Montana State Bobcats Football

Right, gather round, because we really must have a proper chat about the Montana State Bobcats, the college football team that makes Montana's famously bonkers weather look positively predictable by comparison. Based in the delightfully named town of Bozeman — which sounds less like a settlement and more like the noise a cartoon character makes when startled — Montana State University has spent decades serving up gridiron drama so intense that locals treat checking their pulse as a legitimate post-match ritual. The Bobcats play their home fixtures at Bobcat Stadium, perched at a breezy 4,900-odd feet above sea level, which means visiting teams don't merely have to beat eleven blokes in blue and gold; they also have to negotiate air so thin that breathing becomes an extreme sport in its own right.

Why Bobcat Fans Might Be the Hardiest Supporters in All of America

And speaking of negotiations, let's discuss the supporters, shall we? Bobcat fans are a breed entirely of their own making. These are people who happily tailgate in temperatures that would convince a polar bear to dig out a sensible jumper. Autumn in Bozeman arrives with all the gentleness of a cornerback blitzing off the edge, and yet thousands of devotees still deck themselves out in blue and gold, clutching thermoses of coffee strong enough to strip paint, and cheer through snow, sleet, and the occasional mysterious weather event that meteorologists simply refuse to classify. It is worth noting, of course, that cats famously despise water, which makes it all the more fitting that the only swimming these felines do is in the opposition's tears.

Now, no discussion of Montana State football is complete without mentioning the Cat-Griz rivalry, also known as the Brawl of the Wild, a fixture so ancient and so gloriously petty that it has been running since 1897. That is over a century of neighbours in the same rather large state glaring at one another over fence posts, supermarket aisles, and family dinners. Marriages have reportedly been strained, friendships suspended, and at least one grandmother has allegedly disowned a grandson purely for wearing maroon. The trophy at stake, the Great Divide Trophy, sounds like something out of a fantasy epic, and frankly the whole affair has all the drama of one.

The Bobcats themselves have form, mind you, with national championships to their name and a recent habit of marching deep into the playoffs like a herd of very determined, very organised cats — which, given how unorganised cats famously are, is an achievement in itself. The programme has developed a reputation for ferocious defence, a roaring home crowd, and an uncanny ability to ruin the weekends of teams who made the mistake of scheduling a trip to Bozeman in November.

So if you fancy football served with mountain air, sub-zero atmosphere, and supporters whose loyalty is harder than the granite the campus sits upon, the Montana State Bobcats are your team. Just bring a coat. And possibly a spare coat for the coat.