Earlier this week under a full November moon, the University of Wyoming’s Cowboy Joe and Colorado State’s Cam the Ram held another clandestine rendezvous in a secluded area down near the border.

It’s been 37 months — an eternity in horse and sheep years — since they last got together. It’s a tradition, unbeknown to the general public, started more than a century ago by Joe and Cam’s forefathers.

The two old friends and mascots — Cowboy Joe, a Shetland Pony, and Cam the Ram, a Rambouillet Ram — have been secretly meeting, depending on the weather, almost every year since the late 1960s. It always comes during the week of the Wyoming-Colorado State football game.

The topic of discussion always centers on the great, and often times bitter, rivalry between the two schools.

It’s a rivalry that eventually developed into what folks along the Front Range have come to know as “The Border War.” It’s not only the longest running rivalry for both schools, but one of the oldest interstate rivalries west of the Mississippi River.

The Cowboys and Rams will be meeting for the 63rd consecutive year on Saturday at UW’s War Memorial Stadium. The game will also mark the 109th anniversary and the 100th meeting overall since that very first meeting back in 1899.

At stake is the Bronze Boot, a traveling trophy that came into existence in 1968, and has since become the symbol of this fierce rivalry between schools separated by 66 miles of highway and 2,224 feet in elevation.

“Why the long face, Joe?” Cam said sheepishly while greeting his old friend over a weathered wooden fence.

“It’s been a long, difficult season, yet a somewhat restful one for this old horse,” Joe replied. “Long because we’ve had more turnovers than a bakery, and difficult because it just may cost our head coach Joe Glenn and his staff their jobs. It’s been restful in that I haven’t had to make too many trips around the field because we haven’t been able to score.

“We were able to beat Tennessee and now we want the Boot back, and you guys have it. Having the Boot back in our trophy case would make this season a lot more tolerable, especially for our seniors.”

“I’ve been following you guys this season and I can understand what’s going on,” Cam said. “It reminds me of what we went through last year, and it cost our head coach, Sonny Lubick, his job. It’s sad because I really liked Sonny. Don’t tell anybody this, but I really like Joe, too. Both Joe and Sonny are good guys.

“As far as the Boot is concerned, I think it looks a lot better in our trophy case,” Cam continued. “We don’t care if it makes you guys feel better or not. If you want it, you’re going to have to come and get it. My people won’t give it up easily. They were pretty upset a couple of years ago when your players came over and grabbed the Boot even before the game was over.”

“Yeah, that was great wasn’t it?” Joe responded with a snort.

“No, what was great was last year when we whipped your butts in Fort Collins in the last game of the season,” Cam said. “Just running over and grabbing that Boot and giving it to Sonny … that was great. And what made it even better was it cost you guys a bowl game. Now, that was sweet.”

“Hopefully, we can return the favor on Saturday,” Joe said. “I can see our guys now grabbing that Boot again and giving it to Joe. And then you guys will know what it’s like on the long bus ride home knowing the season is over.”

“That Boot sure has added a lot to the rivalry,” Cam continued. “I also think it’s pretty cool the way the ROTC units from both schools run the game ball to and from the border on Friday before game day. I’ll be there this Friday and so will our new head coach, Steve Fairchild, who is going to show up on a Blackhawk helicopter.”

“I was a little worried when I first heard they were thinking about doing that with the game ball,” Joe said. “I thought they might be thinking we should be running the ball back and forth. I don’t have the energy for something like that. And besides, my legs are too short for something like that.”

“You think you’re legs are short, look at mine,” Cam said with a laugh. “I’m one of the original low-riders.”

And on the conversation went … into the wee hours of the morning … two old friends swapping Border War stories and remembrances, and debating the politics of the series …

Cam: “I see where this Saturday’s game is going to be televised by The Mtn. Most of them are anymore.”

Joe: “Do you remember three years ago when the Border War game in Fort Collins was televised on ESPN Classic? That was pretty cool since Wyoming-CSU games are always classics.”

Cam: “ESPN even sent film crews to Fort Collins and Laramie to talk to folks who have been associated with the rivalry over the years. That segment was aired during halftime of that game, and it was pretty interesting.”

Joe: “Yeah, I know Cam. I was there, remember? It could have been better, though, if ESPN would have come and talked to us. Maybe we ought to put that in The Mtn.’s ear for some future time.

Cam: “That’s for sure. I’ve heard some of the stories from my father and grandfather, who heard them from their fathers and grandfathers. You probably heard them, too. There are some really good ones.”

Cam: “I especially like the one where some CSU people kidnapped one of your forefathers and painted “CSU” on his side. That was pretty funny.”

Joe: “Laugh it up, wool ball. My great, great grandfather said it took forever to get that paint off his side. He was so embarrassed that he didn’t leave the barn for weeks. The one I liked is the year some Wyoming folks kidnapped Cam the Ram and sheered him. Now, that’s funny.”

Cam: “My great grandfather didn’t think it was all that funny. I remember my dad telling me that my granddad nearly froze to death during that game because he didn’t have his winter coat. No sheep should be without his wool coat at that time of the year.’

