If you’ve ever attended a football game in the mountains of Monongahela county at Milan Puskar Stadium, you’ve felt two very distinct emotions. You’ve either felt immense happiness after a win, or you’ve felt the utter disgusting feeling in your stomach after a loss.
Now I know you’re probably thinking, “Well, yeah, of course we feel bad after our team loses. Everyone does that.”
But WVU football is different.
There’s no professional sports team in the state of West Virginia. The closest thing to a pro sport is the West Virginia Power down in Charleston. But for most sports fans in the Mountain State, WVU sports are king. And within that, football is the eternal ruler. If you were to travel up Interstate 68 on a Saturday when the Mountaineers play at home, you’ll see more vehicles with WVU flags and vans with Mountaineer paraphernalia painted on the side than tractor-trailers.
When WVU wins, the town of Morgantown turns into something comparable to Mardi Gras. But when the team loses, the town becomes a ghost town.
WVU fans take their football seriously. It’s not just the students on campus who make the night life special after games. After a win, the atmosphere around the parking lots are just as enjoyable as they are before the game. Fans stick around to cook more food and to welcome other fans in and celebrate the win together. But if the Mountaineers are losing in the fourth quarter, the stands start clearing out and the parking lots are empty by the final whistle.
Never in my life have I seen a fan base go from burning couches to burning rubber back home.
I guess the old adage rings true here. With WVU fans, “when it rains it pours.”
