Ah...Football Season!

Articles

Craig Chamberlain

Ah...Football Season!
Aug 15, 2003

Usually I write something that has a political point to it, but I think I need a break. So instead I am going to write about my favorite sport and my favorite team.

I love football. It is my favorite sport without question. The cruelty of it is that football season is so short. Basketball, hockey, and baseball, all of which I find boring, drag on forever. So for a few short months I am happily watching a true sport. Then it is gone.

The problem is this, I cheer on the wrong teams. I mean I like the teams that aren't winners every year. I don't root for Florida State and I positively despise Miami. My favorite team you see is the West Virginia Mountaineers(WVU). It is a sad relationship. Too often I have been disappointed by the team. Last year they suprised the nation to go 9-3 in the season and be ranked 15th in the country, only to get stomped on by an unranked Virginia Cavaliers team.

So it is really a matter of faith to be a Mountaineer fan. You have to ignore history and the facts and hope that they win. I know more often than not they are going to be average at best, and they never win a bowl game. They make a bowl more often than not only to lose to inferior teams. WVU holds the record for consecutive bowl losses. They lost nine before the football gods finally had pity and let them beat Ole Miss a few years ago.

So many heartbreaking losses come with cheering on WVU. How many times must I watch those insufferable Miami Hurricanes steal one? 1996 the Mountaineers were off to a great start I believe we were 6-0, we had the best defense in the nation, but the worst special teams. We were playing guess who, the miami hurricanes. We were leadin 7 to 3 late in the game, with only about 30 seconds to go and we had the ball. Deep in our own territory they punt. I could see it coming like a vision. They were going to block that ount and take it in for a touchdown and win 10-7. Guess what? They blocked the punt and won 10-7. I used every swear word I knew and I think I made some up that day.

That's the way it is every year, heartbreak after heartbreak. But I still await the season and see if we can't beat the snot out of wisconsin in the seasons opener. You learn patience when you're a mountaineer fan.

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Email Craig Chamberlain: craig_chamberlain@hotmail.com

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