Touchdowns, tailgates and traditions. There's food, there's fire and there's fun.
It’s two phrases heard around Missoula on Griz-Cat gameday.
"GO GRIZ!"
"GO CATS!"
It's been 122 times that the Griz and the Cats have battled. But it's not just about football. It's also about community.
"We love to tailgate! But this is the brawl of the wild so you’ve got to be here to cheer on the griz... but this is so much fun and everyone's getting along so well," said Deb Parker, a University of Montana fan.
There’s one word that could describe the tailgates outside of Washington Grizzly Stadium
"I just love the game and it makes for so much fun," Parker said.
"I am so proud of my college, it's given me a good career. I’m proud to be a Bobcat always," Lisa Swenson, a Montana State University alumni and fan said.
Even for the Cat fans who traveled from Bozeman, having the game in Missoula doesn't change the passion they bring with them.
"We all take turns with food, we have great friendships. Our kids love it, and we’ve expanded our tailgate to a couple of people around us. We love the food, the comradery, and we love our cats," Swenson said.
Even though it's Montana's biggest rivalry, the Brawl of the Wild draws the two fan bases together.
"It is a fun tradition. For us, it's just like so fun to come here whether either side has it. It’s been such a tradition...every year it's just so exciting to see who's going to come out ahead and honestly, I think it's an even match most years because it's just the deep down ambition to win," Marty Kuntz a Montana State University alumni and fan said.
