The Readers Write
January 09, 2006 03:52 PM | General
January 9, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Last week we asked you to give us your thoughts on the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl. The rules were simple: keep it clean and get to the point. Well, after sifting through hundreds of great responses, here’s what some of you had to say:
Hey, you made us proud, played a great game, didn’t give up and held on to win. I would love to see you guys come to Charleston and let’s plan a celebration for the Sugar Bowl champs! Rich Rod is the man! I am so sorry football season is over and I can’t wait until next year.
Let’s go Mountaineers!
Tim Daugherty
Without a doubt my proudest time as a Mountaineer fan has been the last few days since the Sugar Bowl win. I live in Lexington, S.C., which is only 20 minutes from Columbia and home of the South Carolina Gamecocks. I hear how much of a “powerhouse” the SEC is all the time and for our Mountaineers to beat the SEC’s best made it even more of a thrill. I grew up in Lookout, W.Va., watching Jeff Hostetler and Major Harris and dreamed of being in a WVU uniform. I now have my kids, who have never lived anywhere but South Carolina, dreaming of being the next Pat White, Mike Lorello or Steve Slaton. Mountaineer Fever is alive in Lexington, S.C.
Go ‘Eers!
Todd Grafton
Lexington, S.C.
I want to congratulate the Mountaineers on a spectacular season (for the team’s elusive) bowl victory in the Nokia Sugar Bowl. I love the team’s heart and passion for the game along with the coaching staff! I attended the 2002 Rich Rodriguez football camp and it showed me a better look at what West Virginia football is all about! I will never forget one moment of that week!
Matt Ashley
I was born and raised in West Virginia and living in Arizona I don’t often get to see the Mountaineers play football, but this night I hung my flag and donned my sweatshirt and watched the best college game of the year. I’m proud to be from West Virginia and even prouder to be a Mountaineer! Good luck next year, guys. Could a championship be in your future?
Teri Greenwell
Clifton, Ariz.
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| Mike Corl poses with his two sons prior to West Virginia's game against Georgia in the Nokia Sugar Bowl.
Submitted photo |
I was fortunate enough to attend the game this past Monday with my two sons and a fellow alumnus and his son. The entire weekend was magic. From the MARTA rides with fellow Mountaineer fans cheering and high-fiving to being downtown Monday afternoon with Mountaineer Nation taking over the areas from the team’s hotel to Underground Atlanta to the CNN Center and beyond. It was something to see. My kids were in awe of the emotion of the fans and it only increased after the game started. When the clock went to zero and the UGA followers made their way out of the Georgia Dome we continued our celebration for what I wish could have lasted a lifetime. The celebration continued as we walked out of the stadium and out into the night. What truly made this special for me was the joy on my kid’s faces and the memories we have for this event. Thanks to all and Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Mike Corl, Class of 1980
I have gone to almost every bowl game since the 1972 Peach and this was the best. Coach Rod is a keeper!
Pat Wilson
Modesto, Calif.
The look of astonishment on the faces of UGA fans was priceless. Finally, the nation will start to see us as the football powerhouse that we are!
Michelle Jordan
My Christmas present from my son was our trip to Atlanta. How sweet was the Sugar Bowl victory? Well, the Georgia Dome announcer politely asked that “Mountaineers please go home! The Georgia Dome lights will be turned off in 15 minutes.” We sang on chorus after another of “Country Roads” savoring a victory that for those of us of my vintage was long in coming but oh so very sweet!
Tis great to be a Mountaineer!
Kay Comuntzis-Getsinger
I was a student at WVU when West Virginia played Georgia Tech in the Sugar Bowl in the early 1950s. We had a great team, but the sheer speed of Georgia Tech defeated the Mountaineers. My off campus job was as an announcer for WAJR radio, and I was on duty at the radio station agonizing over every score as my buddy Jack Fleming did his usual superb job with the play by play. I have waited over 50 years for West Virginia to win a second chance at a Sugar Bowl, and it was a real thrill for me to see Coach Rodriguez and his band of Mountaineers derail another team from Georgia.
Neil C. Swann
Blanco, Texas
While waiting at the escalator in the Georgia Dome after our great victory a Georgia fan barked, “I can’t believe we got be by a bunch of couch-burning in-breds!” My response was, “My cousin and our kids don’t burn good furniture or bark like sick dogs!” The biggest and best win ever!
R. Rossi, Class of 1969
Who knew when we experienced the euphoria last March of the basketball team’s improbable run in the NCAA tournament that the same feeling would be matched less than a year later by the football team’s Sugar Bowl victory! Yes, it’s a great time to be a Mountaineer fan! Congratulations, Mountaineers, and thank you for a thrilling season! Good luck to the seniors with all your future endeavors … you have certainly gone out in style!
Jill Zundell
After hearing my uncle Bruce Bosley talk about the pain of the 1954 Georgia Tech loss and myself, watching and suffering through the 1994 Florida loss, I am glad that the state of West Virginia has finally got our Sugar Bowl championship. Maybe now, the critics will give our Big East and the Mountaineers the respect they deserve. Go Mountaineers!
Jon Michael Bosley
It was an awesome game – best game ever. I am from Louisiana and I love to watch Coach Rod’s teams. I was there and the Georgia fans were in SHOCK! Go WVU.
