OT: Pitt vs. WVU 2007

This was the day that we beat Boston College to win the ACC Championship in what was called "the revenge game" (fuck you, Matt Ryan). I've lived in Mountaineer country my whole life, and this was when my hatred for WVU was at all-time high. They were ranked #2 in the BCS with one game to go against Pitt, and if I saw them go to a National Championship (one that they probably would have won against Ohio State), I may have not gone to school for a week.

After watching us beat BC on tv, my dad, sister, and I went to watch the basketball team play UNC-Asheville. When the basketball team ran out of the tunnel, they threw oranges into the stands. The football team arrived either during halftime or right after the game, and everyone in Cassell went crazy. It was a great time except I couldn't get it out of my head that WVU was probably going to the National Championship. Pitt was 4-7 and 4-touchdown underdogs, so I really saw no possibility of WVU blowing it.

As my dad and I are leaving Cassell, I overhear someone telling their friend that WVU was down in the second half. I told my dad because he hated WVU as much as I did, but we didn't turn on the radio during the ride home to listen to the game in case WVU came back and won. My dad might have driven off the road had that happened and we had to hear it.

We stopped at a gas station in Monroe County, WV. My dad called his friend who we had spent the day with in Blacksburg to ask what the final score was. When we found out, I think we smiled and laughed for the next week.

The cashier at the gas station wasn't as amused. We walked in dressed in Hokie gear, and he was pacing around cussing and throwing a tantrum. At this point, the VT-WVU rivalry was still pretty fresh in many Mountaineer fans' minds. He looked at my dad and me and said, "We'll see y'all in the Orange Bowl." My dad said back, "Bring it." I think we left without buying anything. Of course, it's probably a good thing we didn't play them in the Orange Bowl after what we did against Kansas and what they did against Oklahoma.

Here's an article looking back at that game, mainly through the eyes of Owen Schmitt who was WVU's fullback at the time. There's a video at the end that talks about all the #2 ranked teams going down that season (warning: they do talk about the Thursday night Boston College game). Link

Anyway, with this matchup against WVU on September 3rd getting closer, I thought it was appropriate to look back at the happiest I had ever been as a Mountaineer hater. Hopefully September 3rd will bring this same happiness.