Wyoming sophomore linebacker Brian Hendricks grew up hearing gory Border War stories — from the Colorado State perspective.
His father, former CSU fullback Mike Hendricks, told of pregame brawls. His grandfather, former Aggies lineman Joe Hendricks, embellished tales of mascot kidnappings.
“A huge fight broke out before a game, the benches cleared, he was part of that, that makes it a lot more exciting,” Hendricks, a 6-foot-1, 223-pounder from Burlington, said of his father’s participation in the longtime rivals’ 1978 “coin toss” melee.
Cooler heads are expected to prevail Friday at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins when Wyoming (5-6, 3-4 Mountain West Conference) seeks bowl eligibility while CSU (3-8, 0-7) tries to avoid a winless league season.
Hendricks’ family DNA will trump CSU allegiance when his father and grandfather sit with Wyoming fans.
“My grandpa wears a couple of Wyoming things he swore he’d never wear in his lifetime,” Hendricks said. “It’s really nice to have all that support, even though they played at Colorado State.”
The family patriarch said: “I never thought I’d wear the stuff. It’s almost as bad as wearing CU stuff.”
Joe Hendricks’ participation in the rivalry preceded the Bronze Boot trophy, a boot worn by a former CSU ROTC cadet in Vietnam. The eldest Hendricks interrupted his college career to serve in Korea in the early 1950s.
“We always stole their horse and they stole our ram. There were riots on the city lines,” the former Aggie recalled.
It’s not that Brian didn’t have his opportunity to attend Colorado State after winning Class 1A player of the year honors in Burlington. He also drew some Big 12 Conference offers as a two-time state wrestling champ-ion at 215 pounds. But Wyoming out-recruited CSU.
“The reason I came here is (Cowboys defensive coordinator) Marty English. I liked the things he offered. I liked the defense, the facilities,” Brian said. “I wasn’t looking to go where my dad went or where my grandpa played. I was just wanted to make my own decision.”
“Don’t send my son to Wyoming U., a dying mother said.” — “Fum’s Song,” CSU’s post-World War II fraternity row drinking song about rivalries and the Rams’ unofficial school fight song
“It was tough,” Mike Hendricks said of his son’s decision. “Then people started telling me Fum McGraw’s son played for Wyoming, so I guess I’m not the only one.”
It didn’t totally ease the hurt.
“We all were pretty shocked,” Mike said. “Of all the schools in all the world, Wyoming and CSU, that’s some serious action there.”
Joe Hendricks said: “I couldn’t believe it. Wyoming was always our enemy. But once he did it, I admired him for it.”
McGraw was the former Aggies player, coach and administrator whose name is revered at CSU.
“He was my hero,” Joe Hendricks said of his contemporary.
The nastiness of the Border War rivalry in the 1950s was more rooted in the student bodies. But by 1978, Mike’s freshman year on campus, the teams and the coaching staffs were the combatants. Mike recalled the grand entrance through the stands in Laramie orchestrated by Sark Arslanian, CSU’s coach at the time.
“They had the idea to bring us down the top of the stands and all of us going out for the coin toss, which is typically not a good idea in this game,” Mike Hendricks recalled.
Fisticuffs ensued. Mike wouldn’t say if he threw a punch or was a recipient of one, other than, “I was in the mix. I’m not proud of it. Emotions were pretty high.”
In another Forrest Gump moment, Mike Hendricks later took handoffs in 1980 from Rams quarterback Steve Fairchild, now the CSU coach. CSU’s victory over Wyoming in 1980 went into rivalry folklore as “The Drive.” (At least until Wyoming’s drive to win the 1996 game.)
“Mike’s a good guy,” said Fairchild, who is preparing his offense to play against his former teammate’s son.
Mike Hendricks had nothing but good things to say about Fairchild, who was much less uptight back then.
“He called his own plays,” Hendricks said of Fairchild. “The receivers would bring in the play and he would roll his eyes and say something about that not being a really good choice and then he would call his own play, and it worked.”
Brian Hendricks sat out Wyoming’s game Saturday against Texas Christian because of a sore ankle. There’s no way he will miss Friday’s game, he said. The first-year starter ranks second in MWC tackles, averaging 11.2.
English still recruits Colorado and along with current Wyoming coach Dave Christiansen said the state will remain the Cowboys’ recruiting base. That only adds more fuel to the rivalry. Fairchild said Colorado will always be a priority recruiting ground.
“All the Colorado kids are like me. They had a choice between Colorado State and Wyoming,” Brian Hendricks said. “They picked Wyoming and it adds a lot more excitement to this rivalry.”
Added his father: “It’s a little different perspective when you’re 50. I’m a ‘Poke fan, at least for the next three years. And Dad, when his grandson is playing, he’s a Wyoming fan all the way.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
