I began my college career in the fall of 2004 at NDSU having attended just one Bison athletic event prior to that point, which was one relatively meaningless basketball game in 2002. That means that, upon my arrival, the only time we played that school up north was a baseball game my freshman year. No football, no men’s or women’s basketball, no volleyball and no softball.

Our natural rival was gone, so the university was left in a bit of a bind.

 

In 2005, the movement to try to get South Dakota State as our “new” rival really gained steam from the athletic department and the university itself. It started with the creation of the Dakota Marker and achieved prominence as the season progressed with the coaches, administrators and players all mentioning how important the games were and how they viewed the game as a rivalry game in each respective sport.

 

The comments from the fans were interesting, to say the least. Many fans and more than one publication, including the one I wrote for, The Spectrum, had columns and comments about how the rivalry was being thrust upon us, how it was just one big joke and would never really be a rivalry. It was merely a feeble attempt by the athletics department to drum up some interest and try to sell some additional tickets in lieu of having the real deal. The big rock was just a weak effort to duplicate the Nickel.

 

And you know what? Maybe they were right. Maybe this rivalry doesn’t have the same fire that UND did. Maybe we’ll never hear the student section yell, “Jacks suck!” the way we hear them say, “Sioux suck!” Maybe the only time we will be able to recapture that sort of passion is when, and I believe it’s a when, not if, we play that school again. Maybe all of those things that were written in those column and comments were true.

 

But in the last couple of years those people who were vocal about how contrived this rivalry is are a little bit harder to hear. I have had the opportunity to travel down to SDSU for football, women’s basketball, men’s basketball and volleyball over the last four years. And for those who haven’t been down there, I can promise you that Frost Arena gets rocking pretty well when the Bison visit. Their fans are very passionate and knock everything up a notch when the Bison come to visit.

 

And the same is true here in Fargo. The crowds are significantly bigger at the BSA and Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse when the Jacks are on the other side of the floor. The toughest ticket to get in town is to the SDSU football game. The student section has a little bit more pep and brings the noise every time the Jacks are in the building. This weekend’s games are even being televised in both Sioux Falls and Fargo.

Isn’t that what we want in a rivalry? Don’t we just want to have events that we get just a little more excited about a couple of times during the year? All we want are games that we can circle every year on the calendar, right?

 

This rivalry is real, real important and real fun; Friday and Saturday are going to be fun. And that’s rivalry enough for me.