Just wanted to give credit to very hospitable West Virginia fans. Almost all were great before and after a very disappointing loss for them.
That's great to hear. Going in I had heard that they were a bad cross between tOSU/aggy/Colorado fans. Glad to hear that that wasn't your experience. Had to be a tough way to lose a game.
Just curious, but looked like to me that except for between the 20s there were a LOT of empty seats. Kind of hard to tell on TV with the blue-yellow alternating colored pattern of the stadium, but looked REAL empty? With Texas coming in to play? Sure WVU is a sub-.500 team this year, but a chance to beat a (bit down) perennial national power at home and the place is half-full? Maybe I wasn't seeing correctly?
From the various shots on Fox/TV, I'd estimate the stadium was 80% full. There were definitely empty seats in the upper section on the ends (above the end zones), but overall it looked like a decent turnout. Also, the stadium noise was quite loud throughout the game, which tends to correlate to a (mostly) full stadium.
The WVU fans in the past rivaled if not exceeded the Ohio State fans in ****** behavior and lack of class. This has not changed for Ohio State but sure has for WVU. When they joined the Big 12 the powers that be set forth a campaign to improve the game day experience for visitors. They have succeeded from all reports the last couple of years. Bravo to them! They are nice people with a gorgeous State they call home. Glad to know that now others can enjoy it to the fullest. Hats off to the WVU fans and officials.
I'm glad to hear everyone was classy. The wva folks that I ran into in Austin last year were all top notch fans. So far, I am glad they joined the Big XII. - Mike
Traveling fans usually will be top notch, Mike. Even the OSU fans that came here to Austin were great. Many even said they were sorry for how we were treated there and how wonderful it was here and that they even sort of expected some form of revenge or poor treatment. It never came.
My in-laws were at the game, said the W. Virginia fans were nothing but welcoming and gracious. By the way, sounds like there was a massive Texas Exes tailgate party before the game, organized by the chapters in D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and western Pennsylvania. Sounds like a good road trip game.
Each and every WV fan I ran into were classy and generous. Most of the WV fans I talked to seemed concerned with their past reputation, and everyone wanted to make sure we felt welcome. At the tailgate, I drank and ate for free starting about six hours before kickoff. Awesome experience.
Man this is great news. Thank you for sharing. I have a new found respect for them, along with a new respect for Holgerson after his interview. Very classy
Stadium was pretty full. There were some empty seats in the top corners but I'm not sure if those were unsold tickets or people packing into better seats.
The WVU fans went out of their way to be friendly and gracious. We had no less than a dozen people come up to us, greet us, and tell us they appreciated us traveling all the way from Austin to go to the game. Even impossibly drunk students were friendly -- if a bit louder in their greetings and welcomes than the adults. From some of their fans I talked to, there has been a campaign by their administration since they joined the Big XII to clean up their act. A few said they don't want to be like Tech. There was at least one (maybe more) ads on their Jumbotron during the game asking their fans to be respectful of others. A couple of coeds from Fairmont, WV (25 miles south of Morgantown) who sat at our table in Kegler's after the game said that over half their students come from New York and New Jersey. They said the reason for that is that the out-of-state tuition at WVU is $30,000 per year, but it is less than is charged in NY and NJ, so lots of their high school graduates come to WVU. They said that it was those students who brought their attitudes and behavior to WVU and were the ones mostly responsible for establishing that reputation -- one mimicking the reputation of the ******** at schools like ohio state and arky (they didn't quite put it that way, but that's exactly what they meant). They verified that the WVU administration has gone on a massive PR campaign to get WVU fans to totally reverse their boorish behavior toward opponents' fans. Morgantown, with the 39,000 students at WVU in a mountainous region, is a tough place to get to, and hasn't nearly enough close-by parking for games (think walking a mile to the game from where you will have to park unless you park at some place like the Colosseum and take the tram). It is a big university in a spot where a big university should never have been built (in the mountains - nobody ever imagined it growing to the size it is now), and is an impossible place to get out of right after a game because of the massive traffic jams (there are only a couple of major roads in and out of it). Those were problems; the fans were not. It's the logistically most challenging destination in the Big XII (not even counting the long flight and the 1.5 hour drive from the Pittsburg airport). And a number of their fans pointed out that they don't go to away games since the closest away game is 850 miles from their campus (Iowa State). They would like to have been part of the ACC (or maybe the Big Ten) or even the Big East, but for a variety of reasons (including that some conferences didn't invite them), their decision makers chose the Big XII. All in all it was a good experience. We'll go back in a couple of years.
Had a great experience as well. Multiple groups came up to us and asked where we were from, and welcomed us to Morgantown. I have an old friend that went to WVU, and enjoyed their tailgate immensely. Everyone went out of their way to greet us and offer free food and drink. In the stadium, people were once again very friendly and didn't get the typical annoying drunks hounding us at road games (plenty of drunks, but they kept to themselves). The most shocking thing was that we got to front of the line at the concession stand, and some lady said she would buy our order (3 beers, 2 pizza rolls, nachos, and a pretzel) to welcome us to Morgantown. We were blown away. Great experience, and we will be back.
I had no interest in going based on their fans' reputation, but I am glad to hear they have apparently changed their tune. I will consider going there in two years, based on our fans experience there. I'll never go to Tech again. I would go to Fayetteville first (been there several times). At this stage in life, I don't need to be abused by a bunch of aholes because I support a football team.
I agree this is good to hear. Over the years I've heard their fan base was awful. I heard on the radio yesterday that since deciding to sell alcohol in the stadium the number of police incidences declined by 79%. Apparently instead of slamming moonshine they are drinking beer instead keeping everyone a bit calmer. Again, that's what I heard on the radio yesterday.
The visiting fans here last year at DKR were classy and I had a feeling they would be this year too. Both games have been about as close and exciting as you can get too.
I agree. About 90% of the WV fans i met were cool. There were a few exceptions, but no fanbase is perfect. Wv fan level was certainly well above average. In addition, ou sucks.
The stadium was about 95% full, the corners of upper decks took a while to fill up, but by midway through first quarter were mostly full. They were not selling tickets at the box office, so officially it was a sell out (their only one of the year). Fans were pretty loud, but not loudest I have heard in Big 12 by any means
Glad to hear. The WV fans in Austin were fine, and mostly very gracious. We met at couple of them at dinner after the game last year and they were super nice.
It's interesting to see that the memory of the awful tOSU fans remains for Longhorn fans who experienced the great win in Columbus. I spoke to the Public Relations Department a few days after the game, and the woman replied something about "a few bad apples....yada, yada". I advised her that it was WAY MORE than a few bad tOSU fans.
