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02/07/2012

Hoppy's Commentary for Tuesday

Talkline Host Hoppy Kercheval

There’s a fine line between celebrating and bragging.

West Virginia University earned the right to celebrate the remarkable 70-33 victory over Clemson in the 2012 Orange Bowl. It was an historic performance, one that provided WVU with an amazing amount of positive publicity.

But WVU has made a poor decision to extend the celebration to include two billboards along interstate highways outside of Morgantown. The billboards have a giant “70” on them (the “0" is an orange), the text “It’s not just our speed limit” and the 70-33 score.

WVU apparently picked up the idea from a Photoshopped speed limit sign that went viral immediately after the bowl game.

University spokeswoman Becky Lofstead told me the goal of the billboards, from a marketing standpoint, was to “capitalize on a great, high-profile victory by our team, and to celebrate the excitement and pride all around the victories the University has every day, whether it be on the field or off.”

The billboards are a bad idea for several reasons:

First, it’s in poor taste for the University to capitalize on Clemson’s suffering. WVU officials say that the message is not meant to be mean-spirited, and I believe them, but that doesn’t change how it can be perceived.

Let’s put the shoe on the other foot. What if Clemson had scored 70 points on West Virginia and then put up the exact same billboard along I-85? West Virginia fans, including yours truly, would have complained loudly about it.

Second, the outcome of the Orange Bowl was so stunning that it speaks for itself. Mountaineer fans are still buzzing about the game, and will be for years. The Photoshopped sign was an Internet hit. There’s no need for WVU to make a statement that can be interpreted as formal gloating.

Third, it’s beneath the University. A story in the Morgantown Dominion Post newspaper about the billboard began with this line: “WVU is rubbing a little pulp in the wound.”

That’s not how West Virginia University needs to be perceived. WVU already has a huge image problem because of fan behavior. WVU works hard to repair that image. The billboard doesn’t help. It feels like a cheap shot.

Winston Churchill famously said, “In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.”

Granted, the British Prime Minister was talking about more serious matters, but in sports we frequently use battle analogies. In the case of the billboards, humility is a virtue that would benefit WVU.

User Comments

Act like you have been there before! But WVU football fans don't know how to act when they win a big game, because they don't win very many! They play in the big easy conf. and schedule cup cake non-conf.teams to make sure they end up with a good win lose record. WVU played very bad in most of the regular season games,and were very ugly to watch.

I'm with Hoppy. Be classy, WVU, in victory or defeat. Billboards celebrating WVU as Orange Bowl Champions are a great idea, but emphasizing the score crosses the line. Good sportsmanship requires restraint & mercy in public celebration.

Reply to Duggie: Did it ever occur to you that WV doesn't get any respect because they don't deserve it? Ranking so low in so many area, like education, tort laws, taxes,etc. doesn't help the image. WV is a beautiful place to travel through but to attract praise for its accomplishments, no. The Legislature wastes it short time on no account items like texting, ATVs, does it require a Lt. Gov.?, all kinds of minor items. The only thing that they have done this session is the Marcellus Law which seems a reasonable compromist. In a World of Change, WV promises Status Quo.

Hoppy you suprised me on this. I didn't know you were so "PC." Whats next? You want people to take their bumper stickers off that reads "proud parent of an honor student" because the the car next to them might have a kid in school with a "c" average? Is that parent showing off? Is that fair to the other parents whose children struggle to make a C? The orange bowl was one of the greatest games I have ever seen. Was it fair that every talking head on every sports program said that WVU would get crushed? WVU set so many records during that game and made this state very proud. A lot of high school kids saw that game too. AS for the Shadows comment about what his father told him, WVU never gets any respect. No one outside of WV knows how good this team is or can be. I think we should tell the world, wait. We already did!

In College Academic Ranking, Clemson is 68th, WVU is 164. I guess they could put up a sign too! Unfortunately, WVU is working on the wrong subject. My Father told me that if you are good, you don't have to tell anyone, they already know it. So why did WVU put up the sign?

I agree with Hoppy to an extent. The intent of the sign is ok and it would have been fine to me if they left the references to the score out. How about a simple congratulations with some oranges or whatever, but why the need for the score? Especially the 70-33 scoreboard pic. I think that is bragging and in poor taste and not something the institution should be doing. Fine for fans to rag on forums and such, but not this. Little more humility would have been the classy thing to do.

way to go Hopp - yer little commentary here created more conversation and comments than real issues like the terrible state of affairs the state and or country is in....orange you glad you wrote this today?

Sorry - totally disagree - LOVE THE BILLBOARDS -

Great advertisment for possible new recruits, students and parents visiting the university along with the thousands of individuals who daily just drive through the state...

