BOZEMAN — It was a rainy day on Main Street, but that won’t stop Bobcat fans from rooting for their team. MTN spoke with bars about what they're expecting for crowds for Saturday’s away game against Northern Arizona University.
“The away games are a blast,” said Trip McFall, one of the owners of Cousin’s Pub on Main Street. “We started at Bourbon barbecue down the road and then opened Cousin’s just about a year ago.”
This is the second Bobcat season that Cousins Pub has been open for. McFall says away games are especially exciting.
“Especially downtown, us and the [Rocking] R bar, we always love the away games too, cause no one’s going to the game, but they want somewhere to watch it,” said McFall. He says for away games, he sometimes has to convert the pub’s pool table into an actual table where people can watch the game because they reach close to capacity.
WATCH: Away games in Bozeman bring Bobcat fans downtown
“Capacity up here is right around 140, and downstairs is right around 99, I think,” said McFall.
MTN also spoke with the Rocking R Bar, which expects similar numbers.
“Maybe a good 100 people, 150,” said Ryan Parsons, a manager at Rocking R Bar. Parsons says away games and homes look different for them in terms of crowds.
“It’ll be kind of slow and then as the game picks up – it should get busy,” said Parsons. “Home games are kind of the opposite, so they’ll start off strong and then everyone kind of fades out.”
For one MSU student, Travis Rogers, who was at the Rocking R Bar, going to the bars is more of a pre-game activity. On game days, he will “usually just hang out with a bunch of my friends, get together, barbeque.”
For bars like Cousins Pub, away game days like Saturday are:
“Absolutely magical,” said Trip McFall.
