homecoming
At 1:17 a.m. on March 10, 1987, I was born at Mon General Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia.
18 years later on January 2nd, 2006, after living in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas, I now found myself in Atlanta, Georgia yelling at the top of my lungs. Why? Because the West Virginia University Mountaineers had just scored their fourth touchdown, and were leading the heavily favored Georgia Bulldogs 28-0 in the second quarter of the Nokia Sugar Bowl. Just as the Georgia fans, and the American public alike, I was floored. West Virginia had lost 11 of its last 12 bowl games, and the forecast for this one was just as gloomy as in years past. Although Georgia made an exciting comeback, Phil Brady’s fake punt with 1:38 left in the game sealed the deal, and West Virginia shocked Georgia, in Georgia, 38-35. It is considered to be one of West Virginia’s greatest wins ever, not just as a university, but as a state. They’ve been through a lot, and it was a deserving change.
The bowl victory was a highlight of everyone’s holiday. Criticisms of the Big East’s bid to the national title and the legitimacy of the WVU football team left everyone questioning the future of both. Leading up to the Sugar Bowl, the Big East was not faring well, from the shutout by NC State over newcomer South Florida, to the heartbreaking loss of Rutgers in the Insight Bowl. Earlier in the day on January 2nd, Louisville lost a tough battle to Virginia Tech, after leading most of the game. The Big East was 0-3. However, West Virginia realized the challenge they faced, and kept going forward like they always seem to do. Because if everything went down like it was supposed to, why would anybody play?
Quite on the contrary to the spectacular bowl win, West Virginians had to face yet another difficulty. This time it did not involve Chris Fowler on ESPN bashing away at West Virginia and the Big East. Rather, hours before kickoff in Atlanta, news broke of a mine explosion in Upsher County, West Virginia, and little or no information was given on to the cause, nor the current situation of the miners. During each moment of calm in the Sugar Bowl (which were few and far between), Mountaineer fans recoiled briefly to the situation, keeping their thoughts on the miners and their families. This is because West Virginia is an intimate state, where no one is a stranger. Even as I live in Texas, some 2000 miles away, I still feel the connection, the pain, the strength, and the courage of their people. The false claims that the miners survived the explosion dealt yet another blow to everyone’s moral. I thought to myself, “It never ends. Constantly, West Virginia is showered with disappointment, be it a bowl loss, a mining accident, or the butt of someone’s juvenile joke”. But yet through it all, somehow, they manage to keep going forward.
Shortly after moving from West Virginia to Phoenix, I began to almost resent my heritage. I never told people I was from West Virginia, and I laughed and added to the constant jokes about everyone being related to one another, the lack of teeth they have, and how they seemed to come out of the wrong side of the gene pool. It wasn’t until this past year that I began to appreciate where I came from. No single instance in my mind seemed to spark this change in feeling, but none the less, it happened. Maybe it was maturity…no, that can’t be it. Maybe it was the newly found success of the West Virginia University basketball and football teams…I doubt it. Regardless, whatever it was, it came on strong. The jokes I used to laugh at now insult me, and the stereotypes now annoy me. One girl in my Pre Calculus class my junior year of high school asked, in all seriousness, if people in West Virginia wore shoes. I politely answered that they do, yet deep down I was hurt by her ignorance.
I had a conversation recently with my grandfather. We were talking about the mine accident, and he pointed out how proud people are to be West Virginians. I added saying, “There’s a difference between arrogant and proud. People from Texas are arrogant. People from West Virginia are proud”. I say they're proud because by no means do they think they are the best at anything. Their education system is one of the poorest in the country. Many people live economically poor lives. They have Robert C. Byrd as Senator…But they also have one of the most beautiful states in the country, the people are friendly, and yes, they do wear shoes. But most importantly, through the adversity, the people of West Virginia keep moving forward.
18 years later on January 2nd, 2006, after living in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas, I now found myself in Atlanta, Georgia yelling at the top of my lungs. Why? Because the West Virginia University Mountaineers had just scored their fourth touchdown, and were leading the heavily favored Georgia Bulldogs 28-0 in the second quarter of the Nokia Sugar Bowl. Just as the Georgia fans, and the American public alike, I was floored. West Virginia had lost 11 of its last 12 bowl games, and the forecast for this one was just as gloomy as in years past. Although Georgia made an exciting comeback, Phil Brady’s fake punt with 1:38 left in the game sealed the deal, and West Virginia shocked Georgia, in Georgia, 38-35. It is considered to be one of West Virginia’s greatest wins ever, not just as a university, but as a state. They’ve been through a lot, and it was a deserving change.
The bowl victory was a highlight of everyone’s holiday. Criticisms of the Big East’s bid to the national title and the legitimacy of the WVU football team left everyone questioning the future of both. Leading up to the Sugar Bowl, the Big East was not faring well, from the shutout by NC State over newcomer South Florida, to the heartbreaking loss of Rutgers in the Insight Bowl. Earlier in the day on January 2nd, Louisville lost a tough battle to Virginia Tech, after leading most of the game. The Big East was 0-3. However, West Virginia realized the challenge they faced, and kept going forward like they always seem to do. Because if everything went down like it was supposed to, why would anybody play?
Quite on the contrary to the spectacular bowl win, West Virginians had to face yet another difficulty. This time it did not involve Chris Fowler on ESPN bashing away at West Virginia and the Big East. Rather, hours before kickoff in Atlanta, news broke of a mine explosion in Upsher County, West Virginia, and little or no information was given on to the cause, nor the current situation of the miners. During each moment of calm in the Sugar Bowl (which were few and far between), Mountaineer fans recoiled briefly to the situation, keeping their thoughts on the miners and their families. This is because West Virginia is an intimate state, where no one is a stranger. Even as I live in Texas, some 2000 miles away, I still feel the connection, the pain, the strength, and the courage of their people. The false claims that the miners survived the explosion dealt yet another blow to everyone’s moral. I thought to myself, “It never ends. Constantly, West Virginia is showered with disappointment, be it a bowl loss, a mining accident, or the butt of someone’s juvenile joke”. But yet through it all, somehow, they manage to keep going forward.
Shortly after moving from West Virginia to Phoenix, I began to almost resent my heritage. I never told people I was from West Virginia, and I laughed and added to the constant jokes about everyone being related to one another, the lack of teeth they have, and how they seemed to come out of the wrong side of the gene pool. It wasn’t until this past year that I began to appreciate where I came from. No single instance in my mind seemed to spark this change in feeling, but none the less, it happened. Maybe it was maturity…no, that can’t be it. Maybe it was the newly found success of the West Virginia University basketball and football teams…I doubt it. Regardless, whatever it was, it came on strong. The jokes I used to laugh at now insult me, and the stereotypes now annoy me. One girl in my Pre Calculus class my junior year of high school asked, in all seriousness, if people in West Virginia wore shoes. I politely answered that they do, yet deep down I was hurt by her ignorance.
I had a conversation recently with my grandfather. We were talking about the mine accident, and he pointed out how proud people are to be West Virginians. I added saying, “There’s a difference between arrogant and proud. People from Texas are arrogant. People from West Virginia are proud”. I say they're proud because by no means do they think they are the best at anything. Their education system is one of the poorest in the country. Many people live economically poor lives. They have Robert C. Byrd as Senator…But they also have one of the most beautiful states in the country, the people are friendly, and yes, they do wear shoes. But most importantly, through the adversity, the people of West Virginia keep moving forward.