Precisely one year ago in the pages of the Minot Daily News, I declared that we were approaching the biggest weekend of football in the history of Minot.
Both Minot High and Bishop Ryan were playing home games with a berth in the state title game on the line.
Minot State was playing host to Jamestown College with a chance to win the Dakota Athletic Conference outright. A win would have also virtually guaranteed the Beavers a berth in the NAIA playoffs.
Oops.
Yeah, that didn't work out so well. Both the Lions and Magicians lost and had to watch the Dakota Bowl from home. The Beavers lost too and didn't make the playoffs.
In the office, we referred to it as the "Black Weekend," and my co-workers joked that I had basically cursed all three programs with my column on the significance of the games.
We even voted for the weekend as being one of the top area stories of the year. The unfortunate set of events finished No. 9. Leave it to those morons in the media to blow things out of proportion.
Things have changed this year. Minot High and Ryan's season have already come to an end. But Minot State is in a eerily similar situation. By beating rival Dickinson State on Saturday, the Beavers will earn a share of the DAC title and have a good shot at making the NAIA playoffs.
The last thing I want to do is jinx the Beavers in their effort to win their second shared conference title in as many years and make the NAIA playoffs.
So I won't be touting Saturday's affair as a huge game, even though it has all the elements of a real humdinger.
It won't be easy. When I was growing up, there were a handful of big days on the sports calender every year. One was the Minot State/Dickinson State football game. Another was when the Blue Hawks traveled to Minot to play the Beavers in basketball.
We were taught as kids that every time Dickinson State lost a game, an angel got its wings.
Normally, I would probably write about how big it would be for the MSU program to get back in the NAIA playoffs. This time I'll pass.
Usually, I would write about how great it would be to see a huge crowd at the game cheering for MSU. Not this time.
I might even mention how nice it would be to see the Beavers whip those weasels from Dickinson for the second time this season. For now, I'll resist the temptation.
It may still be a huge game, but you won't hear about it from me.
(Chris Bieri is a sports writer for the Minot Daily News. He can be reached by e-mail at cbieri@minotdailynews.com)