My wife and I were newly married and barely 20 years old when we left the fast pace, over hyped state of CA. We found a home for 17 years in Grand Forks. We have sense moved to the East Side of the Twin Cities.

There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of my experiences in ND. I often find myself sticking up for the state both of my children were born in and my wife and I began our careers.

People outside of ND have no clue what the state and towns represent. I can sum it up in one word, community.

Grand Forks lived through three horrible incidents while my family lived there. The 1997 flood, Northwood tornado and Dru Sjodin murder. I witnessed the entire community of Grand Forks, and surrounding communities, band together and support each other. Unless you were present, you can’t explain it.  This is never something I would see in CA or MN. There are good people everywhere, but even more so in a community like Grand Forks.

It is safe to say that in one way or another, someone in each Grand Forks household benefited from either the education, employment or services UND provides.

Lipp has no clue what the Sioux community thinks about the name. Lipp has no clue what it’s like to have something that identified an entire community stripped away by people who have political agendas(NCAA).

Grand Forks didn’t just lose a mascot/name, we lost our identity.

Lipp, while educated, should have some life experience before he ridicules an entire community. The fans, players and coaches have every right to cheer “Fighting Sioux”. Lipp better buck up and get used to the chants and memorabilia.

I am not an educated man, but I would expect his article to only fuel the fire of The Fighting Sioux nation.

My suggestion to Lipp is to get some life experience before you act like a man.  Until then, Go Sioux…

Brett Navarro, UND alumnus