State of Importance

State of Importance

In everyday life, the state of West Virginia is often the country’s punch-line punching bag.

For the last few years, however, the state had a reason to feel superior to its neighbors – the football program, under native son Rich Rodriguez, had been elevated to new heights and is now mentioned in virtually every preseason national championship conversation.

However, the state pride that had grown for the last three years took two relentless hits over the past month.

First, there was the embarrassing home loss to Pittsburgh in the season finale that knocked the Mountaineers out of the national championship picture.

Then came the more devastating blow: Favorite son Rodriguez, who had been tempted to leave the state for Alabama just a year before, left for greener pastures in Michigan – both literally and figuratively.

While West Virginia prepared for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the team’s second BCS bowl game in three years, even the state’s pride in the football team was shattered.

All of the candidates that were interviewed had ties to the state, but none had the national allure WVU fans had hoped for since the program has become one of the nation’s best.

As the interview process unfolded and the WVU house became divided over the top two candidates – Florida assistant coach Doc Holliday and former Auburn coach Terry Bowden – it started to look like a bad outing against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl would be devastating.

With no coach named, WVU turned to long-time assistant coach Bill Stewart to lead the team in the Fiesta Bowl.

As has been written several times about Stewart, he is easily the most pleasant man in the room – regardless of what room he’s in or who else is there with him. Stewart and his “West By Gosh Virginia” team seemed to be in over their heads.

Teams with interim head coaches have about as much success as network television ratings during the writer’s guild strike.

So when ESPN ran a nationwide poll as to whether or not West Virginia would upset Oklahoma, it was no surprise that 49 of the 50 states said no. The only state that gave the Mountaineers a chance? West Virginia.

Yet West Virginia came out from the start of the game and dominated the Sooners from start to finish.

The Mountaineers defense, last year diagnosed as the team’s Achilles heel, held Oklahoma down long enough to allow its offense to claim a 20-6 lead at halftime.

Oklahoma drew close in the third quarter, but WVU pulled away quickly for its 48-28 win in the desert.

The victory for the Mountaineers was huge from Martinsburg (far East in the state, where Stewart is from) to Morgantown. Even small towns in West Virginia, such as Moorefield (population: 2,500) received the spotlight Wednesday night when linebacker Reed Williams was named Defensive MVP.

Still, nobody embodied the state more than fullback Owen Schmitt – a Virginia native.

The Morgantown hero, who breaks facemasks at alarming rates with his physical style of play, scored a first-half touchdown and helped the Mountaineers to victory. During his post-game interview, the magnitude of the win set in.

Schmitt, as tough as players come, couldn’t find a way to hold back his emotions. He talked about how much the game meant to the players and the state.

Truthfully, Schmitt might not have even realized how much it meant to West Virginia.

Few states embrace a football program the way the Mountain State does. The Mountaineers have no major competition in the state. There’s no Clemson to South Carolina, no Texas A&M to Texas.

The state lives and dies with the Mountaineers.

That’s why, when the entire state of West Virginia celebrated the victory Thursday night, it was easy to see that the Fiesta Bowl embodied everything college football is supposed to be about.

To post a comment, you need to login or sign up.	Fan Comments