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Griz - Jacks (Missoula recap)

M

mtjack

Active member
A live football game @ Washington Grizzly Stadium turned out to be quite a spectacle. Props to the school and the Missoula community. From what I've seen you are the gold standard for Division I-AA when it comes to providing a great live environment for college football, although I've never been to an Appalachian State game or any of the eastern/midwestern Div I-AA powers to compare. The noise generated by the crowd doesn't translate accurately on television. It definitely adds to the home-crowd advantage.

Good food, fun bars - Halloween may have had something to do with that - and a generally Flagstaff-ish vibe to the town. Golf-clap to you from this outsider.

A few snarky comments here and there from Griz fans about supporting my team in NAU gear. Makes me hope I'm around the day that NAU beats the Griz in football. Yes, believe it or not, it will happen again. Dynasties don't last. But no major complaints as I found the town and crowd to be generally welcoming and interesteed in hearing where you're from, what you do and what to expect from the Lumberjacks. Tailgating gets a big thumbs up.

I look forward to returning to Missoula in the near future for NAU-UM athletic events. I just hope the results for football turn out different than this time around.

The game itself....what can I say. NAU got beat like a red-headed stepchild. The Jacks shot themselves in the foot with turnovers, made a multitude of mistakes early, dug themselves a deep, nasty hole and were out of their game from the get go in a loud, hostile environment that one must play mistake free ball to win in. That didn't happen.

I remain optomistic that the ship can be righted and two Jacks wins to close the season will at least give them consideration for a playoff spot or at least a bit of sunshine after two dark weeks. Three bids coming from the Big Sky Conference out of 16 total bids may be unrealistic and asking too much.

It was nice to chat with players parents (and realize what a truly small world it is we live in), put a face to the name/voice of people in the athletic department, chat with a handful of alumni/boosters I'd never met and touch bases with ones I knew previously.

A bit disheartening two weeks from a fan's viewpoint but I'll be back in front of the tube on Saturday for the Bobcats-Jacks game.

MTJack

Go Jacks!
 
I wasn't able to watch this one and from the sound of it I should thank the lord for it. I was in Portland this weekend supporting the NAU cross country teams which cleaned house with all the titles. Both NAU teams took home the title. The individual titles were both won by NAU athletes as well.

As for the football game, I can't say much since I didn't see it. All I can say is that NAU's football season came to an end saturday. They will not qualify for the playoffs this year. The Weber State game kinda deflated the lumberjacks as they were not able to get it together for this very important game against Montana. I don't feel good about the next two either. I think the way we're playing we will loose at least one of the next two. It's sad to say, but we better start gearing up for basketball season because football season is pretty much done for the lumberjacks. The next two games are just a formality. Bring on Adras and the Bball boys!!!
 
Sorry we didn't see you at our tailgate, Jack. Hope you got well fed at others. We rely on those few who perhaps poke too hard against our foes, to make the rest of us appear accommodating. Although I've been through Flagstaff a number of times, that is the only away game we've not traveled to, so we look forward to your hospitality in '09.
 
Da Griz -

Wandered the tailgates from a bit after 10:30 am til before noon. Chatted with a bunch of Griz fans and ran into some NAU boosters I knew. Didn't eat or drink but I ate a pile of fried grease for breakfast at the Oxford (couldn't hack the brain n' eggs omelet....not drunk enough I guess) before the game and drank enough the night before so I wasn't that sad to take it easy on Saturday morning.

An old friend of mine from Missoula is talking of heading back up from Colorado if the Griz get a home playoff game so I may try to take in the festivities even if I don't get a ticket for that. Will try to contact you and find out where your tailgate location is beforehand if these plans materialize.

Flagstaff is nice. No rivers and fewer overall mountains than Missoula but with one huge extinct volcano as a backdrop. Reminds me of Missoula in a lot of ways with the hippies n' rednecks vibe. Some good restaurants and bars. Grand Canyon an hour plus to the northwest and Sedona under an hour south. Sadly, living there is poverty with a view as in many parts of Montana. I may be back down in N. Arizona by then....who knows? A large contingency of Griz fans and/or Montana natives will make the trek up the mountain from Phoenix, Tucson, So. Cal, Las Vegas or other parts for the game and are generally well supported in Flagstaff.

MTJack
 
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