Hoppy I am appalled by this commentary. This is NOT a poor decision by WVU--it's actually genius!!!! I have to agree with Becky Lofstead on this one. It is capitalizing on a great victory not capitalizing on Clemson's suffering. The billboards werent erected on Clemson's campus or highways. The 2 billboards are along interstate highways outside of Morgantown. Morgantown is home of the Moutaineers in case you have forgotten. Yea Hop lets put the shoe on the other foot. Have you ever visited Durham-Home of the Blue Devils, or steel town Pittsburgh, or Hokies Country, or Pitt campus?? Their great victories are splattered all over town on billboards, buildings, etc. simply to celebrate the victories. It's not to be spiteful towards the opponent. I mean really...there's always a loser. We know that. Pitt's 13 to 9 billboard allowed us to never forget it. We aren't talking 13 though Hop. We're talking 70......not 13.........70....not 25......70.....not 32..... 70......not PRACTICE but a real BCS Bowl Game..we're talking 70. There's great pride in breaking 10 records. Pride borders on the edge of boastfullness. Pride lives in that 70 cloud. 70..we're talking 70----Huggs talks 70. That's a basketball score. Ask Holgs what that means to a 1st year Head Coach and a transitional year. Ask the players what that means to them. Ask the old grads and the young lads or anyone with Mountaineer Pride. The billboard is not a cheap shot. It's not an "Open for Business" sign. It is simply a billboard. We earned the right. It's not a generational difference. Really making it a topic of your commentary made it more of an issue. It's not degrading. It's a marker--a history marker. It's not selfish pride. It is for the fans. Have you forgotten, "Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer"? It is not classless or disrespectful. It's just new to this town. Never did it before...70..and there are so many folks adverse to change. Other champion cities have been doing this for years. The universtiy and all who encompass it are allowed to continue to celebrate. It's monumental. Thanks Steve Douglas for your post. The opposition can eat crow. It all boils down to CHA-CHING for WVU, the domino effect of the win...CHA-CHING...11 recruits out of 26 from Florida...CHA_CHING...national recognition for our program and more TV time....CHA_CHING...it's genius---CHA-CHING--IT'S 70. GO MOUNTIES!!!!

There are more important issues facing the Great State of WV! What about the coal fired plants being shut down and job loses? Go WVU!

So let's give everyone on both teams a trophy, what do you say? I am not normally a WVU fan, but let the team and students celebrate their victory. Some gotta win, some gotta lose--that's life. Celebrate the wins, even if it means a billboard. It's time we stop whining as if winning is an embarrassment. Congrats to WVU. Careful Hoppy, someone's going to think you've defected and become a bleeding-heart!

We made history. Most points scored in any bowl game. Ever. This is our turn. We never get the respect we have earned. I love the sign and hope it stays up a loooooooong time.

I'm with Hoppy.

Perception is reality, and I perceive unnecessary gloating. This reminds me of Pennsylvania placing at every Interstate entrance the sign, "Pennsylvania. America Starts Here," which PO'd me and made Secretary of State A. James Manchin nearly apoplectic.

The many T-shirts that have been produced showing the 70-33 score in huge numbers and listing the numerous records set by the Mountaineers are appropriate for us as individuals to show our pride in their accomplishments.

The University placing this billboard is inappropriate.

Hoppy, do you recall a few years ago the whining and crying WVU fans made when Marshall put up the sign on I-68 "We play for Championships?" Would you have felt better if WVU had posted a sign in Huntington saying "We Play for BCS Championships???" Or how about putting up a sign in Pittsburgh saying "ACCya????" Calm down Hop.

Captain Q, would you rather have Gomer spewing his infamous "match the mountains" and "oxygen is for astronauts" quotes??? That WAS an embarrassment!!!!!

I'm going to buy a Bill Board when WVU cuts ties with WV Radio Corp.Now that will be a Great Day,and its coming sooner than you think.I'd make you guys buy a ticket to see the game.

It's better than Touchdown City which is actually accurate. This billboard is fine and is not in bad taste. WVU is not defiling Clemson. This is an example of how far unconnected the old are with the young. Listen to some lil Wayne, tweet something, and understand that the youth was probably not responsible for putting this billboard up. I think you are way off base Hoppy and need to rescind some of your comments.

I listened to the discussion today and I have to say I think it is fine. I agree that it celebrates the "70" and the historic win that it was. No jab at Clemson, their name is nowhere on the sign.