Joe: “I wonder what kind of memories, if any, will come out of this Saturday’s game? By the way, Cam, do you have any Wyoming-CSU games that are your favorites?”

Cam: One of our family’s favorites is the 1949 game at old Colorado Field. You guys won that game, 8-0, our only loss of the season. The real story of that game came after it was over when Wyoming fans rushed the field and started a riot with CSU students …”

Joe: “Now wait just a darn minute, Cam. I remember hearing stories of that game, too, and the way it was told to me was that Wyoming fans rushed onto the field to congratulate the Cowboy players, and CSU students came on the field and started the riot.”

Cam: “Well, either way, it got so out of control that the police had to turn the water on students and other rioters. When that didn’t work, the police brought out tear gas to break up the crowd. The story has it that it took two weeks for my great, great, great grandfather’s wool suit to dry out. And then it curled something terrible.”   

Joe: “I heard my great, great, great granddaddy was so happy that the Cowboys had won that he had tears in his eyes after the game. My great, great, great grandmother attributed it to the tear gas.”

Cam: “Another great game, perhaps one of the best ever, involved the Bounce Pass.”

Joe: “I knew this would be coming. That was terrible. Can’t you leave it alone?”

Cam: “I think it was 1966 and you guys were unbeaten. It was a brilliant play that came near the end of the third quarter. You guys were heavily favored, and leading 7-3 at the time. We had the ball on your 36-yard line when our quarterback, Robert Wolfe, threw a backward bounce pass, in essence a lateral, to Larry Jackson, who caught the ball and then turned in a great acting job. He acted as if it were an incomplete pass. When everyone else quit on the play, Jackson stepped back and threw a touchdown pass to Thomas Pack. Wolfe to Jackson to Pack; just like Tinker to Evers to Chance. That gave us a 9-7 lead. You guys kicked a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to get the lead back, but Alton Lavan kicked a 26-yarder with 2:00 left to give us a 12-10 win. That was your only loss of the season. We really stuck it to you guys that game.”

Cam: “I also liked the fake punt game in 1994. We were favored, but you guys were pushing us all over the field late in the third quarter. You guys were up 24-7 and had us 4th-and-7 on our own 33-yard line. But we faked the punt and completed a 35-yard pass and then went on to score a touchdown. It just snowballed from there. We got three more touchdowns after that and won 35-24. That was pretty sweet, too.”

Cam: How about you Joe, you have some favorites?”

Joe: “It’s hard for me to clear my head right now thinking about you cheaters with your bounce pass and fake punt. You guys should play the game up front like real men do instead of having to do all this trick stuff.”

Cam: “I wouldn’t say we cheated … it’s more like pulling the wool over your eyes.”

Joe: “That’s cute, Cam, real cute.”

Cam: “How about it Joe, what are a couple of your favorites?”

Joe: “I guess I would have to say ‘The Drive’ in 1996. We both had pretty good teams that year. I remember that CSU scored to take a 24-19 lead in the fourth quarter. We were backed up on our own 4-yard line with about eight minutes to play. That’s when Josh Wallwork took the Cowboys on a 14-play drive in a little over six minutes. The touchdown came on a 6-yard run by Marques Brigham with 1:48 left and we walked out of Hughes Stadium with an improbable 25-24 victory.”

Joe: “The other one was our 35-28 victory over you heavily favored Rams in Joe Glenn’s first year. That motor-mouth Bradlee Van Pelt was your quarterback and you guys had taken a 21-7 lead early and were thinking cakewalk. But we came back to out-score you 28-7. The clinching touchdown came on a 51-yard pass from Casey Bramlet to Malcom Floyd early in the fourth quarter.”

Cam: “That’s enough to want me to graze on gravel.”

Cam: “Hey Joe, do you remember the game at the old stadium in Fort Collins where your great grandfather was circling the field on the track and CSU students hemmed him in one of the end zones? They blocked both ends and wouldn’t let him out. They had to get the police over there to clear a path. I don’t remember much about the game, but I do remember that.”

Joe: “Yup, there have been some funny moments in this series.”

Joe: “How about the time Sark Arslanian sent the Rams down through the CSU student section at Hughes Stadium and onto the field just before kickoff? They ran right into the Cowboy captains at midfield, who were waiting for the coin-toss. I can still see all the pushing and shoving going on, and finally the referee throwing the flag and penalizing you Rams 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct before the game ever kicked off. What was great about that was we went on to win the game. Thanks for the motivation there, Cam.”

Cam: “Yeah, that was pretty insane. But that was Sark. He was always coming up with some crazy thing like that.”

Joe: “Hey Cam, don’t feel bad now if I don’t acknowledge you on Saturday. There are certain things I just can’t do in my own stadium with all those crazy die-hards in there.”

Cam: “Don’t worry about it. I know how it is. We all have our crazies.”

Cam: “Well, I need to start wandering back toward Fort Collins and get my game face on.

Joe: Me, too. Be sure and tell those crazy Colorado people to drive carefully and enjoy themselves in the War on Saturday. I can hardly wait to see their faces when we take the Boot back.”

Cam: “We’ll see about that. Either way, we’ll talk again soon. You be well, Joe.”

Joe: And you be safe, Cam.