Virginia wasted no time making a statement in its season opener, rolling past North Carolina State 34-8 and looking like a team that could turn into a real ACC problem.
Then came the soundtrack.
During the second half, the Cavaliers cranked up John Denver’s “Country Roads, Take Me Home,” and the crowd joined in. The moment immediately stirred up the familiar debate around the song’s home, even though the source material makes the case plainly enough: John Denver played it at Mountaineer Field in 1980, songwriter Bill Danoff confirmed it is about West Virginia, and the lyrics themselves say, “To the place I belong, West Virginia,” not Virginia or Western Virginia.
The source also notes that some people from Maryland have tried to claim it, too, but that argument gets the same answer. And “Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water” does not exactly point to Virginia or Maryland either.
Still, the timing is what makes Virginia’s choice stand out. Playing the song before facing West Virginia is one thing.
Doing it before the matchup is actually played is another. If the Cavaliers lose, the move could look a lot less playful and a lot more reckless.
It would not be the first time Virginia has aimed at West Virginia in that way. The school’s pep band has done it before, and the source says those jokes eventually led to the band’s demise in 2003 and the creation of the Cavalier Marching Band in 2004.
One of those moments came in 1985, when the pep band put on a parody of “Family Feud” that included insulting references to indoor plumbing and birth control in West Virginia.
Then at the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl, the band tried again with a parody of “The Bachelor.” In that skit, one of the girls was dressed as someone from West Virginia, complete with overalls and pigtails.
West Virginia officials were not amused. The source says Governor Bob Wise demanded an apology from the University of Virginia, and the school gave one.
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For now, the uncertainty is forcing WVU to think through alternative paths, from potential starters to the depth behind them if those forwards are unavailable. It also leaves the staff with the option of dipping into the junior college market if the numbers in the frontcourt do not come together the way they need to, and that is the sort of roster pressure that can shape a season long before the first game is played. [Read more 🡒]
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West Virginia's Opener Comes With One Warning Fans Need To Hear
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Coastal Carolina adds another layer of unpredictability with a new coaching staff in place, which only makes the first 60 minutes tougher to handicap in any meaningful way. For West Virginia, the bigger takeaway may be less about the final margin and more about how the Mountaineers look doing it, because early results in games like this can be misleading when both sides are leaning on so many fresh faces. The betting market has already pushed expectations in one direction, but the better warning for fans is simple: opening week can tell you a lot, just not always the thing you think it does. [Read more 🡒]