UL vs. WVU

[Townie72]

I am well aware that no WVU fan would ever admit that they would have been better off in the ACC.

"The Big 12 is a perfect place for WVU", they would no doubt tell anyone who would listen. Of course, they might express the opinion that they should have been picked by the SEC. but since that didn't happen, the Big12 is a great place.

WVU fans --- if any of them would have wanted to join the ACC -- have a legitimate bitch. The ACC changed the requirements for membership. When WVU might have been considered, WVU academics were just too bad for them to be considered. Then as things changed, the ACC found that UL's weren't.

I know there is residual sentiment about the ACC from WVU fans because their forum is non-stop jabbing at the ACC. If they really didn't care, there would be little of this.

WVU would have legitimate rivals in the new ACC including VT, Pitt and SU and schools like FSU and Clemson. Travel would have been much easier. AND they probably wouldn't be getting the stuffing beat out of them like they have this year by Texas Tech and Kansas State. Four Big12 teams have scored 55 or more points against WVU this year.

I have heard the argument that this year's WVU is a bad version. I don't buy it. WVU has had few down years in the past 10+. They are always good but never great. I think the future is going to hold a lot more of these whuppins.

A post from OrangeHeel or someone characterized South Carolina as "Too small to be a separate Country. Too large to be a mental institution". I don't know about South Carolina. But that description seems to also fit "Almost Heaven".

 

[xc84]

WVU - Worst road game experience I ever had. Glad I don't have to even consider going back again.

 

[HtownOrange]

WVU - Worst road game experience I ever had. Glad I don't have to even consider going back again.

I was at the OU-OSU game on Saturday. I spoke to fans of both schools, neither was excited about Morgantown and the fans. OU had just played them and was not happy.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

I was at the OU-OSU game on Saturday. I spoke to fans of both schools, neither was excited about Morgantown and the fans. OU had just played them and was not happy.

Would you rather have our fans or theirs? You can hate them all you want but the fact remains is that I wish SU had a rabid fan-base like WVU's.

 

[xc84]

Would you rather have our fans or theirs? You can hate them all you want but the fact remains is that I wish SU had a rabid fan-base like WVU's.

I like our fans better. I just wish we had more of them. But that has nothing to do with a road trip to Morgantown. It sucked. You can like their fans all you want...go to their games...great. I am glad we no longer play them.

 

[gocraz4dasu]

I like our fans better. I just wish we had more of them. But that has nothing to do with a road trip to Morgantown. It sucked. You can like their fans all you want...go to their games...great. I am glad we no longer play them.

I'm the opposite. I'd rather have a crowd that has teams questioning their sanity than the ones where they sit on their hands and wear colors not of the home team to the games. And I will miss playing them, just as I will and have missed playing all of the old rivalries. Glad to be playing VT and Miami again (I really hate VPI).

 

[MaxwellCuse]

My God. I just paid a visit to the FSU board to see what their fans were saying about the Louisville move and all you see are WVU agitators thick as flies on a turd. They are really swarming tonight.

While the WVU fans I have spoken to are generally happy about their move to the Big 12 -- aside from the travel headaches -- the internet breed doesn't really seem comfortable with the move despite the bravado about playing in a "big boy conference." I think a lot of them have had buyers remorse but are reluctant to admit it. Can't really blame them. They really are out on an island worse than BC was in the ACC. And despite some cultural similarities mountain folk are rarely that comfortable with flatlanders.

I always enjoyed WVU games and liked most of their fans. Too bad Joe Pa's ego had to get in the way of a real Eastern all-sports conference back when it would have been possible.

 

[SWC75]

The ACC could strike a blow to the Big 12 by bringing in West Virginia.

 

[orangenirvana]

The ACC could strike a blow to the Big 12 by bringing in West Virginia.

I'd love to see the conference add WVU and break up football with three five-team divisions.

 

[storange]

I am well aware that no WVU fan would ever admit that they would have been better off in the ACC.

"The Big 12 is a perfect place for WVU", they would no doubt tell anyone who would listen. Of course, they might express the opinion that they should have been picked by the SEC. but since that didn't happen, the Big12 is a great place.

WVU fans --- if any of them would have wanted to join the ACC -- have a legitimate bitch. The ACC changed the requirements for membership. When WVU might have been considered, WVU academics were just too bad for them to be considered. Then as things changed, the ACC found that UL's weren't.

I know there is residual sentiment about the ACC from WVU fans because their forum is non-stop jabbing at the ACC. If they really didn't care, there would be little of this.

WVU would have legitimate rivals in the new ACC including VT, Pitt and SU and schools like FSU and Clemson. Travel would have been much easier. AND they probably wouldn't be getting the stuffing beat out of them like they have this year by Texas Tech and Kansas State. Four Big12 teams have scored 55 or more points against WVU this year.

I have heard the argument that this year's WVU is a bad version. I don't buy it. WVU has had few down years in the past 10+. They are always good but never great. I think the future is going to hold a lot more of these whuppins.

