Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 57 If the product endures and if the country's most popular league expands, perhaps the time will come when the state of Montana hosts a National Football League team. Crazier things have hap- pened in the history of league expansion. In fact, when NFL owners voted in 2016 to move the Rams back to Los Angeles, Newsweek opined that "they fumbled their chance to create a small-market behemoth akin to the one in Green Bay." e magazine's alternative market selection: Billings, the largest city in Montana. "If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell were searching a map for the epicenter of the Lower 48 that has yet to be colonized by an NFL franchise, he would place a thumbtack in Billings. e closest NFL franchise is Denver, which is 554 miles—or about the distance between Jacksonville and New Orleans—south. e nearest NFL franchise to the west, the Seattle Seahawks, is 817 miles away, while the nearest to the east, the Minnesota Vikings, is 840 miles away." It reasoned that the town of Green Bay, Wisconsin, "home to the most devoted fans in the NFL and approximately 105,000 people," attracts its spectators from the city of Milwaukee and all through Wisconsin. Billings, with a similarly sized population of about 109,000, could theoretically lure supporters from throughout the Treasure State as well as its four boundary states (Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming), none of which are home to an NFL franchise. Sweet dreaming? Perhaps. But until that time arrives, Montana football fans will continue to derive gratification from the sight of see- ing one of its home-grown high school kids or college stars run, throw and tackle in an NFL uniform. Any NFL uniform will be adequate. map for the epicenter of the Lower 48 would place a thumbtack in Billings. PAT DONOVAN b. 1953, Helena College: Stanford Position: Offensive tackle NFL experience 1975-83 Team Dallas Cowboys PETE LAZETICH b. 1950, Billings College: Stanford Positions: Defensive end, linebacker; defensive tackle, nose tackle NFL experience 1972-77 Teams San Diego Chargers Philadelphia Eagles TUFF HARRIS b. 1983, Crow Agency College UM Position: Defensive back NFL experience 2007-8 Teams Miami Dolphins Tennessee Titans MIKE FRIEDE with Brian's sister b. 1957, Havre College Indiana Position Wide Receiver NFL experience 1980-2 Teams Detroit Lions New York Giants

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