(Here's a snippet of Mike McFeely's column he wrote this week that will appear in the FM Extra newspaper. You can read the entire column later this week at www.thefmextra.com .)
North Dakota State's football team had just finished a crushing of Sam Houston State when Bison coach Chris Klieman walked into the interview room in the lower level of the Fargodome to address the assembled media jackals.
"Hey, were going to Frisco. Heck of a deal," were the first words out of his mouth.
It's soon to be January in Fargo-Moorhead. Must mean it's time to book a trip to Frisco, Texas.
That's the site of the Football Championship Subdivision championship game and it has become the preferred mid-winter destination for thousands of Bison fans. NDSU won national titles after the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons and each year there were progressively more fans making the southerly migration to the upscale suburb north of Dallas.
Last year about 20,000 Bison backers streamed into north Texas from all over America to see NDSU complete its three-peat.
To heck with Arizona or Florida.
Occupy Frisco.
Again.
"A lot of people doubted us. I remember in our first team meeting coach Klieman said, 'I fully expect us to be back in Frisco this next year,'" Bison defensive end Kyle Emanuel said after Friday's 35-3 victory. "We put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of hungry guys. A lot of guys were motivated and here we are."
..............
If there is justice in the world -- and there rarely is -- the Bison will defeat Illinois State and win a fourth straight title.
There'll likely be 20,000-plus NDSU fans trying to make that happen.
"I couldn't be happier for our seniors," Klieman said. "They've been through a tough, long road. To be able to get this opportunity to go back I'm so proud of these guys to be able to lead this team again back to Frisco for the fourth consecutive time. That's so special to me and those seniors."
(Mike McFeely is a talk-show host on 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. He can be heard 2-5 p.m.weekdays. Follow him on Twitter @MikeMcFeelyKFGO.)