Hey, Hoppy, we are the same age...don't blame the "generational" differences!! :)

Are you upset because you are really a Clemson fan? I remember going to the Gator Bowl a few years back when Maryland beat our pants in Jacksonville. Those fans rubbed in on us all the way back to WV and we took it and went on. Well it's our turn so Get Over It Hoppy. When your team wins next year you can rub it in whoevers face you play

I usually agree with you Hoppy, but not this time. These signs are not sitting in the middle of Clemson's campus to rub salt in the wound. They are nearby our campus as a celebration of a great win. When the luster of the win goes away, so will the signs.

This is a tough one for sure. Perhaps Hoppy is right. It is time to move on, savor the memory forever, like the big win at Oklahoma, beating UNLV, and a Big East hoops title.

We should always remember the teachings from the coaches we have had and statements like "Expect to win", "Act like you have been there before", and "Gracious in victory and defeat".

Maybe a more appropriate sign would say, "Hail, WV!..Thank you for a great season."

BUT...Let those kids bring home a national title then we can cut loose, as it will have been earned.

If you've attended a game at Mountaineer Field in the last 8 years then you know that WVU long ago abandoned any notion of good taste. The scoreboard is constantly assaulting eardrums and eyeballs with juvenile and repetitive video clips, sound effects, etc. Efforts by the athletic department and stadium operations to be 'big-time' makes them look small indeed as does this billboard, which is reminiscent of the Marshall board that appeared along I-68 and was condemned by many including WVU.

Spiking the ball is always tacky. Spiking it after beating a mediocre team in a mediocre bowl is embarrassing.

Well I guess I'm kind of on the fence with this one Hoppy. Part of me agrees with you (which in itself troubles me deeply) and the other part of me thinks it is somewhat funny. After years of being bad mouthed from the likes of the SEC, ACC and A-holes like Mark May, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit I think we are entitled to a little gloating.

Hoppy, come on...if you're suddenly this sensitive then where was your commentary about the billboard Marshall placed in WVU's backyard a year or two ago on I-68 between Exit 1 and Exit 4? There is no name calling, no bashing, no negative comment to any degree pertaining to Clemson. Let's enjoy the moment as Mountaineers.

WOW.... I wish I had the time to sit around worry about the 'feelings' of Clemson fans... I must be doing something wrong because I'm way too busy to care!

Hoppy is right on about this. The best thing about the sign is that it is a slight step above "Sofa Burning" which is the accepted "WVU Win Celebration" item

I agree %110 with Hoppy on this; West Virginians are all about being humble folk! Let us not degrade ourselves to the showmanship and one upsmanship that we all too often see on television and hear on national radio talk shows where sports are involoved. With with class, lose with humility.. but always be respectful. The billboard is way beyond celebration, it is selfish pride.

Lets Goooooo Mountaineers!

WVU made history. Why on earth wouldn't that be celebrated and promoted by the University? I have a feeling that those who have a problem with it are probably still nursing their Bill Stewart wounds. For anyone who chooses to believe that we can't compete in the Big 12, please hand over all of your old gold and blue immediately. We don't need you in our fanbase. This is not a jab at Clemson in the slightest. If it was posted on the highway in SC, then you could make that argument. This is for the univesity, alumni, and fans all around the state to enjoy. If WVU can increase their brand name, by all means, they should. Go Mountaineers. Lighten up, people.

Of course, those who don't think the billboard shows a lack of taste and class are revealing their lack of taste and class as well as their shortsightedness. Sadly, class got kicked out when Luck came in. And, yes, class matters, as does the long run.

Forrest D. Poston

I fully support the WVU administration, athletic dept. and coaches. This is not disrespectful or classless by any means. WVU has the opportunity to display our pride, within the borders of our own state, any way we see fit. If these billboards were (as some have already mentioned) placed in Clemson territory, THEN I would have an issue. Otherwise, it's GREAT, I love it!! Stick it to the ACC, ESPN, all the doubters! I think we should have also included our BCS bowl record on the billboard too :) BMartin Alum WVU 91

When you score the most points in bowl history you are allowed to celebrate it. If Clemson wants to whine about it they should have done something to stop it, but they couldn't. We beat them down because we had a point to prove. Anyone who complains about this needs to change in their gold and blue for some kelly green because were not here to compete, we play to win. The nation put our backs against a wall throughout the season and didn't even give us a chance in the game. It was a monumental win for our program and the full effect is yet to be felt (wait until OK and TX show up). We showed the ACC we could not only play with their "champion" but totally destroy them. Message sent. Clemson's suffering? Who gives a rats a$$. If the "shoe was on the other foot" a real competitor, not like Hoppy who either never played sports or was on the tennis team, would swallow his pride and just say you owe them one the next time. Because there is nothing else you can do, they were annihilated. We do not have to restore our image from the fan behavior. WE have the best, most hostile fans in the country. That's what makes us who we are. When visiting teams come to WVU they should be scared because we're WVU we'll do whatever it takes - coaches, players, and fans, to win. The billboard should stay up forever anyways so Pennsylvania drivers can learn our speed limit.

