Game Day in Morgantown is a holiday that comes several times a year. Blue and gold is everywhere. You smell the grilling of hamburgers and the scent of Natty Lite. Country Roads is playing in the distance and Milan Puskar Stadium is looking as good as ever. You are in a crowd with 60,000 of your closest best friends. Welcome to the mountaineer game day experience.
If you see any or all of these fifteen things, you know you are in almost heaven. It is basically a sin to not attend football games in Morgantown. Here is a list of the most common things you’ll see when you know you are in your home among the hills on Saturdays of fall semester. Otherwise known as GAME DAY.
1. Flying WV
The flying WV is the symbol of mountaineer nation. Everywhere you look, you’ll see it on someone’s hoodie, hat, or even on someone’s face. The flying WV is made into shortbread cookies, grilled into burgers, and even flying on flags marking people’s tailgating territory. If you see this in Morgantown or even miles away on someone’s t-shirt, make sure you pay your respects and say “Let’s Go”.
2. Blue and Gold
EVERYWHERE. It’s everywhere. It’s a crime to not wear blue and gold on game day. The colors blue and gold are crucial to a successful game day. When you look into the sea of blue and gold inside the stadium, it’s hard to not get chills. You just know you are home.
3. “Eat Shit Pitt”
The “Backyard Brawl”, the rivalry between West Virginia and Pitt, encompasses a chant that seems to never fail to make an appearance on game day. Even if we aren’t playing Pitt (we haven’t in a few years), you’ll either hear or see this chant on game day apparel. Pitt will forever be looked down on by mountaineers no matter who we are playing.
4. Michael, the Mountaineer
If the mountaineer makes a guest appearance at your tailgate, you are WINNING. Michael walks around in his buckskins and the rifle a few hours before game time. He makes guest appearances in the blue lot, chanting “Let’s Go” and posing for photo ops. If you don’t see him before the game, you will surely see him running across the field leading the team, or doing push ups after each touchdown.
5. The Blue Lot
Although there are many lots to tailgate in, the blue lot is the infamous place to be for game day tailgating. It is located directly in front of Milan Puskar Stadium, providing easy access for drunken fans to enter the stadium. The Blue Lot is the most seen tailgating area since it is so close to the entrance of the stadium. It’s hard to walk through without a fellow mountaineer offering you a burger or a beer.
6. Milan Puskar Stadium
The football stadium is where it all goes down. The home of the mountaineers is filled with 60,000 people by the time of kickoff. The excitement and spirit that fills the stadium is truly immeasurable. The stadium provides a student section in the upper level, a lower section, and a senior spirit section. The views from the upper level are breathtaking. It’s an indescribable feeling.
7. The Mountaineers
This is a bit obvious, but if you are at the game you will likely see the West Virginia University Football Team, the Mountaineers. Before the game, there is an event called the “Mantrip”, where the team, coaching staff, and the head coach Dana Holgorsen is lead by the Mountaineer, the cheerleading squad, and the WVU marching band into the stadium at approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes before kick off. If you miss this, then you will catch the team on the field during the game. It’s hard to miss them, unless they’re running too fast of course.
8. Beer
If you aren’t drinking beer, you probably will be soon. Beer and football go together like peanut butter and jelly. Like WVU and mountains. It’s impossible to walk around on game day without seeing a Natty Lite in hand or a cooler full of brews. The scent of beer fills the air, providing a weird sense of comfort that you are where you belong.
9. Keys
At the beginning of every kick off, all fans raise their keys into the air. The noise of the clanking metal symbolizes the beginning of another kick off to the other team. This is one of the many traditions fans do throughout the game, making mountaineer games special and unique. (Don’t lose your keys, though!)
10. Dogs
Dogs are EVERYWHERE. If you are drunk, this is your dream come true. Families and students bring their pets to the tailgates, sometimes even dressing them up in little jerseys. The dogs are scattered throughout the tailgates, but you do run into one, just know you are probably having the perfect game day experience.
11. “WVU First Down”
If you are in the crowd, this will flow off the tongue. Every time we get a first down, all fans raise their hands with their spirit fingers until the play starts and scream “Ohhhhhhhh”. Once the play goes through, fans bounce their arms and scream “W V U, first down” as pointing in the direction the team is playing. This is one of the many traditions fans do, really bringing together the sea of fans as one.
12. Paper Airplanes
If you are a fan in the student section, this is hard to miss. It is an unsaid rule that if you have your ticket in hand, you make it into a paper airplane and see who can get it onto the field. Fans scream and cheer on the paper airplane until one finally makes it on the field. Everyone goes absolutely insane. It’s great.
13. Fans getting thrown
When the mountaineers get a touchdown, fans get thrown into the air (usually without warning) by the people around them. Depending on how many points we have, the person gets thrown that many times. As the points rank up, you see more and more people get thrown as fans count. This can either be really fun or can end up terribly.
14. The Pride
One of the best parts of game day is The Pride of West Virginia. The university’s band is truly special. The Pride completes a pre game show fifteen minutes before kick off, playing The Alma Mater, Hail West Virginia, Country Roads, and Simple Gifts. The band creates different shapes including WVU and the state of West Virginia. It’s truly a chilling performance and never seems to get old.
And last but not least….
15. Country Roads
Whether we win or lose, you are bound to hear the John Denver classic and WVU anthem “Country Roads” during game day. John Denver sang this classic at the opening of Mountaineer Field on September 6th, 1980. West Virginia University adopted the classic song as it’s unofficial anthem, sang after the team wins a game. It is a tradition for fans to link arms and sway as they belt out the lyrics to “Country Roads” to honor their university. You will usually hear this anthem during tailgates and hopefully after the game, meaning that we won.
If you hear this song, on game day or not, know that wherever you are it will bring you back to Morgantown and all of the memories made on game days and at West Virginia University.
If this article didn’t give you chills or bring back memories, you may not be a mountaineer.
Hail, West Virginia, Hail. Let’s go Mountaineers.