Patience Bobcat Fan...Patience

Back in 2002, just as Travis Lulay was about to become one of the best Quarterbacks Montana State has ever seen, I took this photo of my son and decided to make an inspirational poster for myself and a few family members. More of a token of humor in the beginning, it turned out to be an inspiration. Knowing that it does take patience to be a fan of any team, going through the ups and downs, losing to their arch rival and so on.
The Cats were losing this particular match-up, and as the fans cleared out, my son sat there until the end as did many other fans.
Little did I know that shortly after the making of "Patience",  Lulay would go on to help orchestrate a huge "W" in Missoula against the Montana Grizzlies...as a Freshman, eliminating a 16 year losing streak.
This poster did make it around to much of the team and coaches at the time and actually was a fixture on Lulay's refrigerator.
So, here we are, the Cats having a great season, ranked #1 in the Nation for the first time since the 1984 team, then losing to the Griz on our home field. One can only hope that this loss inspires each and every player, coach and fan to come together and finish this season in Frisco Texas with a "W".
We have come a long way over the past several years, more wins, home playoff games, new end zone and a packed crowd with over 20,000 fans at the last game. Momentum has shifted our way and the only way to keep it here is to continue to support MSU and the Cats...and most of all, have PATIENCE!
Go Cats

Montana State University Lights 11-16-11

Today the first corner of the new lights went up! They were working on putting up the NW corner as well just before dark.
Go Cats!

The Gift of Food 2011

Please invite your family and friends to join again this year for a crisp December day of giving back to your community.  Last year, the event raised 14,000 pounds of food and $2,000 for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank – note that the US Postal Service drive that occurs annually in April raised about 18,000 pounds. This year, we have again partnered with the Gallatin Valley Food Bank and set our sights on becoming the Valley's biggest food drive by tripling our impact and raising 45,000 pounds of food.  The need is greater than ever and we think we can accomplish this audacious goal, thanks to your help once again this year. 

The stars seem to be aligning around this year’s event.  Our plans to dramatically increase the awareness we generate for the event are coming together nicely.  Here are some updates:

-          30,000 grocery bags donated: 

o   At last year’s event, we asked a few groups of volunteers to try out the concept of delivering paper bags door to door in the week leading up to the event.  The amount of food collected in these neighborhoods was amazing – in one, almost 80% of the houses had bags waiting on their front porch when the folks arrived on the day of the event to collect them.  As result, Rosauers has partnered with the main sponsors of the event to donate 30,000 paper bags for distribution in the week prior to the event this year.  In order to accommodate folks having to cover their neighborhoods twice within the same week, we have made the size of the neighborhoods smaller this year.

-          Updated website - choose your own neighborhood this year:

o   Based on feedback from last year’s event, we are in the final stages of updating a new volunteer website.  The new website, which is being created by Rob and Jade at Agile Task, will enable volunteers to pick their own neighborhoods on a first come first serve basis. 

-          TV advertising & professionally produced commercial: 

o   We are proud to welcome a new sponsor this year, KTBZ.  The station will be running several TV commercials leading up to the event as well as mentioning the event in their newscasts.  We have secured the support of a professional film maker to produce the commercials.

-          Radio advertising and live on-location spots from the drop-off locations:

o   We have secured a LOT of radio advertising across all of the Gallatin Valley stations this year.  We also have commitments for live on-location shows from each of our drop-off locations in Bozeman.  We are working on getting on the Dave and Dean show and others in the week leading up to the event.

-          GO and sign up now for your neighborhood!

http://thegiftoffood.org/

Call or email me with any questions!

Thanks,

Jim
406-581-7777
jrharris@gmail.com

Bobcat Stadium Lights Coming Soon for Cat-Griz

Subject: MSU News Service: MSU will turn on the big lights for Cat/Griz showdown
>
> Nov. 3, 2011
>
> MSU will turn on the big lights for Cat/Griz showdown
>
> Summary: Bobcat Athletics will install stadium lights in time for the annual cross-state rivalry game, Nov. 19.
>
> Contact: Tracy Ellig, MSU communications, (406) 994-5607, tellig@montana.edu
>
> Bozeman - Montana State University Athletics Director Peter Fields announced Thursday an ambitious plan to have lights in Bobcat Stadium in time for the classic football rivalry between MSU and the University of Montana on Nov.
> 19.
>
> "An incredibly generous anonymous donor has come forward with a leadership donation of $500,000 for stadium lights," Fields said. "Since that development, other benefactors have stepped up to help us reach the goal line."
>
> The lights for the Cat-Griz game will sit on four, 110-foot posts that will stand outside the four corners of the stadium and illuminate the playing field. The four corner lights would be the first of several phases of lighting for the stadium.
>
> "The lights will give Bobcat fans a taste of how spectacular their stadium will look," Fields said. "But this is just the beginning."
>
> The lights from the four posts will allow the Bobcats to practice in real-game conditions as the days grow shorter and the Bobcats play into post season. Beginning Sunday, the end of daylight saving time will considerably shorten the time the team can practice in natural light.
>
> "Lights in the stadium will allow us to practice at our normal time even though it is dark one hour earlier due to daylight saving time. Our student-athletes will now be able to get a consistent amount of preparation time for the crucial late season and playoff games, and we won't have to make any schedule changes that might disrupt or conflict with their daily academic schedule," said MSU Head Football Coach Rob Ash.
>
> While the corner lights will help with practice, it will take three more posts as well as lighting in the spectator and concourse areas in order to complete the project. The overall price tag is nearly $1 million.
>
> The three other posts would stand 140 feet with two shining over the top of the east-side seating and one over the west-side skybox suites. All three would be custom manufactured.
>
> Once done, the complete project would allow Bobcat Stadium to host night games and meet television broadcasting lighting requirements. In order to minimize their affect outside of games, the lights will have three settings:
> 30 percent power for stadium maintenance; 70 percent power for football practice; and 100 percent for games.
>
> The necessary funds have been raised to take the next step in the evolution of the Bobcat Stadium, said MSU Alumni Foundation President Michael Stevenson.
>
> An order for the lighting equipment was placed with Musco Sports Lighting, of Iowa, this week. They will be installed by Martel Construction and connected by Matzinger Electric, both of Bozeman, Stevenson said.
>
> "We are excited to provide this opportunity for our student athletes,"
> Stevenson said. "Fans can anticipate a lot of activity around the stadium as crews have already begun preparations for the installation of the lights."

Go Cats Go --- Rock This House

Jim