WOW Hoppy! Lots of responses to today's commentary, BRAVO!

To add some contrast to the discussion, I want to relay an recent incident that tool place last month.

In the second week of January (a few days after the Orange Bowl) I had to travel to Columbia, SC for a few days. There was a problem in my hotel room, so I called the front desk for help. When the maintenence man arrived, the FIRST thing he spotted was the Mountaineers shirt I was wearing (wore it in the room, NOT out in public). He was nice about it, but did comment that he didn't like the way WVU ran up the score but at the same time, he didn't hold it against me that I was from West Virginia. He even shook my hand as I said I wasn't responsible for what happened during the game. To say the least, I learned my lesson well and did NOT wear that shirt again until I left the Palmetto State.

You have to understand, football in the Southern states is not just a sport, it's a way of life, even MORE so than it is in the Mountain State. My guess is that the local media in South Carolina has already picked up on this story and even as I speak, rage and anger are building there.

It's NEVER a good idea to tease an angry dog, or in this case, an angry TIGER (Clemson Tiger, that is). Lose with dignity, win with humility. That's the better way.

What goes around comes around. I regret the payback already. A very gross lack of class. West Virginians are better than this! Whatever happened to conducting ourselves as if we are not amazed that we had such success?

Hoppy

great article except that ever since luck has gotten here we dont seem to care about our image or doing things with class!

Very poor taste by WVU. The sign could have been done better. WVU should fire the idiot who approved this. If it was meant as a jab to the ACC, then it missed its mark. It should have read, "Hey ACC, how do you like us now?" Jim Clements ought to order those signs to be taken down immeadiately. However, he was probably the idiot who approved them.

Good grief people, lighten up. There is nothing wrong with the billboard. As was mentioned in an earlier post, I would much rather see this than the large Tomblin for governer semis that are littering the highways. A few years ago there was a billboard on I68 near Exit 1 that was put up by Marshall and it was a blatant poke at WVU. Why is that acceptable but not the current one that is no where near the Clemson campus.

I agree to disagree Hoppy! Good golly - lighten up! The signs are not bashing Clemson but celebrating a grand WVU win - they are fun and tastefully done. Way to Go Mountaineers!!

Hoppy and most of the people posting replies need to grow a pair of oranges!! Good grief!! That billboard celebrates the number 70!! Some of "you people" are too sensitive. Hoppy are you going to be writing articles complaining about running up the score next? Hopefully we see a lot more 70's on the scoreboard!! GO MOUNTIES!!

I agree with you, Hoppy. It was a great victory for which WVU and its coaches and athletes should be very proud. Why would WVU want to minimalize that event by putting up a billboard like this? What were they thinking?

Perceptions are important and there is just no way to look at this sign without trivializing the efforts of the Clemson team and its players and coaches. Had it been another night, it might have gone another way.

The decision to put up this billboard is a little like the decision to switch conferences at WVU. Someone or group of people make a decision to do something and the heck with the ramifications, they'll deal with those later.

I may be wrong, but unfortunately, I don't think that we'll have to worry about these kinds of billboards for a while now that WVU is moving to the Big 12.

As I tweeted Hoppy yesterday, I hope this means that anytime an employee of West Virginia Radio wins an award that West Virginia NOT run spots mentioning the accomplishments of their staff just to market their business. That would be sophmoric. Or just good business. I know there are alot of sentimental grads of the Old Gold and Blue. However, your alma mater is a business folks

Hoppy,

There's nothing wrong with WVU putting up a billboard where West Virginians can have a little swagger in their step. Our beloved state is constantly maligned for being ranked first on the list of worst things in the U.S. and tops on the list of bad things in America. (The most recent example was West Virginia ranked last on the perception of economic confidence for the future.)

Once in a while it's ok to crow about something. In this case, it was the Orange Bowl where WVU scored the most points in football bowl game history!

Steve Douglas - WVU Alumni Association

Let's just hope they don't get cold feet from the backlash and try and break this contract too.

