How Montana Could Compete in Trump’s Patriot Games

So President Trump is calling for a Patriot Games to mark America’s 250th birthday next fall. It’s a four-day athletic spectacle, with one boy and one girl from each state and territory invited to compete. Think of it like a real-life Hunger Games, minus the carnage.

“Kids That Run Things”

How kids are selected, or what sports will be run up, jumped over, lifted up, and thrown, is another story. But Montana is in the lineup. Two Montana teenagers could be on a national stage even the Olympics didn’t dare imagine. That’s worth brownie points in our book right there.

Montana Athletes: Quiet But Tough

If you’ve ever watched a Montana kid grow up, you know they are tough. Football players lugging equipment through snowstorms. Basketball players hauling hay. Throwers who developed their technique from a neighbor instead of some guru. You know the sort of underdog energy that might make the Patriot Games interesting.

Chances, Stereotypes, and the Hunger Games Meme

Jokers on the internet already lobbed Hunger Games wisecracks. This is sports, not dystopian fiction. But Montanans do like an underdog story where the introverted teen from nowhere shocks the nation. Let’s face it, we’ve been there before in HS football games and small-town state track meets. I bet we have some archery experts who could easily compete with Katniss.

So, How Will Montana Compete?

And here’s the part that no one knows right now: what sports will be on tap. Will it be swimming? Cross country? Log rolling? We don’t know how much better anyone else’s guess is than ours. However, one thing is certain: Montana will choose two athletes who embody the state’s heart.

As they say in the 2012 hit movie. "May the odds be ever in your favor."