10 Reasons WVU Football Season is the Best Time of Year

Alyssa Cantisani, Kaitlyn Lopez

1. The stadium- Milan Puskar Stadium roars when 60,000 passionate Mountaineers are chanting “W, V, U *Clap* First down!” or after a big win singing “Country Roads.”

2. The fans- In order to win, the team needs the fans, just because we aren’t on the sideline doesn’t mean we aren’t a fundamental part of the game. They represent us so the least we could do is give them our best chants and our most passionate screams.

3. The rivalry- Everyone has their calendars marked for the Baylor game every year as we face off our biggest enemy in the Big XII.

4. The Pride of West Virginia- If you miss the opening act of the marching band, you’re missing a lot. There is nothing like feeling the stadium shake to get the fans excited for the game that’s about to start.

5. The food- What’s better than football food? The amount that gets brought to each tailgate whether it’s fried food, sandwiches, or hamburgers and hotdogs, it could feed an army.

6. Singing “Country Roads”- Being a Mountaineer you’re always singing “Country Roads” but there is nothing like being with your closest friends after a big win in the Milan Puskar Stadium to make you realize how much you love being a part of WVU.

7. Tailgating- yes of course, you can tailgate for any sport but there is something special about a football tailgate. Something about football makes being woken up at 7 a.m. a lot more enjoyable. Every Saturday game day you can count on campus being filled with students running around in gold and blue.

8. The passion- When you’re a Mountaineer fan, you bleed gold and blue. Through wins and losses, we stick by our team.

9. The Mountaineer Maniacs- Our student section is one of the best in the nation. No one can beat our school spirit. We show up to every game in full force no matter the time of day or weather.

10. Last but not least, it’s football, nothing better.

Meet the Maniac -Executives

The Mountaineer Maniacs Leadership Board is a special kind of board. Not only do we have a mutual love for all things Mountaineer sports related, but we have a mutual love for making the student fans at West Virginia University happy. Within our board we have 6 committees. There is one specific committee that we wouldn’t be able to function without – the executives. This group of 5 guys help to make the Mountaineer Maniacs who they are and you’re about to meet them!

 
I’m Matt Elder! This is my 4^th year on the board and I am your Executive Director for the 2016-2017 school year. I am originally from Boca Raton, Florida and currently in my second year of graduate school finishing up a dual MBA and MS in Sport Management. This will be my 5^th and final year at WVU where I also got my undergraduate degree as a marketing major. I have had so many great memories related to WVU sports, especially through the Maniacs, that it is hard to choose just one. I’d say the Atlanta trip in 2014 when we played Alabama, the Oklahoma trip in 2015, the NYC trip in 2014 where we beat NC State in Madison Square Garden, and the Orange Bowl in 2012 are definitely my favorite memories. Now, most of those games are losses, but the experience was what stuck with me. The great Steve Douglas would always say, “Don’t let 3 hours ruin a 48-hour weekend.” Everyone that was on one of those losing trips would agree we definitely didn’t let a loss ruin our pride for our school and team.

• Dream job?: Working for the UFC
• If you had to choose one food to live off of for the rest of your life what would it be?: Easy. Chicken tenders from Zaxby’s.
• If you could pick two celebrities to be your parents, who would they be?: Will Ferrell and Jennifer Aniston

 

My name is Jake Engle, and I am the Associate Director this year. I am from Amherst, Ohio and this is my 6^th year on the board. I am in my second year of Physical Therapy. If there is a football game that Saturday you will definitely find me in bed, or Backdoor if no home game.

• Favorite form of social media?: Twitter
• Favorite WVU color, gold or blue?: Blue
• How would other board members describe you in one word?: Old

 

My name is Ryan Morrison and I am the Assistant Executive Director with this year being my 3^rd year on the board. I am from Fort Mill, South Carolina. I am in my senior year at WVU with a major in petroleum and natural gas engineering. My first ever Mountaineer memory was beating Virginia Tech 28-7.

• Fun fact?: I’ve been to 42 states, and lived in 7
• How would you like the Mountaineer Maniacs to remember you?: As a passionate life-long fan, but an even better friend
• If you could have one superpower what would it be? The ability to fly

 
I’m Daniel Eby, and I am also an Assistant Director to the Mountaineer Maniacs Leadership Board. I am a senior industrial engineering major with this being my second year being on the board. I am actually from Morgantown originally. My favorite mountaineer memory has to be wearing the Hulk Hogan costume as we beat Kansas in basketball this past year.

• What is your favorite spot on campus?: The law school parking lot, overlooking the hospital and mountaineer field.
• Where will we find you on a Friday night?: Studying of course… Or at Fats.
• Quote to live by?: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

 

What’s up guys, my name is Alan Kitner, and I am the Mobile App Specialist. This is my fifth year on the board and I am a senior general studies major. Originally I am from Dallas, Texas. My first ever mountaineer memory would have to be Kevin Pittsnoggle’s three against Texas.

• Favorite celebrity to follow on social media?: Chad Johnson.
• Biggest pet peeve?: Tardiness.
• Plans after graduation?: Move to Miami, Florida.

Mountaineer Strong

Alyssa Cantisani, Matt Elder

“I was supposed to go to the Virginia Tech – WVU game in 2003, but was hospitalized the day of the game. I had a life threatening infection on my right femur. Emergency surgery was required but it all worked out because I got to watch the game from my room in the hospital at Ruby Memorial.”

-Mark McCahill, Mountaineer

The morning of October 22, 2003 wasn’t just any morning- it was the morning of one of the biggest rivalry games in Mountaineer history. The third ranked Virginia Tech Hokies had traveled to Morgantown to face a WVU team with a losing record. Fans from all over the state had come to witness this historic game, where WVU could defeat the #3 team in the country.

West Virginia University student, Mark McCahill, made plans to tailgate in the morning with his friends before he went into Milan Puskar Stadium. But all of this changed when he woke up that chilly October morning.

Instead of waking up and going through his normal game day routine, he woke up to excruciating pain in his left leg. It was nearly impossible for Mark to get out of bed, let alone walk around. The back of his leg had a black and blue bruise the size of a football.

Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, he was notified that he would have to get emergency surgery. Unlike most, Mark’s first thought had nothing to do with what could go wrong, how scary this could be, or what would come next for him. His first thought was that he had to get a hold of his friend and let him know that he regrettably couldn’t go to the game with him because of his surgery.

After a successful surgery, Mark was taken to a hospital room where he would be spending the next couple of days- forcing him to completely miss watching the game at Milan Puskar Stadium. Luckily, McCahill had a room with a view of Mountaineer Field. Mark watched the infamous defeat of the #3 Hokies from his hospital room window with the commentary from the TV on in the background.

No surgery would stop Mark from cheering on the Old Gold and Blue. McCahill added, “I was cheering and yelling the whole game. A nurse actually had to come in twice and tell me to lower my voice. Who else can say they got to watch one of the greatest Mountaineer games ever from a hospital room?”

Watching in that hospital bed must have been the second best way to watch that game. No matter what happens, never give up on being a true Mountaineer.