UND students show their pride at a football game earlier this season at the Alerus Center. Photo by Nicholas Nelson/The Dakota Student. 

When UND Students think of Fargo, they often think of the strong rivalry that exists between North Dakota and the Bison.

ESPN’s College GameDay visited Fargo last Saturday to highlight the Bison’s football team and the town of Fargo.

While rivalries are healthy for sports, sometimes they take things to another level.

“To me personally, it’s hard to cheer for NDSU because they have such an elitist mindset. That they think they are the best in North Dakota and there’s no room to share,” UND student Kyle Beauchamp said. “It’s frustrating to hear them compare their football team to our hockey team because we don’t see NDSU playing the football giants like Alabama, and I honestly want to see that happen because I feel it would rightfully take NDSU down a step.”

This mindset is shared by many at UND, but I argue that while it is a rival, any national recognition the state of North Dakota can get is a positive.

A lot of people in the Grand Forks area do not like the Bison. Whether it is because their football team is superior or it is just because they are the other main university in North Dakota, animosity runs rampant when it comes to our neighbors down I-29.

While I am not really a Bison fan, I know a good thing when I see it.

I went down to Fargo this weekend to ESPN’s College GameDay to see what all the fuss is about. I honestly did not have much of an expectation on what I was going to see and do when I got there.

Walking in downtown Fargo, all you could see were people clad in their green and yellow, all scurrying down to the center of town where the music was blaring and the party was starting.

Arriving at the set of ESPN’s College GameDay, the energy was palpable through the streets as 10,000 plus people stood on the curbs and on top of buildings to see Lee Corso and the gang.

“The craziest thing I saw was people lining up at 1 a.m. to get into the viewing area nearest the stage,” UND student Marty Mueller said. “It’s incredible to see so many people turn out in support of not only the Bison, but tons of other college football teams as well. Broadway was buzzing the entire morning — it was awesome to be a part of.”

It is hard to argue that the Bison are not deserving of recognition like this.

Over the past five years, NDSU has gone 5-0 while facing FBS schools. These are schools that have major football programs such as Minnesota and Kansas State.

This team has won three championships in a row and is looking for its fourth, even with a change of head coach.

While you may not like the team, people need to understand that any national recognition the state of North Dakota can get is a good thing.

National recognition means people are more likely to come to North Dakota, which means more revenue for the state.

While people may be thinking that this only benefits NDSU, UND could see some of this benefit as well.

If NDSU continues on this historical climb and wins a fourth straight title, the team will be more popular than ever, and ESPN would be more inclined to return.

UND plays NDSU next season in Fargo on the third week of the season, which in college football is a week when not a lot is happening in the major college programs.

While I am just speculating, the chance is there for GameDay to come back, and UND would get to share NDSU’s spotlight.

Regardless of your opinion of the Bison, North Dakota being spotlighted by the national media is something that we should all get behind.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].