Traveling with Maniacs
September 29, 2006 09:55 AM | General
September 29, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - I joined the Mountaineer Maniacs on their trip to Greenville, N.C. last Saturday to watch the Mountaineers play the East Carolina Pirates. Being a first-year graduate student, I am now in my fifth year of membership in the Maniacs. I always try to take advantage of their fun and affordable trips to away football and basketball games. There is nothing quite like being with a group of students with a passion for Mountaineer sports equal to mine.
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| Christopher Marshall, third from the left, poses with some of the Mountaineer Maniacs during West Virginia's 27-10 victory at East Carolina last Saturday.
Submitted photo |
At 2:20 a.m. Saturday morning, 87 groggy, sleep-deprived students boarded two buses headed for Greenville. The general routine of a cramped bus trip quickly ensued. My attempts at sleep were hopeless. We have all been on buses where the seats reclined about half a millimeter and this vehicle was no exception.
After drifting in and out of sleep for the first two hours, I realize this is a lost cause. I might as well try to be productive with my time. I noticed my friend and Maniac Trip Coordinator James McBurney had also waved bye-bye to any attempt at restful sleep. I took the opportunity to talk with him and learn some of the finer points of the Maniac organization.
According to McBurney, the Mountaineer Maniacs were born out of necessity. During the 1999-2000 season the WVU basketball team was displaced from the Coliseum while asbestos was removed from the facility. Doug Skaff, who was student body president at the time, believed that because students did not get to see men’s basketball games on campus, they were not getting their money’s worth out of their athletic fee.
President David C. Hardesty Jr. agreed, and the University paid for students to go to Mountaineer home basketball games played in Wheeling, Fairmont and Charleston. Following that season, the Maniacs became the student-run organization they are today. Now in their sixth year, they have grown from 600 members in their inaugural year to a membership that now totals more than 3,700.
A native of Charleston, McBurney describes why he believes the Maniacs have become so successful.
“This organization is built on friendship ties and a common love for Mountaineer sports,” he said. “Without the students passion for Mountaineer sports, this organization wouldn’t be close to what it is.”
McBurney has noticed that in the last two years the trips have become more of a weekend event rather than just a trip to see a ballgame.
“Rusty Secrist and Mike Parrish really did a lot as officers last year to take our trips to the next level. It gave me an example of what to base the trips off of. Our trips are now more than just going to see a football or basketball game -- they are a friendship building experience and an opportunity to make a lot of lasting memories,” McBurney said.
Two trips that quickly come to mind were the trips to Syracuse to watch the football season-opener last year and the trip to New York City to watch both the men’s and women’s basketball teams in a doubleheader against St. John’s in Madison Square Garden.
“We had a three-day trip to Syracuse where we spent a day bonding as an organization and meeting all the new members and then we had the great game in the Dome. It was just a really good experience, especially for members that were traveling with us for the first time. We also spent a weekend in New York City and had an evening to do some sightseeing there. Overall our trips have really taken off over the last couple of years,” McBurney said.
Mark Hoblitzell, a senior parks and recreation major from Charleston, says that his main attraction to the Maniacs are the trips and the priority seating.
“It is a really fun and affordable way to get to away games and you can’t beat the priority seating. If you sign up early enough in the school year, you are guaranteed a seat for football games. With as much demand as we have had the past few years for tickets, the $25 we pay to be members is well worth it to go to all the home football games,” Hoblitzell said.
McBurney notes that the Maniacs are there for more than just football and basketball. They support all athletes that wear the Old Gold and Blue.
“Our membership is so active, people want to do more for the varsity sports. They want to support all sports as well as club sports. Where a lot of schools will have fan groups behind just one sport, we are more all-inclusive. Last year we had 200 members at Hawley Field for a baseball game, this year we had Papa John’s cater a women’s soccer game. We try to touch all sports,” McBurney said.
After my conversation with McBurney as the clock turns toward 6 a.m. and we plowed through some unknown area of Virginia, I concluded that perhaps my body is exhausted enough to get some bus sleep. To my amazement, when I wake up it is 11 a.m. and we are in Kingston, N.C., approximately an hour out of Greenville. I am greeted with a wonderful phrase.
