Peter Christian brings his faith to games as Griz announcer

Roman Stubbs
GameDay Kaimin

For nine seasons, Peter Christian has been the big guy upstairs in Washington-Grizzly Stadium as the voice of Montana football.
“I’ll never forget when I first was offered the job, I felt so lucky to be able to do this,” said Christian.
A Helena native, Christian’s path to being the lovable PA voice on game days wasn’t as easy as merely talking.
“I hadn’t seen a lot of college football games, so my first time up there was a little rough,” he said. “But everyone remained very supportive and I got gradually better.”
Now, he can’t get enough of Saturdays.
“We don’t sit down up there the entire game, it’s that much fun,” said Christian, who is quick to point out that as the PA voice, he isn’t the only one contributing. “Without my spotter, John Wall, I would look like a complete idiot.” Wall helps Christian with names, plays and timeouts. “He is a complete genius,” Christian said. “I depend so much on him; we really work together.”
With his original name being Peter Wall, he asserted his Christian faith into his broadcast career when an employer told him to come up with a radio moniker.
“People know me as Christian, and it is a name to show my faith,” he said.
He also attributes that to his job as the PA voice.
“I go by the hot stove theory; everything I touch is going out to the stadium,” he said. “I just remember to represent God, the University and myself in the best possible way I can.”
Christian’s hot stove theory has won him the respect of others in the business. He recalls meeting the sports information director from Sam Houston State, who told him that he admired his work and enthusiasm as the voice of the Griz.
“He’s one of the best in the country, by far,” said Mick Holien, Montana’s radio network flagship play by play announcer. “He’s such an entertaining guy to begin with, and he works with so much enthusiasm.”
Holien, who has known Christian for about 20 years, was the Griz PA announcer before Christian.
Christian’s signature has become the first-down cry, in which he yells “first down”, and the fans respond in a climactic “Montana.”
“To be fair, that isn’t mine,” he said. “I kind of picked it up from an old announcer when I was watching an Idaho game a few years back. He would be pretty enthusiastic about the first down, so I figured we would add the Montana part and bring it to the Big Sky.”
Christian said a lot of Big Sky teams have picked up the idea.
“I think the ultimate compliment to Peter is when fans of the opposing teams complain when he screams ‘first down Montana,’” Holien said. “He’s so good at it, has so much energy, that they want their announcer at home to do it.”
Christian’s rise in the radio business began after a friend suggested he become a disc jockey to channel his love for music.
“I was playing drums in a local band with my friends, traveling the country and trying to make a living as a struggling musician,” Christian says, laughing about the nostalgic moments of his youth. “And then my friend told me to get involved as a disc jockey, and I joined the number one network in Helena, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
Since then, he acknowledges the hard work he must put into the business.
“I didn’t graduate with a degree in journalism, so I feel like not only have I had to teach myself a lot about this business, but also that I have to work that much harder to be successful,” he said.
Christian has taken that work ethic to Clear Channel Radio Network, where he has been for over 20 years. He rises at 3 a.m. every morning and is at work at 3:30 a.m. to begin his duties at the station. At 6 a.m., he hosts the award-winning Montana Morning on KBGO 1290. He then returns home around 10 a.m. to work at his own business, Peter Christian Communication, which is a commercial hub to radio stations nationwide. The full schedule doesn’t get to a humble Christian.
“They are really full days, but I love it,” he said. “There is always five or six people behind the scenes who are really doing a lot of the work; so I have a lot of help with my work.”
Married and a father of two, Christian stays loyal to not only his faith and career, but also to his game day ritual. “I park way across campus,” he said. “Then I grab my briefcase, pop and paper,” he continued, chuckling at his superstition. “I’m all nervous, you know, I’m walking across campus, just talking to God, hoping to have a good day doing my job,” he said.
When Peter Christian arrives at the stadium, he is thrust into a nine-year labor of love, as the voice thundering over the stadium. Even before game time, before he has to pronounce tough names and plays, even before a “first down Montana” cry, Christian might be reflecting on his own lucky job, and take his own time out.
And thank the big guy upstairs.