Theee Catrabbit wrote:Theee Catrabbit wrote:
You have a rival?

Who Western Washington? Southern Washington? Northern Washinton?

Seriously ....I would say you have good teams to play. But Montana fans do not rate beating you as high as beating Montana State, and vice versa. You've played in big games, everybody has, but true rivalry games are another thing. We've played North Dakota State UND,and USD for nearly a hundred years with state pride on the line. You've played Montana for about thirty and are trying to fabricate something with Portland State.

So nice try "dude"(who the hell still says dude?), with that weak sauce you are puttin' on the plate.

Nice attempt at being dismissive, but a "rivalry" is not predicated on schools having to be in the same state. It's also possible to have more than one, or in fact multiple, "rivals". Of course UM considers MSU more of a rival than EWU - they are in-state and have a lot more history. EWU has only been Division I since 1983 and didn't join the Big Sky since '87. The rivalry with Montana has developed due to the proximity of the schools (hour and a half apart), and the fact that both are generally in the upper echelon of the Big Sky Conference and the FCS. The UM/EWU game this season was the most highly attended game in Wa-Griz history, so it's obviously a game people want to watch. Add to that the fact that it's usually a game that's decided by just a few points or a last minute play, and yes, it is a "rivalry", although apparently not by the seemingly high standards that abound in the Dakota's.
As for your smarmy comment about who our in-state rivals are, we don't have one, considering we are the only Division I schools that plays football in Washington outside of the two Pac-10 schools. If you look at just the Big Sky Conference, NAU, PSU, Weber State, Northern Colorado, and Idaho State are all in the exact same position as EWU in regards to being FCS football schools that play in states with 2 FBS schools. Sac State is sort of in the same boat, but they have in-State UC-Davis and Cal-Poly. If you look across the country, there are tons of FCS schools that are in the exact same position. So does the fact that all those schools don't have true in-state rivalries somehow diminish the brand of football that's played, or make the games less meaningful? Do the players not play as hard? I don't understand the point that you're trying to make, if there is one.