Mountain Blog

I'm Either a Genius or I'm Ugleeeeeee

The email response I got from my column about the Marshall-WVU game was the most I have ever received about a column in the Charleston Daily Mail.

For example:

Mr. Peyton:

Lighten up.

You probably think you are being a faithful member of the fourth estate
by taking your cynical role in today's article, however, the only fans
you'll win are those Mountaineer aficionados who were against playing
the Herd in the first place in this series. While you speak in a way
that indicates you have no affinity for athletics, you certainly are on
your way to becoming Chuck Landon's counter balance. Perhaps that will
help add to your retirement fund that the Herald-Dispatch isn't paying
into anymore.

By the way, you're so quick to point out everyone elses most miniscule
issues, why not at least elaborate on what "company rule" you violated?
That leaves quite a bit to the imagination, Dave, as there are rules
that can be "nit-picky", or those that should be followed in the work
place or home place.

As for the football series, how is it going to hurt the state fiscally?
You speak as if this is the Governor's solution to the state's
financial troubles, and he has spent all of his time on the matter.
Give me a break, do you really think your readers are that delusional
to believe any of that? The games WILL benefit the state, and both
universities, financially, but are by no means a permanent solution.

No one said it was.

So how about taking a deep breath, letting go of all that hate and
animosity toward your former employer and town, and not use a positive
event - which are few and far between in this state - to help
facilitate your axe grinding.

Have a nice day.

Or this one:

Before I begin my assault on your poorly thought out article, I want you to understand that I am a graduate of Marshall University and WVU Law School and a serious Marshall University football fan. First, I believe you should have recognized that Marshall football brings in the vast majority of the money into the coffers of Marshall's athletic department. In fact, Marshall football pays for itself at Marshall and contributes a large portion of the remaining part of the athletic department. Your opinion that Marshall football is some sort of drain on the taxpayers or the university is quite frankly unfounded and not in any way truthful.

You then make the statement that WVU should be proud that is athletic department is self supporting. While the athletic department is now self sustaining (almost entirely due to conference affiliation), West Virginia University is a public institution, which is funded in large part by taxpayers. In fact, if you were to go back and compare the amount of government money received by each university as allocated per student, you would find that Marshall University has historically received less money per student than West Virginia University. Marshall is doing more with less tax payer money overall, and as such, my conclusion is that the illusion of a self supporting athletic department is simply a play on words made up by West Virginia University officials.

I love Marshall football and many others also love the sport, and it is important to me and thousands of others. The announcement of the football serious was better attended than any legislation that was signed by the governor this year, and as such, my conclusion is that it was important to a lot of other people.

You clearly do not like football, which is fine. You should watch or do something else. However, the fact that you were put off by Marshall getting a stadium after playing in dilapidated Fairfield stadium is something that calls into question your objectivity. Bluntly, I believe it is clear that you hate Marshall football and any success it may achieve is a burr in you saddle. If so, should you really be writing editorial articles about Marshall football as you are far from removed or objective. Further, can you be at all objective to Marshall when you spew such venom at Herald Dispatch for firing you.

By the way, you were completely wrong about the stadium as it was necessary for growth and has more than paid for itself.

Or this one:

Dave:

We’ve conversed before electronically back on the old CompuServe service what seems like ages ago. On that day it was about your presence on the old WVPB state affairs show, the name of which I can’t remember. Your column today makes me write again. Once again, never fear, it’s in praise.

You have brilliantly told is as it is. How long must West Virginians realize that games do not make a state a better place to live? And to have the Governor participate in this is simply ludicrous. The economic reality is that two games in the state on a given day means more revenue to the state via taxes and to businesses via customers—at both Huntington and Morgantown. It will only be at Morgantown or Huntington for awhile. Who’s talking about that? And what do you want to bet that after the 2007 game (or before), Marshall will be lobbying the Legislature for money to expand their stadium? Or lobbying to get an indoor practice field or something like that because they need to make this game more competitive? It’s only a matter of time.

I attended neither school, being a graduate of WV Tech, but I’ve always been a Mountaineer fan. Call it tradition passed on for generations. I didn’t favor the game for several reasons, one of which the endangerment of WVU’s athletic programs to remain self-supporting (take away that 7^th home game and the budget get really tight) and thus staying out of state coffers. The second was what we’ve seen—the dividing of West Virginians between two camps. Makes no sense to me.

I find it interesting that you discovered this truth and wrote a column about it while the clueless sports departments at both Charleston newspapers, the Herald Dispatch and others are on a high about it. It really makes you wonder.

Anyway, BRAVO!

Or this one:

Dave:

HOW DARE YOU refer to Rod Blackstone, Chief Whatever for Mayor Danny Jones and former Press Secretary for Governor Cecil H. Underwood as "that guy throwing toastat the ballgames." This has become a quite hallowed position for Rod, and for youto denigrate it--no doubt out of pure jealousy--is beyond the pale. :)

Here's what I really want to know: WHEN WILL WEST VIRGINIA FINALLY GO

BELLY UP in one way or another? I waited on it for five years--can the powers

that be really keep propping it up with just enough tax increases or gambling

monies to avoid the big disaster? I would think that, at some point, the

exponential growth of all of our indebted funds would finally be the iceberg

that breaks through the hull of our Titanic.

It amazes me that a state like ours, with little economic dynamism, increasing

debts, and economic drains (like that gambling you like, Dave--I can come over

and play CARDS with you if you like) continues to hang on for dear life.

I keep coming back to reading about the origins of the French Revolution, how

the king, against the advice of his Swiss finance minister, Jacques Necker, kept

spending, spending, spending money lavishly on himself. Finally, the back broke,

and it was disastrous for all.

We may be spending money MOSTLY on better things now than the king's luxuries,

but without more of an economy coming on board in the next few years, it's

inevitable, don't you think? I don't think people are really thinking about it, because

if they did, it would scare the state pensioners and state Medicaid recipients to death.

So, after all these years, how close do you think we are to Bankruptcy Midnight?

And what do you think of that theory that pops up now and then that says,

"Maybe going bankrupt, bad as it is, would be in WV's longterm best interests,

because at least the politicians would be out of the way while the federal

bankruptcy judge forced payment on the most important debts."

I don't see the United States government giving us any kind of significant bailout

like they gave Chrysler or NYC. We aren't that important to them, are we, and

it might serve as a bad precedent for other states to try.

Gee, this is depressing. Order me a couple of those WVU/Marshall tickets for '06!

Well, you get the drift. About half of the e-mails support my position and the other half think that I am dead wrong and a pitiful human being.

I found a disturbing pattern in the emails. It appears that many WVU athletic supporters agreed with me and most Marshall athletic supporters disagreed.

Tribalism is alive and well in West Virginia. These two encampments hate each other and they don't realize it's this tribalism that's keeping the state down while keeping the sports writers in business.

I did not include any names in the emails I posted because many of them came from lawyers and bankers who add that disclaimer that says it's not to be published under penalty of death or some such nonsense. Mostly these were the ones who want me to keep my opinions to myself.

posted by Dave Peyton @ 6:42 PM