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"Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:18 am
by twyliesports
Hello! Tom Wylie here with MTN Sports. Trying to crowd source an answer to something I've been wondering about. Does anyone know the origins/history of "Mony Mony" playing at MSU football games?
I've asked some experts and no one can really pin point how it started, but mentioned they've heard it at weddings and events going back at least 15 years. I reached out to Billy Idol's PR folks to see if he's aware it's a staple in Bozeman, but unsurprisingly they declined comment!
Wondering if some of the longtime fans here have memories of the first time they heard "Mony Mony" at an MSU athletic event? Thanks for any feedback!
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
by wbtfg
twyliesports wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:18 am
Hello! Tom Wylie here with MTN Sports. Trying to crowd source an answer to something I've been wondering about. Does anyone know the origins/history of "Mony Mony" playing at MSU football games?
I've asked some experts and no one can really pin point how it started, but mentioned they've heard it at weddings and events going back at least 15 years. I reached out to Billy Idol's PR folks to see if he's aware it's a staple in Bozeman, but unsurprisingly they declined comment!
Wondering if some of the longtime fans here have memories of the first time they heard "Mony Mony" at an MSU athletic event? Thanks for any feedback!
I remember hearing it at Cat/Gris Football in 1997 when we had the game won....until we didn't.
Side note, but an important point. There are a lot of people (griz fans) under the impression that Mony Mony is played at every single Bobcat football game. That is incorrect. Mony Mony is a Cat/Gris specific song.
The R Bar and Crystal have been playing that song for decades....
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
by CodyCat
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:34 am
by wbtfg
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
heheheheh
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:44 am
by 94VegasCat
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
twyliesports wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:18 am
Side note, but an important point. There are a lot of people (griz fans) under the impression that Mony Mony is played at every single Bobcat football game. That is incorrect. Mony Mony is a Cat/Gris specific song.
The R Bar and Crystal have been playing that song for decades....
I know we cheer ESG GCG, but you made have to think about it. I do know that those first few chords of Mony Mony shoot a jolt of lightning and Bobcat pride through my body
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:47 am
by AFCAT
This has been discussed in previous threads. I don't believe you can pin down an origin to the added lyrics because it probably happened by accident. There have been "R" rated lyrics added to the Billy Idol, Mony Mony version almost as soon after the song came out. You know the lyrics; Get L#@d, Get Fu$#ed. I'm guessing the football players were first to add the lyrics after a game on the bus ride home or in the locker room and it just took off, but that's just a guess. I'm almost certain it wasn't some sort of a planned out thing by the fans.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:50 am
by wbtfg
AFCAT wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:47 am
This has been discussed in previous threads. I don't believe you can pin down an origin to the added lyrics because it probably happened by accident. There have been "R" rated lyrics added to the Billy Idol, Mony Mony version almost as soon after the song came out. You know the lyrics; Get L#@d, Get Fu$#ed. I'm guessing the football players were first to add the lyrics after a game on the bus ride home or in the locker room and it just took off, but that's just a guess. I'm almost certain it wasn't some sort of a planned out thing by the fans.
If I were to make a guess, I'd say it originated at a fraternity party back in the day.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 12:50 pm
by RyeCat
The eat sh$t grizzlies, go cats go chant has long been a student section staple minus the catchy “Mony Mony” background music. Somebody in the ‘90s decided to marry the two.
Not sure if it was a White Wedding….I’ll see myself out.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
by Clinton T
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
by CodyCat
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
by wbtfg
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:56 pm
by Bocephus
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
I took History of Music from Dr. Funk, great class! Travis Lulay was in my class.
**Edit to be clear, Mony Mony chant was not taught or sung in this class.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 2:10 pm
by nutman
It was a twist on the other chant that used to be sung during Mony, Mony in the late eighties. It was on campus as early as 91. Lore has it that the frat member who came up with it doesn’t remember the act, or the day, or the game in which such artistry flowed forth.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 2:18 pm
by D-Wreck
Bocephus wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:56 pm
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
I took History of Music from Dr. Funk, great class! Travis Lulay was in my class.
**Edit to be clear, Mony Mony chant was not taught or sung in this class.
MUS 212 unless my memory fails me (yet again). It was usually only open for the first orientation session, and barely that long.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 2:21 pm
by RyeCat
D-Wreck wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 2:18 pm
Bocephus wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:56 pm
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
I took History of Music from Dr. Funk, great class! Travis Lulay was in my class.
