This past week, I had a great opportunity to go on vacation and visit a part of the country not too far from here. That area is the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
If there is anything you can say about the people of that region, it is that they love their football. Check that, they are football crazy. From pro teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers to colleges (Ohio State, Penn State, West Virginia and Marshall) and even the high school level, they captivate their followers, bring people together and shut down towns.
One would be hard pressed to find someone that couldn't tell you in detail what happened to their given team, whether they were actually at the game, watched it on television or listened to it on the radio. The whole mood of the region hinges on "we won" or "we lost." I was amazed by the following the football teams have. From shirts, hats, pennants, flags, tattoos, cars, you name it, you'll see it.
After returning home, I started thinking about this area compared to theirs, and this is what I have surmised. It all starts with the fans.
Up there, passion is the perfect word to describe the love and desire for their teams to play well and represent the area. It's an atmosphere, a frenzy that pushes those teams toward greatness. Make no mistake about it, this area has good loyal fans, and they fill the stands and they cheer for the teams.
But over the 30 years I've lived here in North Carolina, a phrase seems to creep out during football season … "Wait until basketball season starts."
In a region looking to join the elite in college football, that phrase should never see the light of day. One could say, "Well, this is a basketball region." That's the bread and butter of this area, but if you look, Ohio State will arguably be preseason No. 1 in college basketball. West Virginia is coming off consecutive runs in the NCAA tournament and an alleged flirtation between N.C. State and Mountaineer coach John Beilein.
Take the geography angle. The Ohio Valley is a beautiful area with great mountains and rivers and scenery, but you can't tell me an 18-year-old star football recruit would rather play in rural West Virginia or rural Pennsylvania as opposed to Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill. But they do, and that's because the fans pour their heart and soul into these teams and build a following that players feed off.
I know product equals support from fans, but the loyalty should be there regardless. Both the universities and fans should feed off each other to push these local programs to national prominence.
