BILLINGS — Montana football fans are back at their favorite bars and restaurants in Billings, rallying behind the University of Montana Grizzlies and the reigning national champion Montana State Bobcats as the new season gets underway.
Watch football fans talk about their excitement for the football season:
At Hooligan's Sports Bar, Tyler Schaff and Drake Schake had been counting down to opening day all summer.
"I'm not even kidding, I have been marking every day on my calendar," Schaff said Saturday.
The two are fired up to see the Bobcats back on the gridiron, with one goal in mind.
"There's a lot of things, I think our team's gonna be pretty good, but mostly winning another national championship," Schaff said.
They weren't taking any chances when it came to game-day seating, arriving well before kickoff.
"We got here like six. Six, yeah. The game's at eight, but we wanna be early," Schaff and Schake said.
Hooligan's manager Olivia Easton says college football Saturdays fill the bar fast.
"It gets way busy. I would say definitely Cat, Grizz. We get pretty much no open seats in the house. Every single seat is full," Easton said.
For some fans, game day is more than 4 quarters — it's an all-day event. Schake already has his playbook drawn up.
"You get up, 6 AM, you go hit the freaking range. You go golf, you have a great day with the boys, right? You start college, right? You start watching football on your phone, right? And you get down there, you go hit a great breakfast at the High Horse, right? Keep watching football there. Then you rebound, you go back home, shower quick, put the jersey on, head out to the bars, have a great day," Schake said.
Over at Tiny's Tavern, the rivalry runs just as deep. Kristina and Patrick Hedges spend the season cheering for different sidelines — one for the Cats, one for the Griz.
"We do really well throughout the year and then on Cat Grizz, then all bets are off," Kristina said.
The reigning national champion Bobcats opened their season in St. George, Utah against Utah Tech. Kristina says the excitement has been building all week.
"Very excited. I watched the national championship this morning in anticipation to this, so I'm very ready for them to play."
In a house divided, the competition never really stops.
"(I'm) ecstatic," Kristina said. "It's a game changer for sure," Patrick said.
