For anyone who wants to see thousands of older, black & white photographs of West Virginia, there’s an awesome collection at the West Virginia History Onview. Real neat images from days gone by.
More directly related to WVU, there’s a wonderful archive of photographs from WVU Photographic Services. Old and current stuff there as well.
Our whole family went to Woodburn Circle last night to attend the candlelight vigil in honor of the VT massacre. Quite a surreal, somber scene. Several thousand turned out…the front half of the circle was pretty full and there was a large crowd filling in behind them on the Martin Hall side. The actual program lasted about 20-25 minutes and included a moment of silence followed by the 9pm bell toll from the Woodburn Hall Tower, which led to the traditional Alpha Phi Omega bell ringing. After that representatives from SGA and President Hardesty spoke, but the most poignant moment was when Seyran Celik, a Morgantown native, WVU alum, and current Tech grad student, spoke to recount her feelings that fateful Monday. The program closed with a vocal duet.
On the ride home my wife and I were comparing notes about the turnouts, the vigils, and other things related to the shootings in Blacksburg, and it got us off on an interesting tangent. If we were living elsewhere, what kind of outpouring would we have seen? Though being bitter rivals with the Hokies, WVU and Morgantown have dropped everything and have been generous with their support from the first minutes. Not that other communities haven’t, but we were wondering if it has more to do with the small college town similarities.
For example, I’m not certain I would have seen a proportionately equal outpouring from my previous home, Charlotte. Sure, people are just as shook up there and several places are having vigils & memorials this week, but there’s a lot more to Charlotte than UNCC, Queens, and J.C. Smith. Here in Morgantown the University exists in almost every facet of our lives…much like Blacksburg. In fact, I would be willing to guess that the tightest connections of grief and sorrow about the shootings (outside of people who have actual connections to Virginia Tech) will come from the small town collegiate communities. People whose lives are touched each day by their local college/university – Greenville (Clemson), Lawrence (Kansas), Provo (Utah), and hundreds of similar communities.
In that same vein, I would be willing to say the people most shaken by 9/11 (who didn’t live in New York or lost loved ones) would be those living in the larger cities, the ones who work in the large buildings that can become targets. Certainly everyone was impacted by 9/11, but for a certain percentage of the population the thought of going back to work the next day in a 50-story high rise or large corporate campus providing essential services to the economy…that had to be a bit more unnerving. Those workers – and their families – now had a picture, replayable by the minute, of what could happen to them. The environment is in stark contrast to a place like Flatwoods, WV, where the tallest building is the three-story Days Inn overlooking I-79. Not quite the same target.
We look to our colleges and universities as a safe haven, a place where young adults can go and learn about concepts, about history, about theory, and about themselves. It’s a place to grow, to nourish thought, and a last chance to be carefree. They study hard, then they relax hard. That innocence rapidly changes in an instant, in the moment it takes for a depressed psychopath to pull a trigger two inches. And just like that, a quiet community is turned upside down. The innocence is lost, the serenity broken. It happened there. It can happen anywhere.
It could happen here.
As Mountaineers we had an intense rivalry on the field with Virginia Tech, one that displayed a wide range of raw emotions still on display today. The events of yesterday, however, rise well above the world of sports. All thoughts today belong to the entire Tech family as they deal with this tragedy.
That was a quick 48 hours.
From Manhattan to Morgantown, the digital flood of data raged throughout the day as to whether or not Bob Huggins would sell his house just twelve months after donning the purple of Kansas State and move back home to West Virginia and assume the recently vacated men’s basketball throne.
Late in the afternoon, the dam burst. Huggy Bear was indeed coming back, made official in one of the most pathetic press conferences I have ever watched. For over 30 minutes the President and Athletic Director at KSU threw themselves a mondo pity party, telling anyone who would listen that “it’s not fair” and that Bob “made a bad decision,” apparently in a futile, juvenile effort to guilt Huggins’ plane out of the air. In the end, none of it matters. Bob Huggins replaces John Beilein as men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University.
I freely admit to not being overly enthusiastic about this hire. While he’s been a big time winner and brings in talented players, those players have not always been the best of citizens during their stays. Huggins himself has often been on the periphery of shadiness during this recruiting, and has had multiple run-ins with authority. WVU’s program has ridden from the ashes of infighting, lack of direction, and averted probation under the direction of Beilein and become a classy, respectable program, and the last thing we need is a return of storm clouds. My first choice was to take a flier on Jeff Neubauer, the head coach at Eastern Kentucky and a Beilein disciple. The players we have now are tailor-made for the system, and Neubauer is a system guy who could take the reins and have the program not miss a beat.
At the same time, I do feel a sense of intrigue at the hiring. For all we know, the troubles Huggins went through in the last few years could have changed him just enough. He had a heart attack in 2002, followed by his well publicized DUI and subsequently being run out of Cincinnati in 2004. After sitting out a year he went to Kansas State and reportedly kept his nose clean. While BeileinBall is entertaining to watch, I remember HuggyBall being just as fun. One big consternation the last few years was our putrid play in the paint by our big men, something that should definitely not be a problem under Huggins once he gets post-capable bigs. Many of our players (Butler, Alexander, Nichols, Mazzula, Smith, et.al) are athletic enough to be dual threat scorers, something I’m sure a good coach can put to use. The roster is also loaded with quick, long armed defenders….something I’m sure Huggs is salivating over.
