If a Mountaineer fan pours out his heart on the internet, doesanyone really care? Evidently. Displaced West Virginian MichaelPowelson, 30, wrote his first-ever blog post about his hopes of oneday seeing West Virginia University basketball or football on thefront page of the newspaper after winning a national title. He wrotethe piece a year ago and thought of offering it to a magazine orjournal. When no one bit, he opened a Wordpress blog account andposted it for the online world to see. That occurred on March 16,less than two weeks ago. Since then his 2,753-word essay, titled 1Shining Moment for a 2-Sided State, has logged 40,000 hits. Of thosereaders, 233 had posted comments as of Monday. The blog post alsohas popped up on many Facebook and Twitter accounts and has beenmentioned in other blogs and forums around the web. Its definitelyoverwhelming, but Im not sure that its so much about the writing asthe subject matter. The real story is the experiences that peoplehave been gracious enough to share in the comment section. Readingthat, all the sentiments people have about the state, is reallygreat, Powelson said in a telephone interview. While the piece wasposted just as WVU was headed to this years NCAA tournament, itsclimax is the abrupt end to the schools Final Four run against DukeUniversity last year. It starts out like this: Theres something Idlike to do before I die. Before that happens, he writes, Id like towake up early in the morning and fight a searing headache to thelocal newsstand to buy a paper. The front page will be one thatmight have gone to press in 1988 or 1993 or 2006, but didnt; onethat will have kept a frame above my workbench waiting for a verylong time. The newsprint will be stamped with images of breathlessyoung men and tearful old ones. And it will say that West VirginiaUniversity has won the National Championship. Powelson then embarkson a narrative about what its like to be a West Virginian in amocking world. When he gets to that emotional Final Four moment, herelates it in a way that drew tears from many of those in his onlineaudience. He writes powerfully about the connection between WVUsports and many state residents, including homesick native sons likehimself. Powelson is a native of Bridgeport who graduated from OhioState University in 2002. He now writes and directs commercials foran advertising company in Columbia, S.C. If he ever was a Buckeyefan, his Mountain State roots apparently proved stronger. All of myfriends from high school went to WVU, and any time I went home, theywere all still together and not a lot had changed, he said in theinterview. I would also just say that going away definitelystrengthened that connection. Im not sure I watched (WVU) asintently when I lived there as when I came down here. It just re-created that connection to home, Powelson said. That connection tohome and the urge to watch WVU play the University of Kentuckyrather than spend the evening with his then-fiancee initially gotthe wheels of creativity turning. It was like, Sorry I cant go, andthat kind of surprised her. I like sports, but Im not fanatical. Shehad kind of not seen that from me before, and it was the struggle toexplain to her that its more than just sports, and that just got methinking about it in my effort to try to explain it to her, he said.For West Virginians who also have been elsewhere, the explanationshe eventually came up with might strike a chord. . . .the first timeI showed my passport to board an international flight, the airlineagent leaned across the counter and pretended to be surprised that Iwas wearing shoes, he writes. Later, he says: Every place has areputation to contend with, and its not surprising that people thinkthese things of West Virginia. Its frustrating, however, that thisis all they think of West Virginia. He speculates that his piece isproving popular not because he is the first to be stung by MountainState jokes, but because of the way he tied that to the hopes ofsports fans and the actions of one particular Mountaineer. Theresnot a lot in there that hasnt been said before, he said by phone. Imnot bringing up anything new, but to me all those issues are tangledup together, so thats the way I wrote the piece. In explaining hisdream trip to the newsstand, Powelson writes that he has seen hishome state on the front page for everything from deadly mineexplosions to meth labs but never anything as positive as a nationalchampionship title. As most state sports fans know, Powelson did notget to see the front page he wanted. Instead, most of the headlinesconcerning WVU after the Final Four loss focused on what Powelsoncalls an imperfect man in an oddly perfect moment. That would be BobHuggins. Powelson relates the excruciating injury of WVU forwardDaSean Butler, who tore an ACL during the final moments of the gameand brought an entire states hopes crashing to the floor with him.As he says in the piece, Coach Huggins then runs onto the court tocomfort his fallen player. Here is how Powelson describes whathappened next: Thats when the man in the tracksuit lowers himself tothe floor and, without thinking, wraps the weeping player in hisarms. Its been said that Bob Huggins will do just about anything toget a players attention, and there have been innumerable episodes ofvile language and snide challenges to substantiate that claim. Butthere is also the one youre watching. Cradling Butlers head andpulling to within centimeters of his anguished face, Huggins issuesa tender demand for eye contact, then uses his thumb to clear tearsfrom the players cheeks. He speaks directly into Butlers ear,saying, I love you and dont be sorry. He gets as close as he needsto and stays there as long as it takes to calm the young man. It ispure, instinctual behavior from a coach who couldnt be lessconcerned with how it will be interpreted. In this moment there areno fans, no critics, no reputation to uphold or excuse. There isonly the player before him. The one he loves. The one who shouldntbe sorry. By phone, Powelson expanded: Youve got the sense that youwere seeing something special there, it was so genuine. It was likethey were the only two people in that arena when it happened. In hisessay he writes that after reading coverage of the game, heconcluded that sportswriters miss that it might also be the mostfitting representation his (Huggins) state has ever received. . .Andits because he knew better than to give a damn what we thought inthe first place. After spending the last year healing andrehabilitating, Butler has moved on to the San Antonio Spurs.Huggins and this years team again made it to the NCAA tournament,only to fall to the University of Kentucky in the third round. Onceagain, Powelson did not get to see that front page he so longs for.But his words seem to be achieving some good press for his homestate. One poster identified as Ryan wrote: As an air force officercurrently deployed in Afghanistan, I havent seen my home state ofWest Virginia since June of 2010. Everyone here talks about missingtheir friends, their families, their pets. Im the only one thattalks about missing his state. Absolute perfect article about whatit means to be a Mountaineer. Powelson is delighted he has been ableto touch so many people, including the Huggins family and Butler,with his piece. He has heard that they have read it. Natalie Aliff,Butlers girlfriend, also is from Bridgeport, and Powelson showed herthe piece before he posted it. Butler was really moved by the storyand the way it incorporates West Virginia athletics, said Aliff, whowas reached by telephone. He loves basketball and loves the stateand fans and felt the article encompassed that. While Powelsonspiece has proved powerful, he is not sure about his future as awriter. I think Ill probably continue to put stuff on the blog whenI have time. In all honesty, I feel like I said what I have to say;I kind of got it all out, he said. A lot of that came from peoplewho live elsewhere. Its an emotional thing to realize what youre nota part of day in and day out. To read Powelsons full post, go tohttp://michaelpowelson.wordpress.com/.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS West Virginia University basketball coachBob Huggins consoles guard DaSean Butler after a season-endinginjury during the 2010 NCAA Final Four. Blogger and Bridgeportnative Michael Powelson says the moment serves as a fitting image ofhis home state.
Contact writer Amber Marra at amber.
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