WV Sports

The most awesome thing about being in Volvo’s Biggest Fan of the Big East contest is that every contestant got an all expense paid trip to their Alma Mater for a basketball home game. The best part of this trip is that we were given a Volvo S60 to use as our roadtrip vehicle. SCORE!

So I picked the Louisville home game (Feb. 11, 2012) as the game I would attend for the contest. I picked up my fully loaded R-Design Volvo S60 Thursday and all I can say about that car is WOW. Check it out:

So yeah, a sweet ride eh? Well I was all excited to take this car down 79 South to Morgantown then this happened:

I had to make an adult decision to not chance it in this weather and left the car in Pittsburgh. :(

It sucked but on the first and last day I had the Volvo S60 I really got to experience how nice this car is. The safety features are sick. Cameras in the front and back, blind spot sensors, parking distance senors, warnings if you’re drifting lanes, you name it this car had it. Those were the perks that really set these ares apart IMHO. Oh, besides the fact that this model has a 325 HP engine that is insanely fast… that was nice too!

So we make the snowy trip down to Morgantown Saturday morning. The game was at noon. Dropped off the baby and headed to the Coliseum. It was a cold and bitter day but nothing was going to stop us.

The tickets provided by the Big East and Volvo were sweet! Check it out:

It really was a great game, well till it ended. WVU was in total control of this game from the start. Then Truck Bryant started missing, then The Turk fouled out. Then the refs screwed us over on a couple of bad calls. Then with seconds left a horrible pass pretty much sealed the deal and we lost by 3. Sigh. Bad ending to an other wise great trip!

I would like to thank Volvo and the Big East for setting us up for a great weekend trip back to WVU and Morgantown. I always appreciate being back at my Alma Mater.

The 6th challenge as been announced and this one is a good one:

What are your favorite places to watch your team when you can’t be at the game?

Full disclosure. I live in Pittsburgh. Don’t hold that against me. Anyway, when a game rolls around and I can’t hop in my future Volvo S60 and head south 73.7 miles down to Morgantown I have to go into WVU Alumni Watch Party mode.

Where the Alumni goes, we all go… Mullen’s!

When I first moved to Pittsburgh back in 2003 the pickens were slim when it came to finding a safe and friendly WVU bar to watch the game. Back in the day the Pittsburgh Alumni Association would meet at a place called HighTops. They would rent out the upstairs party room and we would throw down over a sea of yinzer PITT fans in the main bar below. It was nice because it was a place WVU fans could gather and watch WVU kick some arse. The bar has changed ownership and is now called Mullen’s Bar and Grill but is still a great place to catch a WVU game.

The place to watch Bowl Games > REDBEARDS! 

Back in 2006 WVU went to the BCS Sugar Bowl. We played Georgia and won. I honestly didn’t think we had much of a chance in that game, so I quietly walked into my neighborhood haunt Redbeards alone to peacefully watch the game. Well we ended up winning that fantastic game.

In 2010, WVU found itself in the BCS Fiesta Bowl. Well after watching the Sugar Bowl at Redbeards, I had to see if the magic was still there. And wha-da-ya-know… another WIN for WVU. 

When we went to the Orange Bowl this year, there was no doubt in my mind where I had to watch this BCS Bowl game. Redbeards is 3 for 3! 

The best thing about Redbeards is that it’s owned by a huge Pittsburgh Sports fan. He’s a great guy and I’m sure loves the business, but at the same time I’m sure he hates it when us Mounties take over the bar, because now, that’s where I take all my friends and family to watch WVU Football!

Saving the best for last: PREGAME!

Pregame is OFFICIALLY Pittsburgh WVU Bar. Located in the Southside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, this old steel mill bar turned WVU hotspot has taken the Burgh by storm over the past 2 years! 

It is here at Pregame I witnessed WVU go to the Final Four while sipping on Das Boot! Nothing is more EPIC than that, just ask a PITT fan.. oh wait, Pregame wasn’t around in 1941!

The 4th Challenge from the Volvo and Big East folks who are running the Biggest Fan of the Big East contest have asked us to customize a Volvo S60 to be the most bad ass fan car around.

When I win my Volvo S60, here’s what I plan on doing to it!

First.. slap on a set of these so everyone in the slow lane can see me coming in their review mirrors:

Of course I’ll have these in all 4 windows:

No self respecting car is totally pimped out until you have a pair of these hanging off the mirror:

Of course the best part of all of these accessories is that they are easy to remove and don’t ruin the pure beauty of the Volvo S60, although I could totally see mine look like this… the old Gold n’ Blue is shining through! 

So the second challenge in the “Volvo’s Biggest Fan in the Big East” contest is ON! This one is hard. Not because I don’t know what to write about, but because I can only list 5 things. 

Well, after days and days of pondering the challenge “Pick 5 things that you have to do when you return to you’re Alma Mater, WVU” Here are my TOP 5 in the order of how I think you should do them. It’s really more of a guided tour so enjoy!

When you first roll into Morgantown in your naughty Volvo S60, the first thing you see is the WVU Coliseum. Its iconic clam shell shape can be seen for miles and it’s the home of Huggin’s Mountaineers. This is where you should park to start your tour of Mo-town.

#5 - Ride the PRT

After parking your sweet Volvo S60, head up to the WVU College of Creative Arts where you can catch the infamous PRT (Personal Rapid Transit). Everyone will tell you that you haven’t really been to Morgantown until you ride the PRT, and they’re right. The PRT is a unique and easy-to-use transportation solution for WVU students, faculty, staff, and the Morgantown community and it will take you straight to the promised land, otherwise known as WVU’s Downtown Campus. Make sure you get off at the Beechurst Avenue stop to head into campus.

#4 - Stroll through Campus and The Mountainlair

Now you’re in the heart of the WVU campus and downtown Morgantown! Take a leisurely stroll through campus and take advantage of the many photo ops in Woodburn Circle. After that you MUST tour The Mountainlair. “The Lair” is in the WVU Student Union Building and it’s the center of the life and culture of WVU. Inside you’ll find food, a bowling alley and my personal favorite spot to grab a drink between classes, The Side Pocket Pub (I used to have my work study job there. hahaha). After a cold one, head up to the back of The Lair and check out the Plaza where College Game Day broadcast this year in week 4.

#3 - Grab a soda at The Den

By now you’ve worked up a thirst and you want to shop and grab something to quench your thirst. You have to stop in at THE DEN. The Den is part convenient store, part head shop, part music store, part gift shop and it’s been serving WVU students, especially freshmen in the dorms, for years. Back in the day it was the best place to buy used CD’s… remember those? Anyway, they have big ass 42oz fountain sodas for a buck (they were .42 in ‘93) Get one just for the experience! 

#2 - Bar hop down High St.

After sucking down the soda it’s time for the good stuff, BEER, and it’s time to hand over the keys to the Volvo S60. (no drinking and driving!) High St. is the main business district street in Morgantown. Start at the corner of High St. and Wiley St. and just head south. You’ll hit about 20+ bars just on High St. alone. Some of the don’t-miss highlights - The SportsPage, Gibbies, BW3, and The Met Billiard Parlor.

#1 - Grab a beer with Huggins at the Morgantown Brew Pub

Now that you’ve experienced High St, time to go down by the river to the Morgantown Brewing Company, home of the best craft beer in West Virginia.They have great food and amazing beers, including: Coal City Stout, Kettle Bottom Brown Ale and Zack Morgans Pale Ale, plus some great seasonal selections.

The Brew Pub is great and best of all it’s right next to the PRT so you can get back to the Coliseum for the big game then to your hotel for a nice rest before hoping back into your Volvo S60 for the sad drive home.