The Bobcat Nation

Not counting Bozeman and the surrounding towns, who is the biggest supporter of bobcat athletics? I couldn’t add every town, but I did add the major ones.

20 years ago you would have said Butte, hands down. But those fair weather SOBs have jumped ship.

Tap 'er light, eh boys

Two Dot...

I have always felt that Miles City was a good bobcat town. Whenever I go there I see mostly Bobcat gear and Bobcat plates.

I was shocked that in Glasgow it was about 50/50. An agriculture town rooting for Griz? Of course most of those Griz fans new nothing about UM- they were fair weather fans big time.

As a Billings resident I would like to say Billings. But after the support that Great Falls showed for the Blue/Gold game I would have to say Great Falls. Sorry Billings.

Cat Pride wrote:20 years ago you would have said Butte, hands down. But those fair weather SOBs have jumped ship.

Tap 'er light, eh boys

hey to defend butte didnt one of the former bobcat coaches basically say that we did not need butte and therefore pissoff the population

MINNEAPOLIS! We have over 2000 Alum's and we love our CATS!

gtapp wrote:MINNEAPOLIS! We have over 2000 Alum's and we love our CATS!

I knew that you would say that Gary, which is why the title of this thread is “Biggest Bobcat Town in MT.”

Hell's Bells wrote:

Cat Pride wrote:20 years ago you would have said Butte, hands down. But those fair weather SOBs have jumped ship.

Tap 'er light, eh boys

hey to defend butte didnt one of the former bobcat coaches basically say that we did not need butte and therefore pissoff the population

Solomenson basically stated that Montana kids weren't good enough for D1AA, which not only lost Butte, but every other high school coach in the state.

Hell's Bells wrote:

Cat Pride wrote:20 years ago you would have said Butte, hands down. But those fair weather SOBs have jumped ship.

Tap 'er light, eh boys

hey to defend butte didnt one of the former bobcat coaches basically say that we did not need butte and therefore pissoff the population

That may be true, but Butte just isn't the same athletically as it was when the Anaconda company and the mine was in operation. They're making a comeback recently though moreso in basketball than football. I think that if Butte Central wasn't there Butte High would be very good for the size of town.

Actually, I wouldn't vote for Bozeman if it were on the list. Bozeman really needs to amp up support for the University and Bobcat athletics. I'm not trying to talk smack here, but every business in Missoula has Griz decorations on the windows and a decent amount of maroon and silver. In Bozeman, having the football schedule poster is considered sufficient. I don't know who dropped the ball in marketing the University to the town, but something needs to change.

Helcat72 wrote:

Hell's Bells wrote:

Cat Pride wrote:20 years ago you would have said Butte, hands down. But those fair weather SOBs have jumped ship.

Tap 'er light, eh boys

hey to defend butte didnt one of the former bobcat coaches basically say that we did not need butte and therefore pissoff the population

That may be true, but Butte just isn't the same athletically as it was when the Anaconda company and the mine was in operation. They're making a comeback recently though moreso in basketball than football. I think that if Butte Central wasn't there Butte High would be very good for the size of town.

I hope you are correct

Based on the handles on this board how can you pick any town but Helena!

mslacat wrote:Based on the handles on this board how can you pick any town but Helena!

what the "hell"! Sounds like a good choice to pick the "capital" city! "Hell" we even have a bobcat govenor!

mslacat wrote:Based on the handles on this board how can you pick any town but Helena!

Sorry, this town is a Griz town by at least 2-1. My Cat friends hate that.

gecko: it's called getting people in your door. if i had a business in missoula i would plaster my place with griz stuff, even if i was a msu grad, that's how i would get people like you in my store......not a slam.

theblackgecko wrote:Actually, I wouldn't vote for Bozeman if it were on the list. Bozeman really needs to amp up support for the University and Bobcat athletics. I'm not trying to talk smack here, but every business in Missoula has Griz decorations on the windows and a decent amount of maroon and silver. In Bozeman, having the football schedule poster is considered sufficient. I don't know who dropped the ball in marketing the University to the town, but something needs to change.

I agree with you there. This is one reason why the Griz can outdraw the Cats on Saturdays - people in Missoula actually follow the team and it means something to them. But it goes farther than just marketing. I'd venture to guess that 50% or so of the people in Bozeman arent even from MT

Hell's Bells wrote:what the "hell"! Sounds like a good choice to pick the "capital" city! "Hell" we even have a bobcat govenor!

Not something you are going to hear to many Bobcats bragging about. Hell he was wearing Griz gear! I would not be caught dead in maroon in silver!

mquast53000 wrote:I would not be caught dead in maroon in silver!

Oh, I'll git ya. It might take a wager and a few shots of grampa's cough medicine, but I'll git ya...

Cat Pride wrote:

theblackgecko wrote:Actually, I wouldn't vote for Bozeman if it were on the list. Bozeman really needs to amp up support for the University and Bobcat athletics. I'm not trying to talk smack here, but every business in Missoula has Griz decorations on the windows and a decent amount of maroon and silver. In Bozeman, having the football schedule poster is considered sufficient. I don't know who dropped the ball in marketing the University to the town, but something needs to change.

I agree with you there. This is one reason why the Griz can outdraw the Cats on Saturdays - people in Missoula actually follow the team and it means something to them. But it goes farther than just marketing. I'd venture to guess that 50% or so of the people in Bozeman arent even from MT

I think that the atmosphere in Bozeman is changing. There seems to be more excitement about Bobcat football (not sure about the other sports). I remember when I came to Bozeman in 1998 and we had a good football team, but there were not very many fans in the stands. Now even with a 7-4 team we are averaging 12,000 fans. That isn’t bad for a town with 30,000 people. I think that there still needs to be more done to make the games more appealing to create even a stronger game day atmosphere, but a lot has changed in the last 7 years! I do think the businesses need to do more to show support for the Bobcats, because you know that a significant % of those fans are from out of town and that money will make a difference to the Bozeman economy. I think that as Bozeman grows and for that matter the state of Montana, we will see a very strong growth in Bobcat athletics.