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George Ferguson Column: It's time for Northern nation to be heard

From the Fringe...

The Montana State University-Northern Lights are home. Yes, Saturday is the day Lights’ fans have been waiting for. The day when everyone can see the Lights for themselves.

For the second straight season, MSU-N opened its schedule on the road, so fans have had to wait to get the Lights back inside Blue Pony Stadium.

But that wait is now over as the Lights face the Dickinson State Blue Hawks Saturday at 1 p.m. in Blue Pony Stadium.

It’s been well chronicled what has transpired with the Lights prior to the season even starting. There’s no need to go over the details again. But, because of what happened, because of the circumstances the Lights went through last month, I’m guessing Saturday will be an emotional day for the team, the players, the coaches, the entire program.

Those emotions are well justified. After all, this will be the first game that Mark Samson hasn’t coached at Blue Pony Stadium in 11 years. That’s a hard thing, it’s an emotional thing and it’s why it’s justifiable that the Lights will be filled with emotion when they run out onto the green, green grass of the Pony Stadium Saturday.

But as emotional as the Lights will be Saturday, as excited as they will be to play their first home game of the season, they would love nothing more than to feed off a large, loud and emotionally-charged crowd, too.

This is college football, and it’s back in Havre for the first time since last November. And these Lights need your support. They need the student section to be loud and boisterous. They need Dickinson State to see a sea of maroon and yellow clad fans on both sides of the stadium when the Blue Hawks take to the field. They need fans to be loud and make as much noise as possible every time Dickinson State has the ball. They need that noise level to raise even higher on DSU third and fourth downs.

These Lights have been through a lot. They’ve also been working very hard to be the very best football team they can be this season. These Lights are united, they are together, they are one. And they need their fans to be the same.

While it may be a huge football cliché’, I don’t really care. These Lights need Northern nation to be their 12th man. For what these Lights have already gone through, and for how hard they’ve worked already this season, they need and deserve that support. They need and deserve to play in front of big, loud and appreciative crowds this Saturday, and every Saturday that they’re at home this fall.

This town needs and loves college football. And this town’s only college football team loves and needs its fans to be there for them.

Saturday is the first chance for Northern nation to show just how strong it is right now. So if you’re part of that Northern nation, then the only place you need to be on Saturday is inside Blue Pony Stadium.

 

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