Gloria Swanson Interview, October 30, 2024

Gloria Swanson, a long time Missoula Resident and Griz Football Fan, discusses how she hated sports and then she moved to Missoula and was introduced to the University of Montana’s Griz Football team starting in the 1970s. Swanson discusses living across from Dornblaser field in the 1970s and the change that occurred in the town and for the team when the stadium was built. She talked about the way downtown Missoula’s businesses and economy are tied into Griz Football. Swanson explains how everything changed for Griz football after the 1995 championships. She shows the change in news reports of the games from the 1970s to present day. She discusses how family and friends, especially her children's connection to Griz football came about and how they participate today in Griz Nation. She explains how she and the community reacted to the football rape scandal and the Jon Krakauer book. One of Swanson’s big topics is the way Griz Football brings together people as a community. Interviewer Danielle Brown was a graduate student working on the Griz Nation Oral History Project as part of the Griz130 History Initiative.