The Bobcat Nation

Isn't that a great title for a thread? Unfortunately I don't think this topic will measure up to the title.


I normally do not venture on to the smack board much, but I know with the question I am about to ask this is the best place for this topic. I know a lot of the questions asked on the "Smack Board" are rhetorical in nature devised to piss someone else off. That is not the case with this question although I know that is how it will be interpeted by some. This question is really directed towards I think Griz folks.

Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

Mike Kramer: Over the years I have been in the company of Kramer maybe a dozen times, where he has had the opportunity to be as honest and frank as possible. I have rarely EVER heard him say anything negative about the UM program. The closest was during the Bobby Huack, I will refer to MSU as "State" flap a couple years ago. That did irritate Kramer. Other than that, it has been nothing but compliments and respect, about a quality program the Griz had/have. Granted how we will kick their butt’s kind of schtuff has come up quite a bit.

Joe Glenn: I had the opportunity to be at a Griz booster gathering with Glenn (long story) and while he was generally patronizing toward the Cats he refused to be baited into saying anything negative about the Cats, other than how the Griz were going to kick their butts’ kind of schtuff.

Durham was always complimentary towards the Griz the closest negative comments I from him was during the Holst era.

Hauck is much more guarded (some say paranoid) about his comments, but he has absolutely ripped the Bobcat program I am told in private, although I have not witnessed it.

From my point of view Huack is my least favorite Griz coach of all time, (which is something if you knew how well Taylor and myself got along). From my point of view he absolutely HATES the Cats. He grants them no respect as a team or as individual players or coaches. It hangs over him like a cloud and as far as I am concerned and this represents most of the negative aspects of the Cat/Griz rivalry, with none of the positives.

Maybe I am just reading Hauck wrong, and I would prefer that I was. Can any of you folks who know Hauck correct me or change my mind on this. What am I missing about Hauck? Am I the only Cat who feels this way?

Well, since I respect your postings on both forums, I'll be nice.

However, this is a smack board and I will say I'd rather have a stone-faced coach than one w/ man-boobs.

Ok, back to being nice. Although "HATE" is such a bad word, do you not think Kramer HATES anything Grizzly? I think the feelings are mutual between the two head coaches w/ both hating each others programs, not each other.

My .02.

No smack, Billings, but I think you are dead wrong. Kramer does not hate the griz one iota - he wants to beat their brains out every year, but he has never said one thing that wasn't overly complimentary towards the griz program while in my presence, both publicly and privately. If you ever had the chance to attend a booster or QB club meeting with Kramer, you would know that he NEVER minces words or is afraid to say what is on his mind. Personally, I think Kramer dislikes Idaho State a lot more than UM.

I don't think there is any question as to Hack's feelings towards Montana State University. I agree with mslacat on all accounts - and I was none too fond of ol' Blaine or Don Holst myself. Hauck is an ass by all accounts, and that includes numerous people who work for/with him that I talked to while in school at UM.

I don't know what hauck is like in person, and he likes to joke about hating the Cats, but to say he has never given the Cats or their players or coaches credit or said anything nice about them is severely overstating it.

I simply googled Hauck Praises Bobcats and came up with these:

Both teams respect their opponent.

‘‘They're a good football team and they've had a good year,'' Hauck said of the Bobcats. ‘‘They've got numerous good players, including their quarterback. They have evolved into a team that throws the ball a whole bunch. Lulay rushed for four touchdowns against Sacramento State, so he's dangerous as a runner and a passer.''

http://www.montanastandard.com/articles ... jbeaij.txt

You know you've earned your pay when Missoula's dark prince of football is singing your praises.

Not known for his praise of anything blue and gold, Montana coach Bobby Hauck was practically gushing about the MSU defense.

"They did a good job," he said. "I like the way they played today. They did a good job and they played hard. I believe they played their best game of the year on defense."

"There were times when (Lex Hilliard) couldn't go because of health problems," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. "But it was really about them playing exceedingly well on defense."

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articl ... at%20d.prt
Hope you feel better now.

I'm glad you posted that - I remember waking up after last year's game and reading Haucks comments in the paper... I was flat out amazed. Not sure if it was a one-time change of heart or if he's truly maturing, hopefully the latter. His first couple years he was pretty over-the-top immature with his open hatred of the Cats.

catatac wrote:I'm glad you posted that - I remember waking up after last year's game and reading Haucks comments in the paper... I was flat out amazed. Not sure if it was a one-time change of heart or if he's truly maturing, hopefully the latter. His first couple years he was pretty over-the-top immature with his open hatred of the Cats.

actually the first quote is from after the 2004 game, the second quote is after the 2005 game. The perception of Hauck by Cat fans goes back to the game in 2003, when he joked around before the game, then didn't give the Cat's enough credit for their win that year based on the Griz statistical dominance in that loss. No matter what he has said since then he isn't able to overcome the perception by Cat fans that he is classless.

I think there are three things at work here. The first is that -- let's be honest -- Krames and Hauck couldn't have more divergent personalities. Krames is the life of every party, and he pretty much can't stop his mouth from moving even if he wanted to. He's learned "coach-speak" so everything he says about everything is positive (not necessarily a bad thing, mind you). Hauck on the other hand is a quiet individual, and I think to non-Griz people that comes across as a negative.

