Some Bobcats are in Bozeman for just four years, while others have called Montana home for their entire lives. But once their college career ends, many find themselves moving away.
I spoke with Bobcat alums from my hometown of Denver, Colorado to see how they are watching their college town appear in the national spotlight.
“There's hundreds—Denver is like a mecca of Montana State fans,” says MSU Alum, Kyra Flatow.
Flatow was born and raised in Glasgow, Montana. She came to Bozeman to attend MSU. After graduating, she found her way to Denver where she’s been watching her school get national attention.
“It's really exciting for me to watch them get this attention because I think it's very well deserved and it feels like it's been a long time coming,” says Flatow.
For many of the alums, Bozeman became their temporary home.
“I’m from Kalispell like I said, but I lived 10 years off and on in Bozeman working on various degrees, and so Bozeman really started to feel more like home than the Flathead Valley,” says MSU Alum Dale Zachary.
At their new home, these MSU alums bring a little piece of Bozeman to a bar in downtown Denver where they can watch the football games. Where the bar owner makes sure the fans can watch the games.
“‘The time that he put in to make sure we had access to the game down here,” says Zachary.
“We take over an entire two-story bar. It's hundreds and hundreds of Cats and Griz fans all conglomerating together,” says Flatow.
Even from states away they reminisce about their time on campus.
“Could you imagine what this would have been like? If we were going to school that like the call home and the town that a lot of us are so proud to call home,” says Flatow.
As Flatow sees her former school and town in the spotlight, it fills her with joy.
“The town that a lot of us are so proud to call home and being able, I'm like getting emotional, thinking about how many people are going to see Bozeman for the first time and how lucky they are that they are going to find out about such a hidden gem,” says Flatow.