A post from OrangeHeel or someone characterized South Carolina as "Too small to be a separate Country. Too large to be a mental institution". I don't know about South Carolina. But that description seems to also fit "Almost Heaven".

the quote is from South Carolina Attorney General James Petigru after South Carolina seceded from the Union in in 1861 many of you may have recognized it from the Ken Burns series

 

[Cusefan95]

I'm the opposite. I'd rather have a crowd that has teams questioning their sanity than the ones where they sit on their hands and wear colors not of the home team to the games. And I will miss playing them, just as I will and have missed playing all of the old rivalries. Glad to be playing VT and Miami again (I really hate VPI).

I'd rather not be a fan or graduate of a school with a fan base known for throwing batteries and coins at opposing teams cheerleaders (Louisville), assaulting visiting teams fans in the parking lots (LSU), and once attempting to flip over the visiting team's bus (Miami). There's a fine line between rabidly supporting your team and being incapable of co-existing in civilization with other human beings - West Virginia fans are approximately twelve steps over that line. If you consider that admirable, you vastly over-prioritized supporting your team.

 

[SWC75]

I'd love to see the conference add WVU and break up football with three five-team divisions.

isn't ND supposed to play 5 ACC games? Put them in a northern divison "unofficially".

 

[xc84]

I'm the opposite. I'd rather have a crowd that has teams questioning their sanity than the ones where they sit on their hands and wear colors not of the home team to the games. And I will miss playing them, just as I will and have missed playing all of the old rivalries. Glad to be playing VT and Miami again (I really hate VPI).

I've been to VT too... in fact the year after the I visited Morgantown. I had a great time in Blacksburg. Fans were great. We enjoyed some spirited woofing. Unfortunately, VT killed us. I mean killed. But I can tell you this, the next time we play in Blacksburg, I'll be there. WVU does not belong in the ACC and the ACC brass and the ACC fans are well aware of it.

 

[billsin01]

I'm the opposite. I'd rather have a crowd that has teams questioning their sanity than the ones where they sit on their hands and wear colors not of the home team to the games. And I will miss playing them, just as I will and have missed playing all of the old rivalries. Glad to be playing VT and Miami again (I really hate VPI).

I'm more or less for wearing team colors, though I rarely do it b/c I'm too lazy. However, I'd like to say that, apropos of nothing, I'm staunchly against anyone over the age of 25 wearing jerseys of their favorite team. It annoys me somehow -- do we really love these kids/guys so much that we want to wear their actual uniforms? It just seems pathetic.

 

[HtownOrange]

Would you rather have our fans or theirs? You can hate them all you want but the fact remains is that I wish SU had a rabid fan-base like WVU's.

Fair question. I've visited a few other schools with very loyal fan bases. What I enjoyed was that they were respectable. We would disagree about each others' team but there was no violence or personal assaults or insults that kids could not hear, most of it was in good fun. Additionally, I attended many games where I didn't have a dog in the fight and observed how each fan base reacted. Overall, most fans are good enough that you are not ashamed or afraid to bring your kids.

I love the college bands and the fans whooping it up for their respective teams, but being rabid (throwing things at player, tipping over buses, etc.) is too much.

 

[Townie72]

I'd rather not be a fan or graduate of a school with a fan base known for throwing batteries and coins at opposing teams cheerleaders (Louisville), assaulting visiting teams fans in the parking lots (LSU), and once attempting to flip over the visiting team's bus (Miami). There's a fine line between rabidly supporting your team and being incapable of co-existing in civilization with other human beings - West Virginia fans are approximately twelve steps over that line. If you consider that admirable, you vastly over-prioritized supporting your team.

Would you include the pelting of the BC student bus with rocks and bottles by the UConn fans at the last football game played between these two?

 

[orange79]

Too bad Joe Pa's ego had to get in the way of a real Eastern all-sports conference back when it would have been possible.

Please remember the BB-onlies played a big part in that, also. In Marsh's words, F them.

 

[Townie72]

My God. I just paid a visit to the FSU board to see what their fans were saying about the Louisville move and all you see are WVU agitators thick as flies on a turd. They are really swarming tonight.

While the WVU fans I have spoken to are generally happy about their move to the Big 12 -- aside from the travel headaches -- the internet breed doesn't really seem comfortable with the move despite the bravado about playing in a "big boy conference." I think a lot of them have had buyers remorse but are reluctant to admit it. Can't really blame them. They really are out on an island worse than BC was in the ACC. And despite some cultural similarities mountain folk are rarely that comfortable with flatlanders.

I always enjoyed WVU games and liked most of their fans. Too bad Joe Pa's ego had to get in the way of a real Eastern all-sports conference back when it would have been possible.

Maxwell, I'm not sure it was JoePa's ego that got in the way. I'd say it was his greed. The deal he was proposing required the disolution of the Big East and was heavily weighted in PSU's favor. That is, they got a share of the conference basketball revenue but got to keep all their football revenue.