“Is Bojangles OK with you Chris?” McBurney asked as we prepare to stop for food.
Is Bojangles OK with me? Let’s stop right here for a moment. Does fast food in the South get any better than Bojangles? Tender fried chicken, salty seasoned french fries, a moist fluffy biscuit and iced tea so sweet you would swear you were drinking syrup. Sadly there is not a single franchise located anywhere north of southeastern Virginia. Believe me I have researched this at great length. I promise you this much, if I ever win the Powerball, I’m opening up a franchise in Morgantown.
Now back to the trip. After our stop for food we are back on the road, and within the hour we arrive in Greenville. It is a hot sun-drenched day and just past noon, our bus pulls into a parking lot a few hundred yards from Dowdey-Ficklen Stadium. We have four hours to tailgate.
After an afternoon of enjoying the usual tailgate faire of burgers, dogs and chips, we begin our short walk to the stadium. Once inside, I realize our allotment of seats are in the highest upper-deck section of the facility. As I climb the seemingly endless flight of stairs to my back row seat, it feels as if a donkey and some prospecting gear would come in handy to make this hike.
As the game began, I took note of what a quality atmosphere ECU had for this game. It really was an intimidating road game, far more impressive than the fan turnout I experienced when we visited Greenville in 2003.
When the Mountaineers marched down the field on their opening drive, which culminated with a Pat White touchdown run, our section thought this game would be business as usual for the Mountaineers. This was an ideal start, an early 7-0 lead that took the crowd out of the game. We were ready for a fourth West Virginia blowout in as many games.
Instead what we got was a very competitive football game. On ECU’s first possession it became apparent that they were going to have some success through the air. When star ECU receiver Aundrae Allison’s catch and run tied the score at 7, we knew our boys in the Gold and Blue were going to be in for a fight.
As the first half went on, I noticed just how fast the ECU defense was sideline to sideline. They are the best team we have played so far at tackling in space. On plays that are designed to get Steve Slaton matched up in a one-on-one situation, the Pirates were up to the task, making a sure tackle more often than not.
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| Darius Reynaud helped West Virginia pull away just as the sun was beginning to set on East Carolina.
Submitted photo |
As the fourth quarter got underway, with the Mountaineers clinging to a 17-10 lead, Hoblitzell and I noticed a setting sun to our right and joked that the Mountaineers were sure to make a big play under the nighttime skies. Sure enough, Darius Reynaud made us look like prophets, racing 60 yards after catching a screen pass to give the Mountaineers a comfortable 24-10 lead at the 11:29 mark of the fourth quarter. The Maniacs section erupted in cheers.
What is it about the Mountaineers at night?
As the Pirates mounted a drive, using precise passes on their ensuing possession, I began to hear groaning and complaining about the Mountaineer defense coming from all around me. What is it with people’s obsession with bad-mouthing our young defensive secondary? While I will be the first to admit that this defense doesn’t conjure up images of the Mountaineer’s stingy 1996 unit, the 2006 version is still very effective.
As the game ends, our Maniac section serenades what is left of the ECU faithful with chants of ‘Let’s Go Mountaineers’ and ‘This is our House.’ As always, a victory wouldn’t be complete without the arm in arm swaying as we sing ‘Country Roads.’
I came away very impressed with the state of the ECU program. Their fan base is alive and well, their team plays very hard and it appears as if Skip Holtz is the guy to get them back to the very competitive level that they played at for much of the 90s.
After the game, we headed on our two-hour journey to the Comfort Inn in Raleigh. Once inside we got some food, watched a little TV and headed for bed. The near 24-hour day of no sleep had taken its toll. A group of senior citizens are livelier than we were Saturday night.
The next day we pulled out of Raleigh around 10 a.m. headed back to the University City. By 6 p.m. that night we were pulling into the Coliseum. Despite the long weekend on a bus with very little sleep, none of us had any regrets. We had just brought home another Mountaineer victory.
The ECU trip was the first of four trips the Maniacs are taking to football games this year. They will be taking 45 students to the UConn game, 100 to Louisville and 200 to Pitt. The Maniacs are still accepting sign-ups.
The membership fee is a very economical $25.
