MORGANTOWN — Hear that?
If you listen close enough, there’s a chance your ears will be able to pick up the sound of ‘Eers.
WVU football, that is.
The first home game of the coming season is Sept. 8, when the Penguins of Youngstown State pull into town.
And a winning team will be there to greet visiting fans from the school in northwestern Ohio.
That’s because the Goodwill City ambassadors are launching their season in Morgantown that day, as well.
“We’re just happy to get going again,” Sara Bishop said, last week.
Bishop is a charter member of the all-volunteer outreach initiative founded in 2012 to make gridiron sojourners to the city feel welcome — even if they happen to have allegiance to the other team.
Especially if they have allegiance to the other team.
The program was a response to a nasty penalty flag that season following a home loss to Louisiana State University.
A group of visiting fans, including a pregnant woman, were assaulted during the mayhem that followed.
The idea then was to reverse the call WVU fans had carried for years as being less than cordial to the people who would dare cheer against the Mountaineers.
So, The Dominion Post huddled with other city and county entities. The ambassadors collectively went long after that.
They accordion out on game day in Morgantown to offer handshakes, hellos, directions and recommendations on local restaurants, and the like.
There might be a mini-lesson or two on Mountain State history, as well, from the football field to the coalfields.
It helps if you’re both naturally friendly and bullish on Morgantown, said Bishop, the program’s volunteer coordinator.
Right now, “volunteer” is the audible she’s calling from the sideline.
The ambassadors are currently looking for, well, a few good ambassadors.
Here’s the email if you’re interested: goodwillcity@gmail.com.
Put me in, Coach, Susan Riddle said.
A (happy) case of mistaken identity
Actually, she said that last year.
Riddle is executive director of the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau.
She was appointed to her post last year, and when she found out about the Goodwill City ambassadors, she signed on as sponsor — with no two-minute warning at all.
“It’s a fabulous, grassroots program,” Riddle said.
“The Goodwill ambassadors are out there, connecting with the community. They’re out there making a good impression. And that’s so very important. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Bishop, meanwhile, has even been known to walk circuits from the stadium to area hotels, just to remind herself about Morgantown’s hamstring-buzzing hills — which might be a haul for flatland fans from the Big 12 not used to the terrain.
She had to laugh during last season’s Oklahoma State game in Morgantown.
The ambassadors debuted their new jackets and hats in orange for the late October game. The outerwear was a gift from Riddle and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
It was also validation for the program, Bishop said.
Orange is also the team color for the Cowboys from Oklahoma State.
The WVU faithful thought they were making roadtripper Cowboys feel at home.
“So, we had Mountaineers fans welcoming us to Morgantown and wanting to take us over to their tailgates to meet people. They couldn’t have been more friendly.”
‘Stay hydrated’
No coats were required during the 2016 contest between WVU and Youngstown State.
It was 95 degrees that afternoon, and Gwen Smith-Darnell was positively Penguin-wilted as she sweated out the wait in line, so she could root for her Youngstown alma mater.
A man clad in blue and gold approached her.
“Hope it’s a good game for both of us,” he said, handing her a cold bottle of water.
“Gotta stay hydrated,” he called over his shoulder.
“What a nice thing to do,” she said, uncapping the overture.
