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To this day, we have not seen one confirmed case of a battery being thrown onto the field during a football game at Naranche Stadium.

The people in charge of picking up the field have not found rocks or coins, either.

It seems the reputation of the Butte High football fans has been blown a bit out of proportion over the years.

Still, we have heard some vile comments directed at opposing players and coaches from the fans in the stands that hover right above the opposition on Friday nights. Oh, they are nothing worse than you hear at pretty much every high school football stadium in the world, but they are much more noticeable because of the fans’ proximity at Naranche.

Those comments seem to be worse when Missoula Sentinel comes to town. The rivalry between the Bulldogs and Spartans has blown up over the last five years, and Butte fans love to yell at the Spartans.

They scream at the players, and they yell at coach Dane Oliver, accusing him of a variety of illegal activities, including recruiting.

Yes, the Bulldog fans really seem to hate the Spartans.

That wouldn’t be the case if they ever had the chance to talk to J.J. Dolan.

J.J. is a future Montana State Bobcat who played safety for the Spartans. He also played safety and nickel back for the West Side in Saturday’s 76^th Montana East-West Shrine Game at Naranche Stadium.

Dolan, whose father Nate was a member of the 1995 University of Montana national championship football team, was one of four captains to represent the West.

Being selected captain by the other players dubbed the “best of the best” is one an amazing honor. That means, in addition to being really good at football, Dolan is also clearly a young man with great leadership and remarkable character.

The same could be said about the other three West captains — Sentinel running back Adam Jones, Helena Capital defensive lineman Talon Marsh and Florence quarterback Patrick Duchien. You can also say that about the captains on the East Side.

I was lucky enough to talk to all four of the West captains during a podcast last Wednesday at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill.

Being part of the sports radio show KBOW Overtime with Paul Panisko and John Thatcher for so long meant that I got the chance to talk to the West captains every year since 2008.

They have all been incredibly nice guys who are fun to talk to. They all seemed to grasp the cause of the Shrine Game, which raises money for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Spokane.

Dolan, though, seemed to get it more than most.

During the podcast, I asked Dolan and Marsh about their confidence level of victory going into the game. That is a question we asked the players every year, and usually Thatcher baited them into making a prediction of a big win.

Not Dolan.

“We’re not really thinking about that,” Dolan said. “I just think, win or lose, it’s for the kids.

We’re lucky to be here.”

Earlier in the day, Dolan and the rest of the West Side got to meet Gavin Devers, the 8-year-old Dillon boy who is this year’s patient ambassador to the game.

At the West practice, Gavin lined up at running back and ran for a touchdown. All 41 West players were on the field, and most of them were pretending to try tackle Devers.

We saw that same scene play out a few times with Anaconda’s Kasey Morley, a former game ambassador.

After he scored, the players mobbed Devers and chanted his name.

“It was actually very emotional,” Dolan said. “It was awesome to see. We did a couple of chants with him, and it was just emotional to know that we’re out here for him — so we can help kids like him.

“It was awesome. It gave a lot of us boys goosebumps and stuff. It was a special moment.”

That is the magic of the Shrine Game. Years ago, Montana Tech coach Bob Green told me that to play football means buying into being part of something that is bigger than yourself.

Times that by a billion, and you have the Shrine Game.

Last year, the game in Great Falls raised more than $230,000 for the hospital, helping make sure patients never receive a bill. It also helps with travel and other expenses families face when taking their children to the hospital.

The players in the Shrine Game are not just playing for those children. They are also playing for their parents and their brothers and sisters.

Nothing is worse for a parent than to have to travel to take a child to a hospital. They have worries that you cannot understand unless you have been in their shoes.

Because of this football game that has raised well over $1 million since the game started rotating between Butte, Billings and Great Falls in 2010, that worry is a little bit less.

Words cannot describe how much that means to the Shriner families.

Before beginning practice for the game last week, Dolan did not know a patient from the hospital. At least he didn’t know if he did.

Dolan said he was hopeful that he would be selected for the game, which was a longtime goal. However, he said he always expects the worst and hopes for the best.

That best came last Christmas morning when Dolan was named to the West team.

Still, it wasn’t until he came to Butte for practice that he realized just how great of an honor that selection was.

“When you’re playing in high school, you think it would be amazing to be picked in the All-Star game,” he said. “To finally meet Gavin and stuff like that, it made it so much more special than it was back then.”

The Shriners make sure we hear similar stories every single year during the week leading up to the game.

“It’s just a special organization,” Dolan said. “I think I can speak for the team and say we’re very lucky to be playing, and we’re very excited and happy to raise money for the Shriners. You know it’s going to help a lot of people out.”

When it comes to sports, fans are almost always irrational. As Jerry Seinfeld once put it so eloquently, we cheer for laundry.

We cheer for the players wearing our color, and we scream at the players who don a different color.

It is silly in pro sports, and it is even more silly in high school sports.

High school sports rosters around the country are filled with some of the best people. They get up early in the morning to lift weights before school, and they work extra hard to keep their grades up so they can play.

Sometimes, people forget that when they watch the games. They get caught up in the laundry and town loyalty and forget that those are some great people out there playing for both sides.

Luckily, the Shrine Game comes around every year to serve as a reminder.

— Bill Foley, who often gets caught up yelling at laundry, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.