It's pronounced "Wah-ferd"

By Ethan Smith / Editor

Dear Wofford Terriers,

It is with much pride as a Wofford alumni that I welcome you to Western Montana this Saturday for your playoff game against the Griz. Hopefully, some of the Wofford athletic department personnel went out and bought you some thermal underwear before the game.

As one of only about a dozen Wofford grads living in the entire state, I wanted to let you guys know how proud I am that you made the playoffs, and to give you an idea of what to expect while you are in Missoula.

First of all, I wish I could give you some secret football strategy to beat the Griz, but I don't have any. You are on your own there.

The reason I don't have any secret football strategy to give you is that Wofford is, of course, known more for its academic reputation than its football team. By the time I graduated, I had learned more about Shakespeare than your option offense.

Naturally, many people here are curious as to just where in the heck Wofford College is (Spartanburg, S.C., is two hours north of Atlanta). Most of them don't know how to pronounce the name, but that's OK — we're used to it.

The Missoulian dutifully reported that Wofford has about 385 freshmen out of a pool of around 2,350 candidates. With such high academic standards, it's tough recruiting and retaining good football talent, I know, which is why your season is that much more impressive.

I fear that with such an emphasis on getting an education, you might get your butts handed to you Saturday, but I can live with that.

Now, I'm not saying the University of Montana doesn't offer a good education. Unlike a lot of state schools like the ones down the road from you, the U of M actually has a good reputation for turning out some high-quality graduates.

But come Saturday, you will be facing some football players who are actually going to college just to continue playing football. I know that's a weird concept for many of you.

Speaking of those bigger state schools, the Grizzly's stadium holds a fraction of the amount of people, but they make a lot of noise.

A lot.

Even though the U of M is about the size of Furman, it's going to sound like you are playing in Death Valley. Be prepared for that.

Although the people here will be rooting for you to lose, they are really friendly. They just take their Griz football really, really seriously.

And why not? They have had great teams over the years, and it's a lot of fun to go to a Griz game.

Basically, these Montana people are just like you. They love to hunt and fish, and watch football, although most of them have never shot a deer in 75-degree weather like you have.

Speaking of which, that white stuff you see here is called "snow." It doesn't hurt, but it's really cold. Missoula just got a foot of it Monday, while it was 55 degrees on your campus.

I haven't had the chance to watch you guys play since you made the playoffs two years ago, and got beat by Appalachian State. I had to search far and wide to find a TV that televised that game, but boy, did you guys have the last laugh this year.

On my wall in my office, I have the Associated Press article about how you beat App State this year, just three weeks after they beat Michigan, the then-No. 5 team in the nation.

Unbelievable.

I have to have something to brag about. I'm surrounded by Griz fans, and they've got a really good team this year (again). It's tough when you see all these people getting all psyched up every week over their football team, and your football team has a better chance of producing a state senator or Fortune 500 CEO than a Heisman Trophy winner.

I feel like standing up in the middle of the office and yelling "My school has a much higher SAT average for incoming freshmen than yours!" but nobody would care.

Rhodes Scholars don't pack football stadiums.

All of which makes Saturday's game that much more special. The fact that a school of 1,250 students could even make it to Division IAA playoffs is nice, but to do so when the school is one of the most academically challenging in its conference — and one of the tops in the Southeast — is extra special.

So, regardless of what happens Saturday, I'm really proud of you all for your academic achievement — almost as proud as I am of the fact that you guys beat the team that beat Michigan.