UO in recent years)...
 
ChesterGriz said:
I started as a Griz BB fan in the MIchael Ray Richardson era before attending college. Then started going to football games at Dornblaser while in school. Yes, I am old and feeling older as I type this.
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This was essentially my story as well. A Michael Ray fan, then an Allen Nielson fan. Watching football at dorn blaser soon following.
 
kemajic said:
I became a Griz fan when they were in the Skyline Conf. and used to play Wyoming in Billings. In spite of them consistently getting their butts kicked....
Click to expand...

Those were fun games. It would be great to see that again. Maybe, every 3 years.
 
I attended a few games at old Dornblaser in the 50's. My dad had played for the Griz in the 30s, after transferring from BYU. How a Sioux Indian/Irish Catholic got to BYU from the Fort Peck Reservation, I don't know. He died when I was 10. His older sister also went to UM in the 30's. Was a school teacher in Noxon during WW II. She and her husband started the Ranch Supper Club on the river in Polson in 1948, after my uncle recovered from shrapnel wounds from the Pacific. My uncle's best friend in Polson was Betch's uncle. My uncle and our family also knew Betch's dad, Curley. He was a terrific race boat racer, and better than his brother Ray. Betch's cousin, Karen, was my first "girlfriend". We used to exchange valentines starting before we were in grade school.

Good idea for a thread, Dillon.
 
Da Boyz Mom said:
It's my dad's fault. He's a man's man who loves football (and played in high school) but God gave him two daughters instead of sons. When I was young, he followed the NFL and was a Seahawks and Broncos fan, and tried to teach my sister and me about football but we just didn't care.

Once Dad started working at UM in the mid 80s, he began to pay more attention to the Griz, especially after the new stadium was built. Over the years he still tried to convince my sister and me to get interested in Grizzly football, and he finally succeeded in 1994/1995. Oh course, the winning records, playoff appearances and ultimately the national championship(s) helped nudge me to be a completely addicted fan.

I think my dad really gets a kick from the fact that both of his daughters are big fans now. My folks and my sister have season tickets (they all still live in Msla) while I watch every game online or on tv.

I can't wait for the stupid pandemic restrictions to be over so I can get back up there to some games while my folks are still alive and healthy.
Click to expand...

Tell your dad, and mom, that they taught you well. You appear to know as much about football, and life, as anyone I know.
 
PlayerRep said:
I attended a few games at old Dornblaser in the 50's. My dad had played for the Griz in the 30s, after transferring from BYU. How a Sioux Indian/Irish Catholic got to BYU from the Fort Peck Reservation, I don't know. He died when I was 10. His older sister also went to UM in the 30's. Was a school teacher in Noxon during WW II. She and her husband started the Ranch Supper Club on the river in Polson in 1948, after my uncle recovered from shrapnel wounds from the Pacific. My uncle's best friend in Polson was Betch's uncle. My uncle and our family also knew Betch's dad, Curley. He was a terrific race boat racer, and better than his brother Ray. Betch's cousin, Karen, was my first "girlfriend". We used to exchange valentines starting before we were in grade school.

Good idea for a thread, Dillon.
Click to expand...
You are getting to be an accomplished person of age, Player.
 
Conceived under the bleachers of old Old Dornblaser (I’m likely the only one here who is a good enough fan to remember that place). Born on the eventual site of WAGriz (south 33 yard line). My wife says I sing Up With Montana in my sleep instead of snoring. Really, however, I became a Griz fan in late 2016.
 
PlayerRep said:
Da Boyz Mom said:
It's my dad's fault. He's a man's man who loves football (and played in high school) but God gave him two daughters instead of sons. When I was young, he followed the NFL and was a Seahawks and Broncos fan, and tried to teach my sister and me about football but we just didn't care.

Once Dad started working at UM in the mid 80s, he began to pay more attention to the Griz, especially after the new stadium was built. Over the years he still tried to convince my sister and me to get interested in Grizzly football, and he finally succeeded in 1994/1995. Oh course, the winning records, playoff appearances and ultimately the national championship(s) helped nudge me to be a completely addicted fan.

I think my dad really gets a kick from the fact that both of his daughters are big fans now. My folks and my sister have season tickets (they all still live in Msla) while I watch every game online or on tv.

I can't wait for the stupid pandemic restrictions to be over so I can get back up there to some games while my folks are still alive and healthy.
Click to expand...

Tell your dad, and mom, that they taught you well. You appear to know as much about football, and life, as anyone I know.
Click to expand...

Thank you. That means more than you know.
 
Da Boyz Mom said:
PlayerRep said:
Tell your dad, and mom, that they taught you well. You appear to know as much about football, and life, as anyone I know.
Click to expand...

Thank you. That means more than you know.
Click to expand...

Hey PR, the Boys Mom Fan club line forms behind me, pal. :D :D
 
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