Nothing better than Moonshine in the Morning

For UCF’s last away game of the season, the Knights traveled to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the Mountaineers. From a tailgating and game day experience, this game had everything working against it. The weather was cold and rainy, and in fact, it snowed the day before the game. This was the last weekend before Thanksgiving and there were no classes, so the student population had already left for the holiday break. To stack the deck even further against the experience, the home team was mired in a mediocre year, to the point that many WVU fans have been calling for Coach Neal Brown to be fired for the past few weeks (something that might sound familiar to Knights fans).

There is no doubt that all these elements did play a role in the way that this visitor experienced the game on Saturday, but the echoes of what the WVU experience is like when the factors surrounding the game are more positive, was evident. In an effort to give you an idea of what it’s like to visit Morgantown for a game, I will cover the local scene, the tailgating and the in-game experience.

The Local Scene

For this trip, my traveling companions and I stayed in Pittsburgh, about an hour north of Morgantown. This was necessary because of the flight schedules and the fact that on game weekend the hotel options near the university are expensive and limited. While this might not have given us the complete Morgantown experience, it is the way that most away team fans will experience a trip to watch a game at West Virginia University.

The nice part about staying in Pittsburgh is that there is a lot to do and see. This includes an amazing array of restaurants that one can find. Our most memorable stop was at a brewery called The Church Brew Works. This was truly a one of a kind place. The building was constructed in 1903 as the home of a Catholic church. The church later sold the property and after extensive restoration and refitting, it went from being a place for masses, to a place that serves beer to the masses. The brewery is cool and unsettling all at the same time. The beer was delicious and the food was top notch (I learned that people in this part of the country put french fries on everything from sandwiches to salads). The unsettling part comes from the fact that this place still looks like a church. The stained glass windows and vaulted ceiling, and all of the architectural details, still reflect the original use of the building, where for generations, people prayed, got married and conducted funerals (even the seats in the brewery are actually the repurposed old church pews). It’s against this backdrop that you see gleaming tanks of brewing beer and beer taps.

While we had other meals in Pittsburgh, and visited the downtown casino and a hip brewery that featured pinball machines, it’s time to talk about Morgantown itself. We traveled down to the campus early in the morning on the day of the game. The drive itself was miserable as it was constantly raining on the way down. Once we arrived on campus, it became clear that the town and the university were really one. It is one of those places like we see in the midwest, where it is sometimes hard to distinguish where the campus ends and the town begins. 

Exploring the town by car, those from Florida will quickly learn that navigating streets that seem steeper than the drop off of a Universal Studios roller coaster is a challenge in and of itself. But, the challenge is well worth it. Morgantown has a beautiful and quaint downtown that harkens back to days gone by. Some of the signs and public fixtures, like a pole mounted street clock, show their age by their design, but are all remarkably maintained. We experienced this when we made our pilgrimage to the statue honoring the person who might be the most famous individual to come from Morgantown, comedian and actor Don Knots. The statue sits outside of the Metropolitan Theater, which has been restored to its original glory.

Standing outside of the theater and peering inside, we had our first interaction with a Morgantown local, and it was an indication of what we would find out about the locals when we finally got to the tailgate area. We were invited into the theater by a caretaker that was eager to show us around and share the local history. Like everyone else we met that day at the tailgates, the man was kind, helpful and grateful to have visitors.

The Tailgates

One thing that you notice about the tailgate is that the number of vehicles in the parking lots around the stadium does not tell you how many people show up to tailgate. We noticed driving around town that many tailgate attendees will park their cars on any random side of the road spot, and walk for miles to reach the stadium. In advance of the trip, I put it out on social media that I was looking for the best tailgates to visit. Over and over again, everyone kept telling me to go to the Blue Lot, so off to the Blue Lot I went. 