In the end, Bob Huggins coaches basketball at my university so I will begrudgingly offer my support, and will become less conditional if he keeps a relatively clean & successful program. A lot of fans went through the same feeling when Rich Rodriguez was hired to replace Don Nehlen, feelings that have all but melted away as Coach Rod matured as a coach and resurrected the program. This time I’m in their shoes. I may not be quite as “wait and see” as they were with Rod, but it’s going to take me a little time to warm up to Huggy Bear.
It’s been a long, crazy couple of weeks around these parts (OK, make that seven C’s). So many things have been happening all at once there just hasn’t been time to get them off my chest. So now I try, shooting for one paragraph per…
Charlotte – some of my classmates spend Spring Break in cool places like Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, the Caribbean, or elsewhere. Me? Charlotte, NC, catching up for a few days back in the office. Nothing real eventful, which is normally the mark of a good trip. Had some barbecue, Krispy Kreme, and Cheerwine. On the job front, it’s gratifying to note that I’m ready to start assuming the duties from the promotion I received six months ago. Not that I didn’t;t have them already, but a hellish project from my old function has taken most of my time. It’s finally out of the way, so I can start doing the things I’m being paid more for. Also got a chance to hang out with the old alumni chapter, slam back (quite) a few brews, and watch the NIT semifinal victory over Mississippi St. Ice runs through Darris Nichols’ veins – reminiscent of Jarrod West’s game winner over Cincinnati in 1998. Only Darris wasn’t blocked.
Cleveland – No sooner do I land back in Pittsburgh & return to Morgantown, we set out on the road for a three hour tour to Cleveland & “the mistake by the lake.” Garrett attends his first regional karate tournament. Over 1,200 participants, plus family & friends, will attend the first year of this tournament that attracts taekwondo students from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and other stragglers. Being a Tiny Tiger, he’ll get a trophy for executing his assigned form, and as a good little Tiger he does just that. If he was in the Black Belt Club, he would have also gotten the chance to earn a trophy for weapons handling (and would have been able to spar with his fellow competitors). He’s only four, but is already getting the opportunity to overcome any fears or concerns abut performing in front of strangers. In addition to the tourney, he’s performed demonstrations at the Mon County Courthouse and at a WVU men’s basketball game.
Championship – In the midst of my travels, Thursday is my one day allotted among seven to spend entirely at my own house. It just so happens to correspond with WVU’s appearance in the NIT Finals. It’s not the NCAA Finals so the excitement isn’t there like it could be, but it’s still a chance to watch them go for WVU’s first major revenue sport trophy in nearly 20 years (the last being the 1989 Fiesta Bowl). After the intensity of the semifinal on Tuesday, Thursday’s game against Clemson was anticlimactic…almost boring to watch in the second half. (I say this from the comfort of my living room. If I was in Madison Square Garden like Al was, I’d probably sing a different tune.) Too bad ESPN had to go to the NCAA “All Star” stuff and didn’t stick with the net cutting (we’re #66!! Or #35!!). I do wish I could have one of the “West Virgina” t-shirts…certain to be a minor collectible in the state.
Class – It’s nearly over, and not a moment too soon. The burnout is fantastic, and I mean that in an awe sense – not the excited sense. At least I’m in good enough academic standing this time to skate through the last month. There’s still some big things to do – a ten page research paper in Datacom and the final project deliverable in Design/Development – but the finish line is in sight. Final exams hit May 2nd, and after that it’s cap & gown time. I’ve had quite a few memorable moments in my life since embarking on the adult struggle, but this one will be the most satisfying given everything else I had to do to get it. Balancing a wife, two children, and a full time job is not easy while pursuing any degree, and I’ve done it while maintaining above a 3.0 GPA (I think 3.3 coming into the spring). Some well deserved time away follows this, and after that I evaluate which direction I head – MBA or professional certification.
Quitting – I said “nearly five C’s”, right? And this at least has the hard ‘k’ sound leading off. After the above mentioned title, John Beilein bolted WVU this week for the supposedly greener pastures of Ann Arbor, Michigan, to become a Wolverine. Understandably, there’s a lot of pissed-off people around these parts. Part of me is pissed too, but it’s was numbed for me quite a bit thanks to last year’s fiasco flirtation with NC State. Beilein has a history of leaving after about five years wherever he’s been, and we’re no exception. Given the dalliance with Raleigh, I felt a bit steeled to the proposition, and when it finally became official Tuesday I had progressed to the mentality saying “he obviously doesn’t want to be here, so see ya later and don’t let the door hit you.” I’m not thrilled that he’s leaving, especially since he’s walking out on what can be a great team the next couple of years, but at least he left us a kitchen full of groceries. That’s more that can be said about The Cat, who not only left the cabinets bare, he took a sledgehammer and knocked them off the wall. I’ll be grateful for the fun times we had while he was here (Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen, NIT Title), but if the sumbitch doesn’t appreciate what he’s built and is willing to leave it behind then I say “so long, and don’t come crawling back.” Now we get to see if Huggy Bear makes us wear blue and gold prison stripes, or if Jeff Neubauer can keep our quirky system going.
