Sports commentary: A day to remember
Someone pinch me. I feel like I’m
dreaming.
Could it really be true that the
Bigfork Vikings football team is hosting the state championship
game Saturday?
The season feels like a blur, despite
the fact that it has lasted four weeks longer than most.
I guess somewhere in between all of the
victories even I, with my stacks of stats and results covering my
desk, lost track of how far Bigfork football has come. I am not
alone in this, though.
Victory after victory this season I
have asked the Vikings’ head coach Todd Emslie why the team didn’t
appear more excited after winning.
Each time the coach, who has made it
through Bigfork’s so far 9-2 season without having the water cooler
dumped on him even once, usually gave me an answer something along
the lines of, “I don’t think they know what they have done.”
While the past two games the boys have
finally started to show emotion similar to the overtime win last
year against Plains that broke their 28-game losing streak, I think
it is now those on the sidelines and in the stands who are in
shock.
As parents milled around after
Saturday’s game they greeted each other with the question: “Can you
believe this?”
No matter what the final score is
Saturday when Bigfork hosts Fairfield, it will be a special
day.
This is only the second time in school
history that Bigfork has ever made it to the state championship
football game. In 1995 the Vikes traveled to Frenchtown to vie for
the championship, but lost 12-0 after several controversial calls
were made against them.
It is rare that a team gets to host
straight through the playoffs, which is a matter of seeding but
also location. This year happens to be the west’s turn. However,
since Fairfield entered into the playoffs as a No. 2 seed and
Bigfork is a No. 1 the Vikes were destined to host this game either
way.
Hosting the past three weeks has helped
the Vikes gain momentum as much as it has helped their fans. They
have tailgating down to a science and the decorating of the town in
school colors is getting more and more impressive each week.
Bigfork is the first town in the Valley
to host a state championship football game since Whitefish did so
in 2001, when Fergus (Lewistown) traveled west and beat the
Bulldogs 12-9.
Since Bigfork is known for getting into
the spirit of the holidays, its residents are certainly prepared to
make Saturday a big deal.
A stadium that just two years ago saw
nearly only parents, now has people arriving an hour-and-a-half
early to stake out a seat. Bigfork alumni of all ages have returned
to watch the Vikes play the past few weekends.
As my friends discuss ditching their
tickets to the Griz/Cat game to watch Bigfork play in the state
championship, the magnitude of the day becomes even more real. It
is not just important to the players, their parents, the school and
those in the world of high school sports. It is important to
Bigfork.
On Monday I asked Emslie what he
thought about how far these boys have made it. After all, every
team talks about making it to the state championship, but the
Vikings have actually done it.
“Every once in a while I stop and think
about that and I’m just in awe of those kids,” Emslie said. “I hope
they stop every once in awhile and think about it too and take a
good look around. Especially hosting it. That never happens.”
There is no doubt that Saturday will be
a tough day for the Vikings, but I, like Emslie, hope that the boys
and those close to them take time to enjoy it.
We only get a few opportunities in life
to be a part of really big moments, and in even fewer of those do
we get to be active participants.
This game will be all about every one
of those Vikings leaving everything on the field, and every fan
watching every play and doing all they desire to get into the
spirit of the game. Living in a small town, we are afforded the
opportunity to get an up close view of often otherwise out-of-reach
events. Take the time to enjoy it.
Win or lose, it will be the last time
you will get to see Travis Knoll, the boy who has scored 32
touchdowns and rushed for more than 2,000 yards play for Bigfork’s
football team.
Christian Ker, who has evolved into a
steady leader at quarterback, will walk off the Vikings’ field for
the last time Saturday afternoon.
Linemen Jerry Rose, James Vale, Anthony
Curtis, Jessie Kelso and Anthony Baker will clear the path for
Bigfork for their last game.
It will undoubtedly be a game to
remember as these seniors, as well as the other June 2011 graduates
on the team, cap off their high school football careers playing in
the big game of the year.
While I have a great deal of respect
for the Bigfork Elves and Decorating Day, I’d like to repeat the
words of a man that once held my same position at the Bigfork
Eagle.
“This weekend...should be proclaimed
‘Bigfork Viking Days,’” wrote Kevin Crough in his sports column in
the Nov. 15, 1995 edition of the Eagle, which came out days before
the Vikes’ last appearance in the state championship football
game.
That year, the Elves had even
rescheduled Decorating Day to allow for the number of people that
would be missing from the Village to travel to Frenchtown.
With Bigfork hosting, and plenty of
time between the start of Decorating Day and kickoff, there is
clearly no need to reschedule the town’s annual event this
year.
However, all other tasks ought to be
put on hold. Your relatives will understand if your house is a mess
next week when they arrive for Thanksgiving, there are plenty of
people who will buy your Griz/Cat game tickets off of you and ski
season is still two weeks out.
So go get layered up for the cold
weather and come watch the big show. It’s going to be a good
one.
The boys have repeatedly told me they
are looking for some revenge on this team who handed them their
only other loss besides Missoula Loyola this season, and they are
confident that the title is within reach.
Don’t miss out.