Sorry if this was posted.
Griz fans are classy bunch
Posted November 25th 2007 10:50 AM by GoUpstate
Categories: Montana

Wofford senior running back Kevious Johnson was the last player to leave the field Saturday and I was about 25 yards behind, following him through the tunnel toward the locker room.

Montana fans, meanwhile, were filing out of Washington-Grizzly Stadium after their heartbreaking 23-22 defeat to the Terriers. One set of stairs is right next to the visiting players’ walkway. I saw people yelling and pointing at Kevious, so I hurried to catch up to hear what they were saying.

It was things like this:

“You’re awesome, man.”

“Congratulations.”
“You guys have a great team.”

“Take it all the way.”

Montana fans are the best. They prove that you can support your team with incredible enthusiasm and make things difficult for the opponents during the game, yet do it with pure class and make the visitors feel welcome the whole time.

The whole town of Missoula was like that this week. And the Terriers fans message board blew up with so many posts from Montana fans, but nobody was ugly. They didn’t curse or try to intimidate during the game. They weren’t sloppy drunk. They showed mutual respect. And when they lost, they simply applauded the other team and went home. You certainly can't say that for every team in the Southern Conference, that's for sure.

“They are the loudest, but classiest fans I’ve ever seen in my life,” Wofford coach Mike Ayers said.

Keep in mind, too, that the fans on the first rows are within spitting distance of the players and coaches. That, of course, would never enter their minds.

“They are right there. They can touch you. They’re that close,” Ayers said. “They’re rooting hard for their team and they’re giving you stuff like, ‘Hey, coach, you guys can’t complete a pass. Are you ever going to throw again?’ Believe me, I heard them. I heard them too much. But at the end, every one of them told us, ‘Good job. Hope you win it all.’ Awesome people. Just awesome people.”