Post by BumpCityWV on Dec 23, 2007 10:53:22 GMT -5
Depending on the point of view, this past week unfolded in a tale of conspiracy and anger, ambition and treachery, big business, rabid fans and a local boy who grew up to be a hero only to become a traitor.
The level of vitriol has surprised even Rodriguez, whose guilt and empathy are slowly turning into defiance. What irks him the most is a theory bubbling from the hollers to the Capitol to the campus bars in Morgantown. A theory that suggested he threw the Dec. 1 game against Pittsburgh — the school’s traditional season-ending rival — to avoid a berth in the national championship game. Pitt was a 2861/27-point underdog. If West Virginia had won, the school would have earned its first shot at a BCS title.
But if the school lost, the theory went, Rodriguez would be free to pursue the Michigan job, because no coach would walk away from a championship game.
“Maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad about their anger, because that just shows their ignorance,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been” coaching “here seven years. If they don’t know me by now … ” And he stopped himself, stunned at the accusation.
The level of vitriol has surprised even Rodriguez, whose guilt and empathy are slowly turning into defiance. What irks him the most is a theory bubbling from the hollers to the Capitol to the campus bars in Morgantown. A theory that suggested he threw the Dec. 1 game against Pittsburgh — the school’s traditional season-ending rival — to avoid a berth in the national championship game. Pitt was a 2861/27-point underdog. If West Virginia had won, the school would have earned its first shot at a BCS title.
But if the school lost, the theory went, Rodriguez would be free to pursue the Michigan job, because no coach would walk away from a championship game.
“Maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad about their anger, because that just shows their ignorance,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been” coaching “here seven years. If they don’t know me by now … ” And he stopped himself, stunned at the accusation.