I would bet that the all sports conference that JoePa imagined would have been just as vulnerable to ACC poaching as the Big East was.

Not too many people remember this, but at the time JoePa was suggesting this he was the PSU AD. The problem he was trying to solve was scheduling and travel for the non-revenue sports and also elevating PSU basketball. He was later returned to the job of football coach only.

 

[xc84]

Would you include the pelting of the BC student bus with rocks and bottles by the UConn fans at the last football game played between these two?

I think you have to look at frequency. It think WVU has a deserved reputation for having fans that frequently engage in shouting out obscenities at visiting fans, damaging personal property, & general hooliganism before, after, and during the games. Not only that, but tell a WV fan how you were treated at a game and here is my experience at a single game:

When telling them about the barrage of obscenities and obscene gestures from students & non-students at various spots around Morgantown and the campus I got: "Oh, well you were stupid enough to be wearing Syracuse clothing"

When telling about intentional damage to may car in a parking lot I got "Oh, well they saw you had a NY state license plate"

I was at the game where someone had brought a bb gun to the stadium and starting using it after the horn sounded. (was noted in the newspaper the next day). I am not sure what the excuse was for that one. I am sure it was a good one though. Maybe, "Oh, but at least it was not a real gun"

 

[OttoMets]

I'm more or less for wearing team colors, though I rarely do it b/c I'm too lazy. However, I'd like to say that, apropos of nothing, I'm staunchly against anyone over the age of 25 wearing jerseys of their favorite team. It annoys me somehow -- do we really love these kids/guys so much that we want to wear their actual uniforms? It just seems pathetic.

I'll add that wearing the team's colors does nothing for the atmosphere; we've moved from an era in which virtually no fans wore orange but everyone made a lot of noise to an era in which most fans go out of their way to wear orange but spend the game sitting on their hands or playing with their phones.

There are many better ways of being a "good fan" than dressing in a particular way. Style over substance.

 

[Cusefan95]

Would you include the pelting of the BC student bus with rocks and bottles by the UConn fans at the last football game played between these two?

The only reason UConn fans don't have the same bad reputation as WVU fans is they haven't had enough time to build a reputation yet. I've been to games at both and found UConn fans in general to be worse. Plus my experience with UConn fans at the Big East tourney has convinced me they have a sizable percentage of their fan base that are simply animals (like two 25ish guys trying to start a fight with a 75ish year old Syracuse fan sitting in front of them).

Every fanbase has their collection of a**holes...those two school got more than their fair share.

 

[orangecuse]

I've been to VT too... in fact the year after the I visited Morgantown. I had a great time in Blacksburg. Fans were great. We enjoyed some spirited woofing. Unfortunately, VT killed us. I mean killed. But I can tell you this, the next time we play in Blacksburg, I'll be there. WVU does not belong in the ACC and the ACC brass and the ACC fans are well aware of it.

Blacksburg, VA = Central Square, NY...okay, sorry CS...Pulaski.

 

[DoctorBombay]

WVU fans took that initial ACC rejection very very personally.
It was a kind of reaffirmation of all the "country, hillbilly, hick" stereotypes that folks use against them.
To be spurned because of their academics...well, it put them over the edge, IMO.
They've spent the last year hoping & wishing for the demise of the ACC, all the while telling folks how "happy" they are to be in the Big 12.
Whether they end up w/ the last laugh, we've yet to find out. But as of now, the Big 12's GOR makes them a bit more stable than the ACC.

 

[Townie72]

WVU fans took that initial ACC rejection very very personally.
It was a kind of reaffirmation of all the "country, hillbilly, hick" stereotypes that folks use against them.
To be spurned because of their academics...well, it put them over the edge, IMO.
They've spent the last year hoping & wishing for the demise of the ACC, all the while telling folks how "happy" they are to be in the Big 12.
Whether they end up w/ the last laugh, we've yet to find out. But as of now, the Big 12's GOR makes them a bit more stable than the ACC.

I'd say that your comments about the reasons for much of the WVU fan anger against the ACC are both astute and spot-on. And this latest incident is layered on the WVU fan unhappiness with the 2003 raid in which they didn't want to be included, but which they really disliked. (They suffered from amnesia on their departure from the A-10)

People from WVA seem to be infected with an extreme sense of rectitude which makes them wonderful soldiers (i.e. Alvin York, Chuck Yeager) but which makes them crazy college sports fans. It's way too personal. Schools that took advantage of their contractural right to leave the Big East were "traders" (sic) and BC was pilloried with the worse kind of vile, anti-Catholic rhetoric.

I would take issue with your comment on Big 12 "stability". Since the collapse of the Southwest Conference these schools seem to be as likely to shift conferences as any.

 

[MaxwellCuse]

Townie -- I believe Alvin York was from Tennessee. Doesn't invalidate your point, however.