Ten minutes to go and you're in the tunnel. With each step toward the field the sound gets louder. 65,000 fans cheering for you, for the team they love dearly. You can feel it, the wave of emotion, of adrenaline. You want to get out there. You stand a little taller, a little prouder than you were just minutes before. You are ready and you want nothing more than to play on the field where so many great games were won. It's time.
“Let’s bring on the Mountaineers!!!” echoes across the stadium. The rifle booms. The Mountaineer and cheerleaders take off across the field. You hear it: Let's Gooo Mountaineers. Let's Gooo Mountaineers. For some of you, it will be the first time - what you've worked your life for. For the veterans, it will be the return of that incredible energy you longed for since last season. You are a Mountaineer Football Player. And you have the most loyal, prideful alumni base in the country behind you.
In the stadium, in front of the TV, at game watches around the world, we’re 207,000 alumni strong and we are all cheering for you. The first kickoff is the most exciting play of the year. This is where Mountaineer Nation judges the tenacity of the team, your grit and your will. Do you have what it takes? Can you dig deep?
Every down is in the trenches. Just you and your opponent. Who has more grind, more strength? Each play is seconds. Seconds to show you are the best. Win the seconds and you win the minutes. Win the minutes and you'll know what it's like to stand on Mountaineer Field victorious. As you do, notice the fans are not leaving. They want to slap your hand as you take that victory lap. You look up into the eyes of children, who look up to you and want to be lucky enough to be that great one day. To have that moment to be a part of something bigger than themselves. To win a game for an entire state, who prides itself on Mountaineer Football.
As you step onto the field on Saturday and every game this year, know that Mountaineer Nation is behind you. Our Mountaineers know the work you’ve put in. The sacrifices you’ve made. They’re rooting for you and hold you in reverence. Every one of us is waiting for the moment we can rejoice and cue country roads. At that moment we are all ONE!
We are all proud to be Mountaineers!
Sean M. Frisbee, '89
President and Chief Executive Officer
WVU Alumni Association