Saturday, September 16th marks possibly the most important day on the calendar for West Virginia football fans this year, as the Mountaineers take on the Pittsburgh Panthers at home.
With so much passion and meaning brought into this game, this is certainly a weekend for the fans in Morgantown. The college town fanbase shows their dedication to the home team through a variety of traditions, all of which will be on full display Saturday night.
“Let’s go Mountaineers” and first down chants
One of the most prominent fan traditions throughout the game is the chanting of “let’s go!” from one side of the stands in Mountaineer followed by a “Mountaineers!” response. This tradition is present in the crowd of every WVU home game, and, alongside chants with more hostile language toward the opposing Pitt fans, will be engraved in the minds of all in attendance on Saturday.
Another prominent in-game cheer from Mountaineer fans is the “WVU first down” chant. As the name would indicate, this cheer is for when the Mountaineers make a first down play offensively. After the play, the crowd members stretch their arms in front of them and wave their fingers. When the West Virginia first down is announced, fans bounce their hands three times in the air as they chant the letters “WVU” before clapping and shouting “first down!” while pointing in the direction of play.
“Sweet Caroline” song
While this Neil Diamond song is the fan anthem of West Virginia’s Pitt rivals, it also holds a special place in the hearts of Mountaineer fans. Putting a twist on the Panthers’ fans’ traditional “hail to Pitt!” cheer during the song’s chorus, West Virginia uses this song to gain the same amount of passion from their fans as Pittsburgh does.
John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”
Officially recognized as one of West Virginia’s state songs since 2014, John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” provides possibly the calmest tradition of Mountaineer fans. The song has been played in every West Virginia pregame show since 1972, and it is sung by the entire stadium after a West Virginia victory. Lyrics are displayed on the field scoreboard for every fan, new and old to sing along.
If WVU’s football team gains a victory this weekend in the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers fans’ rendition of the song will be an emotional one. Through these traditions and more, WVU fans will do what they can to contribute to their third straight home victory in the Backyard Brawl.
