Excitement builds in Big Sky - if you can see it

It was Big Sky heaven for a while Saturday afternoon.

On one TV, Eastern Washington was clobbering Cal Poly on SWX.

On another, Montana was in a shootout with Sacramento State on Root Sports.

And then, later in the afternoon, Idaho making its return to the Big Sky in football for the first time since some of the current players were in diapers, and others were yet to be born.

Well, if you could only see it.

THE GOOD news, they say, about Idaho football being back in the Big Sky for the first time since 1995 — more games against teams fans have heard of and, hopefully, more fans attending games vs. said teams.

Time will tell how that actually plays out, but the theory makes sense.

If fans can’t get excited about Idaho facing Montana, Eastern Washington, Idaho State and Montana State again, they shouldn’t complain about the past when they didn’t know (or care) about the difference between Georgia State and Georgia Southern, and who is this Troy team we’re playing — the one from just outside Moscow, the one in Montana, or a club team out of USC?

But the bad news is, unless you can’t make it to the game, and you have to rely on a web stream — that’s when you long for the good ol’ days of the Sun Belt.

When the Vandies were in the Belt, most of their games were on ESPN3, a normally trusty stream.

But nowadays, with some combination of Pluto TV and WatchBigSky TV, good luck. And be careful not to wear out the “refresh” button.

One bright spot — Root Sports’ loss of the Pac-12 a few years ago turned out to be the Big Sky’s gain. Between Root and SWX, there’s a good chance of catching at least one of the area Big Sky teams on the tube each week, especially now with conference play underway.

Meanwhile, many Pac-12 games are now stashed on a Pac-12 Network many of us can’t get.

RANDOM THOUGHT No. 1: Montana needs to go back to wearing those copper uniforms full-time.

That was part of the uniqueness of the Griz back then. Then they changed colors and looked like a one-off of Washington State. I get why they switched — how many copper T-shirts and other like-colored gear are fans gonna buy? If not, maybe break them out once a year for a special home game — not just to honor a legend who wore the copper well.

Besides, what school is married to its school colors anymore anyway? Teams wear whatever the company they’re under contract with gives them to wear, no matter what color they are.

Did you see what Nevada was wearing Saturday, as it gave up 63 points to Toledo? Looked like the Wolf Pack were wearing gray yoga pants.

RANDOM THOUGHT No. 2: Should a Vandal home game be visible via television or even web stream, they should find a way to set up a camera at the 50-yard line.

Looks weird to see all the action either going away from you, or toward you.

I remember in 2010, when Boise State came to town for the last time, and ESPN2 showed up to televise the 52-14 Bronco victory, the World Wide Leader found room for a camera at midfield — they plopped one down right in the middle of the front row of the press box! But at least there was one there.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.