By ERIC HERTER
MORGANTOWN — Pizza and a navy-blue toilet certainly seem like an odd combination. But not when it comes to the WVU fandom of Karen and Joey Spencer.
It’s the pizza and the toilet that are part of superstitions and displays of Mountaineers affection for the Spencers as they enter the 2021 football season with renewed hopes of a successful season.
Karen, 68, and her son Joey, 39, have both been fans of the Mountaineers all of their lives and if you take one look inside Karen’s home – where Joey grew up – it’s easy to see that Joey had little choice in the matter.
“(The Mountaineers) are the biggest part of Morgantown,” Karen said. “They represent the entire state.”
WVU may represent the entire state but it’s Karen’s “Mountaineer room” that represents her passion for the school and its teams. The room features blue and gold carpet, a pool table with blue felt and yes, a bathroom with a blue toilet and sink.
“It’s harder to find a blue sink than you would think,” Karen said. “I used to have a roll of toilet paper that said ‘Go Mountaineers (&%$#) on Pitt’ but someone stole it. You talk about mad; I was irate.”
The Spencer family has been season ticket holders since the 1980s and Karen missed just four games prior to last season when COVID-19 restricted attendance.
In fact, the Spencers do not really mark time traditionally in their household. Much of their lives is marked by events that happen at Milan Puskar Stadium. If Karen can’t remember the detail about a game, it’s Joey that finishes the thought or vice versa.
For two of the games that Karen missed, it was due to a trip to the Bahamas.
“My husband (Bill) won a trip to the Bahamas, and I didn’t want to go,” Karen said. “The second game was right around the time that my daughter (Stephanie Farber) was pregnant with our granddaughter.”
Joey, an IT specialist at The Dominion Post, said that second game missed was especially tricky because it was the 2005 Virginia tech game.
The other two games she missed might have resulted from her love of the Mountaineers. She broke her ankle after the game walking from the stadium to her car and had to miss two games.
“We were walking on the sidewalk and things were going slow,” Karen said. “Bill said, ‘Let’s move around these people.’ ”
But the grass was slippery, and Karen fell and broke her ankle.
“I didn’t want to miss the games,” Karen said. “I was going to have Joey take me on crutches, but Bill sold my tickets.”
Both Spencers have their favorite memories and superstitions when it comes to games.
Karen fondly remembers a win over Penn State in 1984 and she has to have a Kahlua and cream before each game.
“I just like that we beat them,” Karen said. “I dislike Pitt, but I really hate Penn State. I don’t know why; I just hate them.”
For Joey, his favorite game is the 1993 Miami contest.
“Probably the biggest game that I have been to for us,” Joey said. “One of the first big games that I remember, I was down on the field for that one. On the Miami sideline. We knew some people that worked the gate there and they let us go down there and stand.”
Joey even made an appearance in The Dominion Post for that game – his left leg was in a photo from the contest.
As for superstitions, Joey has to have a pizza before every contest. Not just any pizza though, it has to be from Milano’s on Greenbag Road, although that choice has evolved over time. He’s not quite sure where the tradition started but it seems to revolve around the Pizzeria Italia that used to be below Kegler’s and when that closed, he followed those same employees to Milano’s and has stayed with that franchise even after a move to Greenbag Road.
“It’s not about the pizza, it’s about the people,” Joey said.
He mentions that he knows everyone at the store by name and runs through the history of the store and where the children of the owner live and work. It truly is more than a superstition for Joey, it’s a passion. In fact, he used to have a picture of a pizza as his Facebook profile.
“I know the whole family,” Joey said. “It’s the best pizza in town. A lot of times, I am finishing a pizza as I am walking in the gates at the stadium. I don’t even tell them my name wen I call in the order – they know.”
As the years have gone by, Karen and Joey have stuck together with their seats even though there used to be a bigger group of eight to 10 people who would get together. As the 2021 season kicks off, both have high hopes for a quality season. Karen was hoping for an undefeated year while Joey was a little more realistic with hopes of seven to eight wins.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about blue toilets or pizza for the Spencers; it’s about spending time together and enjoying something they are passionate about.
“I grew up with it, it’s our team,” Joey said.
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