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| WVU quarterback Pat White made some new friends during his week-long stay in Atlanta for the Sugar Bowl.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
There were three families in our group that made the trek to Atlanta from Richmond. Arriving around 1:30 pm on Saturday, we were delayed getting into our rooms at the Westin so we decided to walk across the street to McDonald’s to grad a quick meal. While standing in line, we met two nice looking, articulate WVU football players getting some lunch as well. Not knowing who they were, we started asking about the readiness of the team, etc. We then asked them their numbers and when they said number 10 and number five we immediately realized we were talking to Steve Slaton and Pat White. They could not have been nicer. They signed some autographs and let us take a few pictures before leaving with their meals. If these two young men represent the caliber of player WVU is recruiting these days, I couldn’t be happier with our football program.
Jeff Jones, Class of 1975
Natalie Tatje
Rich’s fan club from Tulane
I am 12 years old and I haven’t missed a home game in seven years and this is definitely the best game I’ve seen yet. Before the game I had a good feeling that we were going to win. Georgia didn’t take us seriously. Go Mountaineers!
Drew Keenan
What an awesome time to be a Mountaineer fan. No matter what happens five or 10 years from now, the Big East has WVU to thank for saving the conference.
Vincent Argento
I would like to thank every player and coach who created a memory for myself and my eight-year-old son Clayton that will last a lifetime. The hard work and sacrifice that each of you made has brought a tremendous amount of joy to the state of West Virginia.
Rod Lightner
Winfield, W.Va.
The first quarter was a clinic in speed and execution – and the Georgia fans looked like they were next in line to be executed!
Mary Margaret Meadows
Wow! We drove 12 hours all night from Philadelphia, arriving in Atlanta at 4 am. It seems our reservations were somehow for 2006-07 so just like Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, we went door-to-door with no rooms left at in until we finally settled in at the Sheraton downtown by 6 am for twice the cost! But, what a fabulous game! Bowl games are always a great experience with family and friends regardless of whatever pitfalls you encounter. Way to go, Mountaineers! Thanks for all the great memories – past, present and future!
Lynne Wiley
Wow, what a game! My wife and I came down from Baltimore. My favorite moment? There were so many. I was pumped before the game when our opening video “Let’s Get it Started” began playing and several of our guys pictures were shown on the big screen. The look on Coach Rod’s face when they flashed his pic on the big screen is what WVU football is all about! I’ve been to two bowl games in my life – the Music City and the Nokia Sugar Bowl. I’m 2-0 in bowl games, baby! Bring on the national championship next year!
Corey McKenzie
Two quick tidbits: I stayed at the Marriott Marquis and at their bar Champions at around 2 am they made the following announcement, “We want to thank every Mountaineer fan that visited us and wanted to let you know that over the last five days Champions had the best five days in the history of the bar!” Next, while sitting at the airport I ran into a gentleman that was involved with concessions at the Georgia Dome. He told me that their concession sales for a Falcons game is usually around $1 million and for the West Virginia-Georgia game their concessions sales were about $1.3 million – the most ever. We travel well and we spend money: we are, indeed, great fans.
Kenneth Kidder
I was a freshman for the Major Harris 1989 Fiesta Bowl season. I was a senior for the 1993 Sugar Bowl season. I am a proud alumni member of the 2006 Nokia Sugar Bowl champions. In Rod we Trust! Let’s Go Mountaineers!
Valarie Renegar
Living in Wisconsin, I don’t get much of a chance to watch West Virginia football. But after watching you in the Sugar Bowl I became an instant fan. I am the head football coach in the small town of Elmwood, Wis., and I would like to say Coach Rodriguez we need to talk. I love you offense and would like to implement in into our program.
Jerry Hannack
Freaking awesome! The boys did it right! I can’t wait to order my season tickets for next year! Let’s go Mountaineers!
R. Sweeney
Atco, N.J.
After promising myself after the WVU loss to Maryland in the Gator Bowl a couple of years ago that I would never attend another post-season event, I reconsidered this year – not on the fact that I thought they would win, but for the sole purpose of showing my support on their fantastic year. Then darn it, they made me more proud than I thought I could ever be of my Mountaineers with their play and true sportsmanship in the Sugar Bowl. The best to WVU, its students, and its athletes.
Dan Blackwood
Charlotte, N.C.
I was 0-3 going to bowl games and I brought my cousin to break the streak. My face was painted blue and as the clock began to run out I realized that after 20 years of waiting to win a huge bowl game the drought was finally over. I noticed all that blue paint was starting to run down my face as I started to cry. I turned to my cousin, Bob, and he said, “See Bill, no problem. The jinx is over.” It was a great day to be a Mountaineer!
Bill Stefanko
AKA The Blue Man
All hail King Richard, I for making this possibly the best season in WVU football history which will only be topped by an undefeated season next year!
Sean
Winchester, Va.
Thanks Rich for having the guts to win the game rather than playing not to lose and we held on in grand fashion. As Phil Brady ran for the first down, a tear dropped from my eye. My wife asked, “What’s wrong?” I said, “Nothing. All is right with the world!”
Joseph Fidler
Pittsburgh
In a place like Prince Edward Island, Canada, located some five hours north of Maine nobody has ever cared much about U.S. college football. Until my staff saw me cry after the Louisville win nobody knew what the WV flying from my car meant. Now everyone knows and everyone watched the game. I didn’t cry after this one, but you get the sense that this program is about to explode. Congrats to Coach Rod and this fantastic group of men. And thanks to introducing Georgia to how West Virginia plays football.
Mike Ross, Jr.
When I first started listening to the Mountaineers at the West Virginia School for the Blind in 1952, I have lived and died with this great football program. I have often thrown radios when we lost to Penn State to actually drinking too much after we finally defeated them in 1984. I have almost everything with a WV on it one can imagine in my house. I am 67 years old now and when I die I can finally be happy knowing we have come to the top of the mountain in football. Thank everyone involved for bringing us to this high level.
Jerry
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