Missoula Beats Bozeman in Record-Breaking Can the Cats Drive

When the dust settled on the field of Washington–Grizzly stadium, the scoreboard read Bobcats 31, Grizzlies 28. It wasn’t the outcome a majority of fans at the stadium wanted that day.  

Even though the results of the game may not be what a lot of people wanted, there are still some positives that came from the Brawl of the Wild. 

How the Can the Cats Competition Works 

Missoula won the annual “Can the Cats” food drive over Bozeman this year. This is the first time in four years that the Missoula community has raised more food and money than Bozeman. Not only that, but this is the first time since the friendly competition has begun that the Missoula community raised over one-million pounds/dollars with the food drive. 

Last Year’s Numbers: A Quick Recap

For every dollar donated to the food drive it equals one pound of food. When you add the two totals up, last year, both Missoula and Bozeman combined raised about 1.3 million pounds of food. Last year, Missoula collected 649,278 $/lbs. of food, while Bozeman collected 652,877. Bozeman won by a mere 3,533 $/lbs. of donations. 

Missoula’s Record-Breaking Milestone 

This year, both cities almost doubled their totals from last year. Missoula raised 1,091,755.20 $/lbs., while Bozeman raised 1,018,613.5 $/lbs. Missoula not only won, but it beat beat Bozeman by over 73,147 $/lbs. this year. 

READ MORE: Montana's Real Thanksgiving–You Did it Again!

The great thing about this competition is that there are no losers. It also shows how much people in Montana care about their neighbors and friends.   

The Bobcats may have won the “Brawl of the Wild”, but we can say we did indeed “Can the Cats” this year. Who knows, we may be seeing each other in the playoffs soon.