The Bobcat Nation

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

We used to go to Pork Chop John’s and they would put it on the projector! Loved that place!

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

If it was even on-shoot most of the time you couldn't get the dang game on the radio. Media was all griz all the time. Kramer did a lot to help turn that stuff around. He also woke up our boosters. The whole thing has come so far!

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

We were there. But despite the record, there was an undercurrent of excitement that things were going to change for Bobcat football. And they did! With a couple of “speed bumps”, of which too much has been made, the trajectory has been upward, and pretty steeply. Every major turn of the road was a good one, the facilities grew with every switchback. I was there, and it was exciting. Now there are a few complaints that we win too easily. For the next decade or so, I’m fine with that. Winning is hard. It hasn’t always been easy.

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

My fiancé (from Oklahoma) came to town that summer & as we drove down Kagy past the stadium she asked "Is that where your high school played?"

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

I was there, it was the year I became a season ticket holder. My investment has been paying off. Good times.

Was there for all the games. The decision to drive down was usually made in the morning after a long night of beer drinking. Drive right in to the Eastside lots, chug a few beers and go buy our tickets

Bobcat4ever nailed it. Remember when could sit wherever you wanted? Winning isn’t easy so let’s enjoy the ride.

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

Farhad Azimi started all 11 that year. Yikes. How far we've come.

My freshman year and a sad introduction to Bobcat football from an out of stater. Was there all along the way and have enjoyed the emotional roller coaster over the years as this program has developed into a power. Taking a step back to look at the overall trajectory, it is impressive to see where we are compared to that year.

Totally appreciate this thread and I can completely relate to it, thanks! I'll never forget one evening of that season. I'm with my wife visiting her grandmother way out in a smallt town in BFE Eastern MT. No TV so of course I'm laying there listening to a game on her little am radio. I was really thinking we were finally going to get a win that season. I think we were playing a D2 team..... maybe Cal State Northridge or something? I'll look it up later.

Anyway, we lost. The fact that we all suffered through seasons like that makes seasons like this SO MUCH SWEETER! These are the good times. Go Cats!

catatac wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 10:43 pm

Totally appreciate this thread and I can completely relate to it, thanks! I'll never forget one evening of that season. I'm with my wife visiting her grandmother way out in a smallt town in BFE Eastern MT. No TV so of course I'm laying there listening to a game on her little am radio. I was really thinking we were finally going to get a win that season. I think we were playing a D2 team..... maybe Cal State Northridge or something? I'll look it up later.

Anyway, we lost. The fact that we all suffered through seasons like that makes seasons like this SO MUCH SWEETER! These are the good times. Go Cats!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Mont ... tball_team

I remember sitting by myself in the student section with maybe 50 other people for senior day against Portland State, as by that point none of my friends wanted to go to the games anymore. Also went to three road games that year (Idaho, ISU, Cat/Griz). Oddly enough I remember that season quite fondly, and anyone who was around back then definitely appreciates the current success just a little bit more!

AFCAT wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 10:50 pm

catatac wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 10:43 pm

Totally appreciate this thread and I can completely relate to it, thanks! I'll never forget one evening of that season. I'm with my wife visiting her grandmother way out in a smallt town in BFE Eastern MT. No TV so of course I'm laying there listening to a game on her little am radio. I was really thinking we were finally going to get a win that season. I think we were playing a D2 team..... maybe Cal State Northridge or something? I'll look it up later.

Anyway, we lost. The fact that we all suffered through seasons like that makes seasons like this SO MUCH SWEETER! These are the good times. Go Cats!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Mont ... tball_team

Look at those attendance figures. More butts in the seats in Pocatello than in Bozeman. That’s shocking!

BelgradeBobcat wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:41 pm

jhopmsu79 wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 6:35 pm

Maybe you were there with me. The year was 2000 and first year head coach Mike Kramer finished the season 0 and 11. You remember the wooden endzone bleachers, not closing Kagy before games, the muddy and rowdy tailgate section. In away games I and maybe a dozen others would watch the game at the Hideaway Lounge. Wow how far we've come. I am so grateful and proud of this team. This next month is gonna be so much fun. Enjoy it Bobcat fans. I wasn't sure it was ever gonna happen. I will see you in Frisco!

If it was even on-shoot most of the time you couldn't get the dang game on the radio. Media was all griz all the time. Kramer did a lot to help turn that stuff around. He also woke up our boosters. The whole thing has come so far!

I lived close enough to Bozeman that we could always pick up the games on 1090 KBOZ, and Dean Alexander was the voice of the fall Saturday afternoons of my youth. Have many memories working with my dad out in the shop, welding up some broken piece of farm implement, listening to Dean's call of Hysell's teams. He brought this program out of the doldrums, and after a few bad years under Kramer, it really took off.

I'll say it again: the Cats' 0-11 season was on Kramer. While he did energize the boosters, the 2000 season was ultimately his responsibility. When you cut half of the players you inherit and bring in more newcomers than returning players, you're setting yourself up for failure.

The Butcher wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 22, 2024 10:23 am

I'll say it again: the Cats' 0-11 season was on Kramer. While he did energize the boosters, the 2000 season was ultimately his responsibility. When you cut half of the players you inherit and bring in more newcomers than returning players, you're setting yourself up for failure.

Then again, I don't think anyone at the time would've believed you if you told them that only two years later the Bobcats would be ending the streak in Missoula and making their first playoff appearance in almost 20 years. Kramer definitely made some questionable decisions over the years with the transfer guys he decided to bring in, but you also had players like Joey Thomas and Junior Adams who were integral to the rapid improvement of the MSU program after that first year.

I remember getting my truck stuck in the snow and mud after the gris just whomped us. My daughter and I were trying to get it out and a bunch of griz fans walked by and made snide remarks at us "poor stuck stuck in the mud loser Cat fans." Yes, I remember it all. The muddy field. The wooden bleachers that looked like a high school stadium. The prez and others saying "we can't" when fans said we needed to upgrade the stadium. Then I remember Waded coming in and saying that Montana State would be the top university in the state and that included athletics. When it came to upgrading the stadium she refused to listen to the naysayers who said "we can't." She really united the alumni, fans and boosters. We've come a long way indeed.

cats_thirdeye wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 21, 2024 10:36 pm

My freshman year and a sad introduction to Bobcat football from an out of stater. Was there all along the way and have enjoyed the emotional roller coaster over the years as this program has developed into a power. Taking a step back to look at the overall trajectory, it is impressive to see where we are compared to that year.

Was also my freshman year at MSU. I think I went into a game maybe twice and for less than a quarter total that first year. Like most, sat and enjoyed the tailgates and my introduction to "kegs & eggs" most Saturdays. I actually spent more time in WaGriz that year as I went to the first half of Cat/griz in Missoula before leaving for the tailgates. Can't for the life of me figure out why the fall semester always seemed rougher on me academically given my weekend choices...

After graduating, my first season tickets were in the wooden bleachers in the end zone. Seeing where things were then and where they are now on campus is pretty damn amazing. President Cruzado did a presentation at BOR yesterday focused on the changes on campus. Seeing the old pictures of so many buildings and what they look like now along with all the new construction really hit home how fortunate we've been as an institution.

I definitely remember that year. I was a freshman, and remember the muddy parking lots, sitting anywhere you wanted, having the student section right behind the bench on the 50 yard line, all of it!!! I lived in Roskie, so we used to watch the away games at Spectators. Man were we terrible that year.