January 17, 2003

Plains Folk: Goat Game

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

This time, no funny business with the goat. The last time I attended the Goat Game--the annual high school boys’ basketball contest between Enderlin and Lisbon--the Goat never showed.  That seemed at the time like an alarming trend. I had recently attended the Cowbell Game (Ellendale vs. Oakes) and suffered the same disappointment. Someone had stolen the Cowbell.

I should explain. Since 1934 the Enderlin Eagles (known earlier as the Soo-Liners) and the Lisbon Broncos (then the Crimson Whirlwind) have competed annually for possession of Redknob the Goat, a quaint wooden trophy constructed by Rev. O.J. Lutness and friends as a focus of school spirit and friendly rivalry. Likewise, since 1946 the Oakes Tornadoes and the Ellendale Cardinals have struggled for yearlong ownership of the Cowbell, which is, well, a cowbell.

Come 1999 I watched the Cardinals take the Tornadoes in Ellendale and claim the Cowbell--only, despite chants and jeers (and a small amount of pushy-shovey activity down on the floor), the Cowbell was not there for the taking as someone had stolen it.  It turned up weeks later, returned under mysterious circumstances.

The following year I watched Lisbon beat Enderlin for possession of the Goat, but there was no goat. People told me there was some confusion about who was to bring the trophy, neither team having cheerleaders anymore, but they were covering up.  In fact the goat had been stolen, and once again, was not returned until weeks later.

Before leaving for Enderlin on Jan. 11 this year, I already knew that Ellendale at home on Jan. 4 had taken the Cowbell from Oakes in an overtime victory. Now for the Goat.

This was a good evening from the start. We came out of Doc’s Café stuffed with great blueberry kuchen. That didn’t stop us from stoking up on 50-cent bars, big ones, sold in the high school hallway before the game.  We got our hands stamped and passed the Joseph’s-coat pile of winter garments in the hall on our way into the gym.

This time, like I said, no funny business. Ransom County Sheriff Conrad Steinhaus escorted the Goat, which for the past year had been in possession of Lisbon, to the Enderlin contest. "Redknob spent last night," Sheriff Steinhaus confirmed, "in protective custody in the Ransom County Jail."

Just prior to the game, Enderlin School Superintendent Jon Kringen carried the Goat to center circle. Let me pause for a moment to describe Redknob.  He has a wooden nail-keg body, filed-wooden horns, beady black-on-white eyes, a beard and a tail that look like teased baler twine, and a red reflector knob in the middle of his forehead.

Anyway, the Goat in place, out of the crowd wove a conga-line of swaying, kicking Enderlin High School girls kitted out in garish outfits and luminescent wigs and anything else they could think of to look ridiculous. Repeating several times the famous "Hurrah for Redknob" stanza, they danced and sang their way around the Goat in preparation for the contest.

Which was won, incidentally, by Lisbon. The Broncos were physically dominant, it looked from the beginning like they had to win, but Enderlin really hung in there and despite getting pretty beat up, gave a fine account of themselves before bowing 55-45.

Afterward, while folks from both sides milled around on the court, Superintendent Steve Johnson of Lisbon quietly carried off the Goat, looking a little sheepish himself.

Outside, the school buses had been left running. Ghostly exhaust haunted the parking lots and curbsides. Voices were subdued as people hustled to their cars, but underfoot, the dry snow groaned in protest. On the drive home we watched willow fingers gather stars from a sky of inky velvet.

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Source: Tom Isern, (701) 799-2941, isern@plainsfolk.com
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu 

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