Fans flock to cyber Lobo Lair

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The New Mexico Lobos are the talk of Albuquerque nowadays, but the Cherry and Silver have always been the focus of one local Web site.

The Lobos are on fire and so are Mark Chavez's fingers.

The Lobo Lair is an online forum dedicated to all things Lobo. It's a place Chavez created for fans to vent and discuss.

Since November, 1,000 new members have joined the Lair.

Chavez gets some donations to run the site, but mainly pays for it on his own.

Locals lounge in the Lair, but members span the globe.

Many fans thank Chavez for the site, including a solider fighting overseas who sent him a gift for helping troops pass the time.

Most play nice in the Lair, but there are some trash talkers.

"We get a lot of guys from different schools that come in and they want to start trashing the site, some pretty bad stuff sometimes," Chavez said.

Former Lobo coaches follow the site and now plenty of Montana Grizzly fans do as well.

"Lots of them, lots of them, they are talking and you know, and a lot of them are giving us a pretty good scouting report of what's going on, they team and what to expect," he said.

Chavez said the site's success is ultimately all about the coaches.

"If they weren't bringing in these great recruits, and doing such a great coaching, the lobo lair wouldn't be anything half of what it is right now," Chavez said.

News 13's Ian Schwartz is following Lobo fans to the NCAA tournament. Check out his twitter page for real time updates .

No. 3 New Mexico will play No. 14 Montana Thursday at 7:40 p.m. You can see the game on KRQE-TV or KRQE.com.