Covid-19, Turkey, and WVU Sports
In these uncertain times many of us have come to appreciate the little things in life a lot more. Time spent with family is a quality that some people began to cherish less and less, but now it is something we all yearn for. With Thanksgiving tomorrow, we all look to have good food and good sports. Mountaineer fans get their taste of holiday sports a day early with basketball getting us started tonight. Fingers crossed we get three days worth of basketball and then the Sooners will show their face in Morgantown for the football game on Saturday. This long holiday weekend has the makings for a great WVU sports weekend as well. So as we inch nearer to Thanksgiving day and the weekend, let's take a look at how these next couple days could play out.
Last year's college basketball season came to a screeching halt once Covid-19 became relevant in the US. Many what if's and what could have been's formed in the heads of all basketball fans concerning their team's postseason dreams. WVU was no exception to this phenomena. I for one felt as though the Mountaineers were poised to make a run in the Big12/NCAA tourney's last year but did not see them going all the way in either one. Now let's fast forward 8 months and a new season is beginning. This WVU team only got better with this unconventional off-season and when Huggy Bear is actually happy with his guys, everybody should be on high alert. This squad with an NBA size front-court and a deep selection of guards, they should be built to make a deep run to a potential first National Championship. That all starts today in South Dakota against the Jackrabbits of SDSU. Although they have quite the active winning streak, the level of competition they play weekly is nothing like what they are about to face. With a win tonight, the Mountaineers will move on to face the winner of Utah State and VCU where the Eers would be the clear cut favorite to advance to the championship game. The most expected outcome would be to meet the Memphis Tigers in the title game on Friday where we would take on our toughest opponent from this field.(All these assumptions are strictly based off of personal speculation.) In a perfect world, the Mountaineers hoist the trophy come Friday and make their way back to the Mountain State.
After a big tournament win on Friday, we will surely be looking to carry that momentum into Saturday night as the football team looks to snap an 8 game losing streak to the Oklahoma Sooners. The Mountaineers had a bye week last week that as Neal Brown said came at a perfect time. It allowed a few guys that were dinged up a little time to recover and get close to full strength again. The Sooners on the other-hand had their way with an Oklahoma State team who seems to continue the struggle of finding their offensive identity. Compared to year's past, this game is gonna look a lot different. This year we have the Big 12's top 2 defenses in the league squaring off in a primetime game. OU has appeared to hit full stride as the season has progressed. After a rocky start for them, they seem to be clicking on all cylinders both offensively and defensively. WVU has also seemed to find a little momentum offensively after taking care of TCU 2 weeks ago. The Mountaineer defense continued to flex their muscles and show their dominance. I'm definitely interested to watch this matchup between the OU offense and the WVU defense as each will be facing it's toughest test of the year. When it comes down to it, I think the Eers grind it out in a tough, gritty, dog fight and get that long awaited win over the Sooners 28-24.
Ultimately, win or lose, this weekend is a dream for sport's fans everywhere. Mountaineer fans especially, will get to potentially witness a huge weekend as the basketball team looks to sweep the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in South Dakota and the football team looks to crack the code and get the win over the Sooners. Even with all the turmoil going on in the world with Covid-19, we still have sports as a common appreciation that allows us to communicate together towards one community outcome. The pride and passion that not only the players have but also that the fans have should be an example for those who may not be interested in sports. An example that no matter what is going on, there's is always a way to persevere, overcome, and succeed.