**Edit to be clear, Mony Mony chant was not taught or sung in this class.
MUS 212 unless my memory fails me (yet again). It was usually only open for the first orientation session, and barely that long.
I took that class the very first time it was offered from Ilsi Mari Lee. I’m fairly certain we didn’t discuss Mony Mony.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 3:47 pm
by Clinton T
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
Yessir! With Eric Funk. That guy was a stud!!
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 3:52 pm
by PHAT CAT
twyliesports wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:18 am
Hello! Tom Wylie here with MTN Sports. Trying to crowd source an answer to something I've been wondering about. Does anyone know the origins/history of "Mony Mony" playing at MSU football games?
I've asked some experts and no one can really pin point how it started, but mentioned they've heard it at weddings and events going back at least 15 years. I reached out to Billy Idol's PR folks to see if he's aware it's a staple in Bozeman, but unsurprisingly they declined comment!
Wondering if some of the longtime fans here have memories of the first time they heard "Mony Mony" at an MSU athletic event? Thanks for any feedback!
First time I heard the version you hear today was in the early 1990's. I remember hearing it at Little Johns bar out on the dance floor. Billy Idol may not know about this version, but he knows about Montana State University. A friend of mine Melissa Behr was a student in the early 80's at MSU. A calendar come out of girls of MSU. She was one of the months. And I mean the best month. A talent agent spotted her and signed her to a modeling contract. She ended up going pretty big time modeling. She was even on shows like Married With Children. Anyway, a couple years after she was modeling, she met Billy and they dated for at least five years. He would even come to Montana when she would come see her folks. I know this doesn't answer you question, Tom. But it is kind of a cool side story. She's a artist down in Santa Fe now.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 4:13 pm
by MSU01
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
Haha, I tried to get into that class every damn semester but it always filled up so fast I never could. Eventually took another music class instead the summer before my senior year. I forget what it was but remember that the professor was retiring at the end of the summer semester, and as such it was probably the easiest class I ever took at MSU aside from the billiards "class" they offered in the Rec Center.
To answer the original question, I'm pretty sure Mony Mony was a regular part of the pep band song list at basketball games during the late '80s and early '90s shortly after it first came out in 1987. Not sure when the additional lyrics were added and then made their way over to the fight song.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 5:31 pm
by MTCowpoke22
wbtfg wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:48 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:38 pm
Clinton T wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 1:36 pm
CodyCat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:30 am
I was taught the mony mony chant during freshman orientation in 2001.
Same! Same year too!
This is awesome!!!!
My (now) wife and I were both orientation leaders that year. I probably helped you young punks register for classes.....History of American Pop Music anyone?
With Eric Funk? Best Class ever. I did orientation in 2000 and I don't recall learning the chant while registering for classes, but it was certainly part of Cat-Griz that fall.
Re: "Mony Mony" Origins?
Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2025 5:36 pm
by twyliesports
PHAT CAT wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 3:52 pm
twyliesports wrote: ↑Wed Dec 31, 2025 11:18 am
Hello! Tom Wylie here with MTN Sports. Trying to crowd source an answer to something I've been wondering about. Does anyone know the origins/history of "Mony Mony" playing at MSU football games?
I've asked some experts and no one can really pin point how it started, but mentioned they've heard it at weddings and events going back at least 15 years. I reached out to Billy Idol's PR folks to see if he's aware it's a staple in Bozeman, but unsurprisingly they declined comment!
Wondering if some of the longtime fans here have memories of the first time they heard "Mony Mony" at an MSU athletic event? Thanks for any feedback!
First time I heard the version you hear today was in the early 1990's. I remember hearing it at Little Johns bar out on the dance floor. Billy Idol may not know about this version, but he knows about Montana State University. A friend of mine Melissa Behr was a student in the early 80's at MSU. A calendar come out of girls of MSU. She was one of the months. And I mean the best month. A talent agent spotted her and signed her to a modeling contract. She ended up going pretty big time modeling. She was even on shows like Married With Children. Anyway, a couple years after she was modeling, she met Billy and they dated for at least five years. He would even come to Montana when she would come see her folks. I know this doesn't answer you question, Tom. But it is kind of a cool side story. She's a artist down in Santa Fe now.
I love this, thanks!