I don't get it. One day you chastise a university for political correctness and another you are chastising WVU for not being more politically correct or NICE. Bad taste or good propaganda for WVU, it is a judgement call. I say it is well within their right and we should nto have to worry about how it is "percieved" No matter how good or bad it is someone can miscontrue the best of intentions. Just like "wvudavid" miscontrued the analogy of Clemson putting a sign on "I70" instead of what you said "I85"

Did you write a similar column objecting to the TCU billboards placed around Columbus ostensibly from the "Little Sisters Of The Poor" after TCU defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. (For those who've forgotten, it was OSU's President Gee who made the crack about he upstarts TCU and Boise getting ranked by playing the "Little Sisters Of the Poor" - thus the billboards around Columbus rather than Madison.) It's college football! It's good, clean fun! Now ... if WVU had placed such a billboard on I-85 or if Clemson had won and done so on I-79, that probably would have been more classless, but since this is on the route in and out of Morgantown, it's nothing more than an advertisement for the school. It's funny.

I dont think its a big deal at all. Its a slight jab at Pennsylvania, if anything. 70 is WVs speed limit, as well as how many points we scored in the game. Pitt's bowl game??? Pennsylvania's speed limit?? Also, WVU isnt the only school to put up billboards. In Mississippi, Ole Miss and Mississippi State both put up billboards about how one is better than the other and so on. Its for the fans. Thats it. I know many of our fans do like it, and think its kinda funny. Just relax a little.

It is not classless and not rubbing in anything Hoppy. I agree completely with the University spokesperson, that it is simply capitalizing on a great victory. I also agree with the comment that had we posted the billboard in SC somewhere, then it would be classless, but to post a sign on I-79 for all Mountaineer fans to see; not classless, but priceless. Go Mountaineers, and relax a bit Hoppy, it okay to brag.

Hoppy,

I agree with kensgirl. This is enjoying the win a bit more. Enjoy it while you can. In short - lighten up!!!

Sophomoric jabs like this always come back to bite you.

Nice catch Hoppy

The Orange Bowl signs are as bush leauge as the "open for business" signs. Certainly not up to the standards of a great university.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, Hoppy. Since it references the speed limit and South Carolina has a speed limit, I believe it is more of a middle finger toward Pitt and Syracuse. If you want to go the ACC route, it could also be a middle finger toward Maryland. All three of these states have speed limits less than 70mph.

Traditional West Virginians may not like, but WVU has risen to the level of other schools in the "Suck It" attitude, in which everyone is showing off to everyone else. Like it or hate it, just look at our leadership and you will see it. Perhaps it is justified, considering how we have been screwed over in the past. The Big East let football die at our expense, the ACC rejected us twice in 60 years, and the SEC didn't think we were academically good enough (laughable). Perhaps bragging about ourselves for a change is just what the doctor ordered!

Hoppy I agree it is bad taste. The administration, Athletic Department and football program may think it is cute. I think it is classless and tasteless. Great game. Forget about it and take down the stupid signs. Reminds me of a university that would hand out embas that were not earned.

I'd rather see that sign than the leftover political campaign signs that aspire beauty for the WV countryside using dilapidated freight trailers.

How long ago was the special election that followed the special primary that followed the other special election that followed the other special primary?

Clemson posting a sign on I77 in WV is a little different than WVU posting a sign outside of Morgantown. These two examples are not comparable. Here is how you take the billboard down....Clemson score more points and play better defense. In being a fan you have to take the good with the bad. If you can't take the little jab, watch the cooking channel.

Hoppy:

I'll be interested to see if the opportunity for such celebratory flare presents itself next year. Poor behavior does not appear limited to only fans. The billboard makes 2 examples of money wasted along WV's interstate. First was Manchin's "Open for Business" now this one.

Onemorevoice makes a great point but I have to agree with you Hop. When I first saw a pic of the billboard I assumed some company had paid for it without WVU's approval(I should have known better since it had the WVU logo). From your reporting here I learn the university did it themselves, poor taste indeed for all the reasons you mentioned.

Of couse I already sent the pic on to my wife's cousins who live in Clemson!

Perhaps this billboard is not directed at Clemson University at all. It is a jab at the ACC. After all, WVU isn't academically, athletically, morally or economically up to their standards. Way to go WVU admins....2 cents.

Good observation, Hoppy.

It's one thing to celebrate WVU's great victory in the Orange Bowl, it's quite another to keep constantly rubbing Clemson's nose in it.

I believe acts like this demonstrate very poor sportsmanship, and Mountaineer fans should be above this sort of thing. Remember how outraged the entire state felt when during the Continental Tire Bowl several years ago when the so-called Virginia Cavalier band's halftime routine ridiculed and belittled West Virginia so badly that fans in the stands started booing them? That day on the field, Virginia was dominating the Mountaineers, so this horrible halftime show added insult to injury.

It's time to rise above these sort of juvenile antics. Yes, WVU won the Orange Bowl and yes, it was a great victory, but we need stop gloating and move on. What goes around, comes around...

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