| Rodney and his wife Ellie were native North | | | | for a Minnesota team. Every weekend from |
| Dakotans who had grown up on the plains of the | | | | October until April they would watch the men's |
| northern middle United States. Both of them had | | | | hockey team take-on all of their competitors. |
| come from ranching backgrounds, but they had | | | | For many years they had been season ticket |
| moved away from that and no longer owned any | | | | holders, so they would drive back to Grand Forks |
| cattle for that matter. They had both attended | | | | and spend a couple nights to watch the home |
| the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks | | | | games. The stadium had recently been renovated |
| and had excelled in their education. Unbeknownst | | | | and it was equivalent to a professional hockey |
| to many people, North Dakota sits atop an | | | | team's arena in both size and style. When they |
| enormous petroleum reserve that was easy for | | | | grew tired of making the trips, they were able to |
| the oil companies to exploit because it is on native | | | | tune in on their television and watch the game, |
| soil. Rodney had graduated with a degree in | | | | which was being broadcast by one of the local |
| Geology and got hired by one of the oil | | | | stations. |
| companies who moved him to Minot, North | | | | One year things began to change with the |
| Dakota after college. | | | | television. The Fighting Sioux made it to the |
| Ellie had worked as a bank teller in Grand Forks to | | | | playoffs that year but they were no longer |
| help put herself through college and she stayed | | | | broadcasting it on the local channel. As most of |
| there following graduation because she did not | | | | America had satellite television, ESPN U had picked |
| have any job secured in Minot where Rodney had | | | | up the broadcasting rights to the NCAA hockey |
| moved. They missed each other but kept in | | | | tournament. They listened to the game on the |
| touch by telephone when they could, and Rodney | | | | radio but after North Dakota advanced, it was |
| would make the long trip across half of the state | | | | necessary for them to do something else. |
| on some weekends. The following year Ellie | | | | The following week Rodney contacted the local |
| secured a job in Minot and moved in with Rodney. | | | | distributor and made sure that he would be able |
| They lived and worked in Minot for most of their | | | | to watch the games with one of their packages. |
| lives, and although they were not television | | | | The man reassured him and made it out to the |
| junkies, they were passionate about the Fighting | | | | house within a day. They were all set up for that |
| Sioux college hockey program. Like many people | | | | weekend and watched as North Dakota made its |
| in the state, this was the biggest team to follow | | | | way to the Frozen Four. With their satellite |
| because North Dakota was not home to any | | | | television, they were able to watch ESPN in high |
| professional sports. The closest city with any | | | | definition as the team won the tournament and its |
| professional teams was Minneapolis, Minnesota, | | | | seventh national title. They were so pleased with |
| and given their enormous rivalry with Minnesota, | | | | the other programming that they decided to keep |
| there was no way that they would ever cheer | | | | the satellite even during the offseason. |