Point of View |
For the last two years I covered them and realized they are almost more frustrating to write about. Predicting and analyzing an unpredictable team — as we all know Mountaineer football and basketball teams are — makes a reporter look pretty stupid at times.
So here are a few thank yous for the good times and a few mentions of the bad ones. As follows:
Thanks to Don Nehlen for putting West Virginia University on the map and helping it build a respectable athletic program.
Thanks to Ed Pastilong for giving me a chance to see Randy Moss play a football game. In the first game I witnessed in Mountaineer Field I saw the most dominant college football player I have ever seen. He didn’t win the Heisman Trophy and his Marshall team didn’t beat WVU that day, but every time he touched the ball, Mountaineer fans held their breath. Moss certainly talked the talk, helping contribute to the enormous amount of hype leading up to the first game between the two West Virginia Division I teams in 80 years. That made the victory all that much sweeter.
Thanks to Amos Zereoue for forcing fans to glue their eyes to him every time he touched the ball out of fear they’d miss something they’d never see again. The guy finished 10th in the Heisman Trophy voting as a sophomore in 1997. When I came to WVU that year, I had heard of Zereoue, but as someone who didn’t follow WVU football, the name stuck in my head only because it was unusual. I didn’t know that watching him run was like seeing an artist at work. It was almost like he toyed with his opponents, making them look like helpless fools. If AZ broke through that first line of defenders, not many defensive backs stood a chance. A juke here and a glide there and that safety was looking for his jock strap. Zereoue never was and never will be a Barry Sanders, but he is the only player I’ve seen that made moves that popped the thought in my head.
To put Zereoue’s second season in perspective, all you have to do is look at the numbers. He was second in the country in yards per game while leading the Big East in rushing with a school and conference record 1,589 yards — and he missed a game. The conference’s second-leading rusher, some 491 yards behind, was one Edgerrin James. All he’s done is become the NFL’s Rookie of the Year, rushing leader and a starting pro bowler.
Zereoue still holds the career rushing yards and touchdowns record, despite leaving a year early. In 1997 he ran for 234 yards in a memorable effort in South Bend and 206 in a win at Miami. For those of you that never had a chance to see him play, I’m sorry. There won’t be anyone else like him.
For all the excitement Zereoue created that year, it could never compare to the magical run the WVU basketball team went on in the winter. Thanks to the six seniors — Greg Jones, Jarrod West, Brian Lewin, Damian Owens, Adrian Pledger and Brent Solheim — who led the Mountaineers to their first Sweet 16 appearance in three decades.
That season provided the best sporting event I’ve seen at WVU in the past four years. The mighty UConn Huskies walked into the Coliseum with their shiny No. 6 ranking to take on the No. 17 Mountaineers. They walked into the drunkest 15,000+ fans imaginable at a basketball game. And they (we) weren’t very nice. Khalid El-Amin can vouch for that. Everyone was there, many waiting most of the day to get to their seats. Even Dick Vitale visited Morgantown. He left saying West Virginia had the best fans in the country. Connecticut left with an 18-point loss and it wasn’t that close. El-Amin exited eating a piece of humble pie.
West Virginia looked like the best team on the planet that night, but in typical Mountaineer fashion, it lost to Syracuse the next game. In typical Mountaineer fashion, Gale Catlett’s boys lost their final three games, including a first-round exit in the Big East Tournament.
Concerns about not making the NCAA Tournament arose. The NCAA selection committee gave WVU a No. 10 seed and sent the Mountaineers to Boise to take on John Chaney’s Temple team. It didn’t look bright. Most didn’t think they had a chance. In typical Mountaineer fashion, they demolished the Owls by 30.
Next was Cincinnati, coached by WVU alumnus Bob Huggins and seeded No. 2. No chance, right. At least that’s what everyone thought. Then West caught the attention of the country. His knuckleball bank shot from 25 feet was as ugly as they come. But, for this generation of Mountaineer fans, it was the most beautiful shot they’d ever seen. A three-point loss to eventual runner-up Utah in the next round ended the dream. But for two weeks everyone in American knew where West Virginia was. And they didn’t even mention Richmond.
Over the following summer, attention switched back to the gridiron. Anticipation was mounting for the biggest home game ever. No. 1 Ohio State was coming to Morgantown for an 8:08 kickoff against the No. 11 Mountaineers. Things were going to be fun. The Buckeyes’ roster featured names like Germaine, Wiley, Boston, Winfield, Diggs, Montgomery and Katzenmoyer, just to name a few future pros. Ken Yon Rambo, Reggie Germany, Garry Berry, Derek Combs and Steve Bellasari were just young pups at the time, not good enough to see the field, but they too are in the NFL.
I’m not sure if many fans actually remember the game, but it started out pretty well for the Mountaineers. Amos Zereoue took the opening play 11 yards around left tackle. Seven plays and 37 yards later, Jay Taylor’s field goal gave West Virginia the lead. For a moment, even if it was just a brief instant. Mountaineer fans had hopes of a national championship. Thanks for that feeling guys.
Thanks to Marc Bulger, David Saunders, Shawn Foreman and Anthony Becht, who along with Zereoue formed one the best skill position packages in the country.
There isn’t much to be thankful for in an academic year where your football team goes 4-7 and your basketball team doesn’t play a home game so we’ll skip 1999-2000. Although, defeating Michael Vick and undefeated Virginia Tech would have made the year one to remember. But, let’s get real, these are the Mountaineers. Breaking their fans’ hearts is a tradition.
This past year’s happenings are still relatively fresh in the minds of most fans so we won’t get too deep into them. But I have to say thanks to Brad Lewis for showing me what it looks like when a man is perfect, even if just for 30 minutes.
Thanks to the men’s basketball team for showing it could play with any team it stepped on the court with. Thanks for bringing excitement back to the Coliseum.
Thanks to Calvin Bowman for giving West Virginia a player that could play with any in the league.
Thanks to all the athletes that have been so cooperative the last two years. Thanks for making this job easier. Thanks for making it fun.
I guess all that’s left to say is let’s go Mountaineers.
|
|
Feedback | Search
| Opinions | Arts & Entertainment | Sports | Classifieds |
| Campus Calendar | Comics | Horoscopes |
| Archives | Information |
All Rights Reserved.
