The last two times the UVA Football team played West Virginia, two things happened – the ‘Hoos beat the bejeezus out of WVU, and somebody in West Virginia state government demanded an apology.
“This type of performance merely perpetuates the unfounded stereotypes that we in West Virginia are fighting so hard to overcome,” Bob Wise, at the time the governor of West Virginia, wrote in a letter to then-UVA President John Casteen, over what turned out to be the final performance of the UVA Pep Band, at halftime of the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte, which was won by an Al Groh-coached Virginia team, 48-22.
ICYMI
The Pep Band’s sin: staging a skit based on the TV show “The Bachelor” that featured a faux WVU coed in overalls.
Seriously, the school’s mascot is a bearded guy dressed in buckskin, toting a rifle, and they get their skivvies in a bunch there over “unfounded stereotypes”?
The Tire Bowl game was the first between the schools since a 1985 game in Charlottesville won by UVA, 27-7.
The 17-year gap, no doubt, was the result of a skit from the Pep Band modeled on the TV game show “Family Feud,” in which the joke, such as it was, was that West Virginia was best known for toxic gas.
The request for an apology for that one came from James Manchin, at the time the state treasurer of West Virginia, and the uncle of you-know-who.
It might be time to get the Pep Band back together, is what I’m saying here.
Game Week: UVA (2-0) vs. West Virginia (2-0)
- Week 3 Preview: What UVA Football fans need to know about West Virginia
- First look: West Virginia is 2-0 early, but not exactly against tough tests
- WVU assistant coach Noel Devine arrested on felony strangulation charge
- UVA Football: D tackle Jason Hammond needs surgery on left elbow
Game Details
- Series: Virginia leads series, 12-10-1
- TV: ACC Network
- SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 179 / SiriusXM 234
- SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 958
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Chris Graham
