The air around Morgantown is positively electric — not just from the recent storms and lightning — as we gear up for the first home football game of the season.
Pat McAfee will be broadcasting his live show from the site of the old Mountaineer Field downtown today. Mon County has canceled school for the day. Fans from both teams are already rolling into town ahead of tomorrow’s noon kickoff. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show will broadcast live between the light blue and teal parking lots beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The anticipation in the air is almost as thick as this week’s humidity.
We imagine the Goodwill City Ambassadors will be out in force, milling around the stadium and surrounding areas to help visiting fans get where they’re going. Which is a good reminder that we can all be unofficial goodwill ambassadors wherever we are in Morgantown this weekend — especially to Penn State fans.
We know, we know — last year’s loss was a painful one, and many of us are still more than a little bitter about it. Let’s keep things civil amongst our fellow college football fans and let the players duke it out on the field.
There’s nothing wrong with a friendly rivalry — as long as it stays friendly. If we’re kind and respectful to the visiting team’s fans, they’re more likely to come back for future matchups. And hopefully they’ll spread the word to friends, family and other fans about what an amazing experience they had in Morgantown, and then those people will come pay us a visit, perhaps for a future game. That’s good for myriad Morgantown businesses, if not exactly good for traffic.
We would want to be treated with courtesy if we traveled to a WVU game in another state. So let’s set the standard for how other teams’ fans should treat us on their turf, and let’s set the bar high.
West Virginia is famous for its friendly, helpful people. As JFK said all those years ago, the sun may not always shine in West Virginia but the people always do. This is our chance to prove it. Let’s go!