Second, I think Hauck is a lot more positive about MSU then most cat fans realize. Personally, I think he has a great deal of respect for Kramer and the program. But he is a competetor and has a lot of fire (and cat fans, you can't say that's a negative since many of you faulted Durham for having too little fire).

Third, remember that Hauck is a Montana alum. Think about these message boards. There are plenty of MSU grad posters on this board who would NEVER say a positive thing about the Griz, and many on eGriz that would rather die than compliment the cats. Hauck grew up with the rivalry, so it would only be natural that he feels it more deeply than Kramer does.

My pops said when he saw Krames at a golf tournameny last month he had lost like 40 lbs! No more man boobs for him...

Although he's still probably pretty big.

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

I don't believe you.

longhorn_22 wrote:

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

I don't believe you.

You and the rest of the bobcat nation

He did give Lulay some kudos last year and a hug after the game. That is the first time I have every heard him act/give any good gestures towards MSU since he has been there. That is the only one that comes to mind though.

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

well he's smarter than the guys predicting us to go 5-6/ that doesn't seem like a "very good football team" to me.

whitetrashgriz wrote:

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

well he's smarter than the guys predicting us to go 5-6/ that doesn't seem like a "very good football team" to me.

A coach smarter and with better insight than some fans??? What a stange concept!

whitetrashgriz wrote:

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

well he's smarter than the guys predicting us to go 5-6/ that doesn't seem like a "very good football team" to me.

And smarter that cat fans who are predicting a similar record for us.

I was at a function before last season and caught Hauck saying 'that team down the road will be pretty good, too.' He had a hard time getting it out, but seemed to be having fun with it. But I won't go overboard and say he goes out of his way to give MSU a compliment. He was relishing in the fact that we didn't make the playoffs last year even though he was masking it by saying it's too bad for Lulay that he couldn't have gone. I wasn't fooled by that one. Deep down he dispises MSU, but when you force his hand he'll say some good things. I still haven't heard of him calling us Montana State or Bobcats or MSU. State and 'that team down the road' is all I've ever heard.

crazycat wrote:I was at a function before last season and caught Hauck saying 'that team down the road will be pretty good, too.' He had a hard time getting it out, but seemed to be having fun with it. But I won't go overboard and say he goes out of his way to give MSU a compliment. He was relishing in the fact that we didn't make the playoffs last year even though he was masking it by saying it's too bad for Lulay that he couldn't have gone. I wasn't fooled by that one. Deep down he dispises MSU, but when you force his hand he'll say some good things. I still haven't heard of him calling us Montana State or Bobcats or MSU. State and 'that team down the road' is all I've ever heard.

GRIZ fans love it when talks like that.

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

crazycat wrote:I was at a function before last season and caught Hauck saying 'that team down the road will be pretty good, too.' He had a hard time getting it out, but seemed to be having fun with it. But I won't go overboard and say he goes out of his way to give MSU a compliment. He was relishing in the fact that we didn't make the playoffs last year even though he was masking it by saying it's too bad for Lulay that he couldn't have gone. I wasn't fooled by that one. Deep down he dispises MSU, but when you force his hand he'll say some good things. I still haven't heard of him calling us Montana State or Bobcats or MSU. State and 'that team down the road' is all I've ever heard.

GRIZ fans love it when talks like that.

CAT fans love watching him play 'that team down the road'

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

whitetrashgriz wrote:

Eastcoastgriz wrote:

mslacat wrote:Has anyone out there in Cat / Griz land ever heard Bobby Huack give a genuine compliment / positive statement about the Bobcat coaches or program?

A better question might be, has anyone out there in the past 36 months heard Bobby Hauck say anything negitive about the cats coaches or program?

I was recently at a GRIZ function speaking with Coach Huack and he stated "The bobcats will be a very good team this year."

well he's smarter than the guys predicting us to go 5-6/ that doesn't seem like a "very good football team" to me.

A coach smarter and with better insight than some fans??? What a stange concept!

yes, truly amazing. you mean scats doesn't know everything? well, there goes my whole belief system!

mslacat wrote:Hauck is much more guarded (some say paranoid) about his comments, but he has absolutely ripped the Bobcat program I am told in private, although I have not witnessed it.

From my point of view Huack is my least favorite Griz coach of all time, (which is something if you knew how well Taylor and myself got along). From my point of view he absolutely HATES the Cats. He grants them no respect as a team or as individual players or coaches. It hangs over him like a cloud and as far as I am concerned and this represents most of the negative aspects of the Cat/Griz rivalry, with none of the positives.

Maybe I am just reading Hauck wrong, and I would prefer that I was. Can any of you folks who know Hauck correct me or change my mind on this. What am I missing about Hauck? Am I the only Cat who feels this way?

Honestly Mslacat, how many times have you attended a meeting in-person with/how much time have you spent with Griz coaches Hauck, Krystkowiak, Glenn, Dennehy, Taylor, etc.?? I read your opinion and just want some context.