What I found there was a collection of people that were fiercely loyal to their team, while at the same time welcoming to strangers, regardless of the team they rooted for. As I walked around taking in the sights, sounds and smells, I was regularly invited into tents to warm up with some good food and some moonshine.  Yes… moonshine. Apparently, under West Virginia law, each adult is allowed to make 10 gallons of this liquid delight at home, and at WVU games, enjoying moonshine is as much a tradition as the game itself. The enjoyment of the moonshine, coming in every flavor from apple pie to peach habanero, begins at 7:00 in the morning, when the tailgate lots open, regardless of the game time (ASU and TCU, take note… this is how it’s done when it’s done right).

One of my favorite things to see at the tailgate was the wide variety of unique tailgate vehicles.  This included an old school bus called The Hillbilly Hauler, where I met Wally, who shared the hospitality of his tailgate and honored me by inviting me to add my signature to the thousands of names that decorated the interior of the bus. Another unique vehicle that I was welcomed at was an old RV from the 50’s or 60’s, called “Bertha.” Like Wally, the RV owner Julie, was quick to be kind and offer me any food or drink that she had. Honorable mention in the vehicle category goes to the VW bus painted with 1960’s hippie style flowers in West Virginia colors.

I walked around the tailgate lots for hours and was constantly met with invitations to come enjoy food and drink. There is nothing fake about these people, they love their team and love sharing the traditions of their tailgate and cultural heritage with visitors.

In Game Experience

Just like the tailgate experience, the in-game experience was muted by the triple threats of weather, poor team performance and the proximity to Thanksgiving. Yet, there was a lot to admire about what you find in Milan Puskar Stadium. This includes the structure itself, the food offerings and the people. 

West Virginia University’s first football season was back in 1891. With a program that old, you might expect to find a more antiquated stadium, but this is not the case. The old stadium, Mountaineer Field, which had stood since 1924, was replaced with the current stadium in 1980.  The stadium is not particularly remarkable, but it is well designed with good sight lines for each of the 60,000 seats that were not even half filled for this game. The stadium design doesn’t lend itself to being an intimidating place to play, as it exists somewhere between the steep sided stadium at TCU, where it feels like the fans are hovering over the field, and the sweeping laid back seating at Iowa State University.

Maybe it was the anticipated low attendance, but there wasn’t the same variety of food offerings that we have seen in some other places that we visited this season. Yet, they did have their own unique item that might be the only place in the country to have it at a college football game: Pepperoni Rolls. While I understand that there might be much better versions of this food item that you can find outside of a stadium, the pepperoni roll at the game was kind of like a pepperoni hot pocket that one might find at a convenience store.

As uninspiring as the pepperoni roll at the stadium was, the people were truly inspiring to me as a fan of college football. These people endured the cold and the rain and made up for their diminished number with their volume and enthusiasm. In fact, one of the things that I noticed that was different from every other stadium we visited this season was the fact that there seemed to not be a single person leaving early. I spent the last five minutes of the game at field level, and saw that even with a sparsely populated stadium, you could still get a sense of how raucous that place could be when it is packed to the rim.

After the game was over, as I waited for the coaches and players to leave the field before I went to interview the WVU Head Coach and players, I witnessed one of the coolest things I have seen in all my visits to college football stadiums over the years. When the post game handshakes were completed, the coaches and players gathered on the field and sang “Take Me Home, Country Roads” along with every fan that showed up for the initial kickoff. It felt like an honor to witness this special moment, and I could only imagine how awe inspiring it must be to witness during a sold out game. 

Takeaways

A few years ago I made it a personal goal to visit one or two iconic college football stadiums every year. Never, during these travels, did I ever think to myself, “Wow… I wished I would have come here sooner.” I can no longer say that. I can tell you that when I get another chance to return to Morgantown for a game, I will certainly do so. The next time UCF is slated to play at West Virginia will be during the 2027 season. All Knight fans that have the ability to attend this game should start planning on going. If you go, make sure you visit the Blue Lot for the tailgating and come say hello to me. I’ll be hanging out with old Darrell Brown, and his magical moonshine… starting at 7:00 AM.