Getting there is half the fun?

Griz fans scrambling for flights to national championship game

Die-hard Montana Grizzly fans didn't wait for Saturday's 34-13 victory over Sam Houston State to buy their plane tickets to the national championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn.

They already had flight plans locked in.

"Last Tuesday I had 17 people come in with the idea the Griz would win and they bought their tickets to Chattanooga," said Floyd McCubbins of Moving Image Travel in Columbia Falls. "If they didn't win, they still have a year to use the ticket."

Flathead Travel agent Anna Marie Scarlett noticed a similar occurrence.

"We have some eager-beaver Griz fans," she said. "A lot of them took care of arrangements on Friday."

Those who waited until after the Grizzlies' Division I-AA semifinal win to make travel plans are perhaps wishing they'd taken the leap of faith and booked an earlier flight.

"All the commercial flights [from Kalispell] to Chattanooga are full," Scarlett said.

Some fans are driving to Spokane to catch a plane to Atlanta, about 102 miles from Chattanooga. As of Monday afternoon, McCubbins said there were still some slots open for round-trip tickets to Atlanta for $550 per person, which included lodging.

"It's hard to say what tomorrow will bring," he cautioned.

Charter flights from Missoula were nearly filled on Monday, travel agents said, and it seemed uncertain whether more planes could be found to add additional flights.

"Every time the Griz are in the championship, there's a mad scramble to find aircraft," said Michael Morrison, president of the Great Falls-based Davidson Travel. "Our phones have been ringing off the hook."

Morrison is spending the week at Davidson's Missoula office coordinating charter plans. His agency was filling 350 seats on two planes, at $1,099 a person. For that price, fans receive air fare, game tickets, two nights' lodging and a shuttle to the game.

Flathead Travel offices are working with Missoula travel firms to secure space on the charter flights, Scarlett said. She hoped more charter planes would be available.

"I can see all those planes flying to Tennessee in formation, like a flock of geese," she envisioned.

Morrison said that ordinarily the market "has a good sense" for the demand of charter flights.

"There's a good chance fans can find a spot somewhere, but I wouldn't procrastinate," he said.

There were some reasonable commercial fares available, he added, but they're all spoken for.

Complicating flight plans is the barrage of college students finishing up for the semester and flying home for the holidays, Scarlett said.

"It starts to be the crazy time," she said.

Some Griz fans are taking in another Montana college game over the weekend.

After the Grizzlies' matchup on Friday with James Madison in Chattanooga, there's an opportunity to make the four-hour road trip west to Hardin County, Tenn., where Carroll College of Helena plays on Saturday against St. Francis of Indiana.

Carroll's Fighting Saints are playing for their third straight NAIA national championship.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com