Post by elp525 on Sept 23, 2011 7:17:11 GMT -5
Friday September 23, 2011
Tent city springs up on Mountainlair plaza
by Shay Maunz
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- The anticipation has been building for weeks.
Record numbers of students requested tickets to Saturday's game, while fans shelled out hundreds of dollars apiece online for the chance to go.
All of Morgantown is abuzz as preparations get under way for the arrival of ESPN, the No. 2-ranked Louisiana State University football team and thousands of Mountaineer faithful that hope to see a stunning upset.
Among the legions of giddy fans is Chris Armel, who never misses a WVU game.
He's going to great lengths to ensure that Saturday he'll not only be at the game, but in the thick of the pre-game action.
Armel and his friends set up a tent Wednesday night on the Mountainlair Green in Morgantown in preparation for ESPN's "College GameDay," which will be broadcast from there Saturday for WVU's 8 p.m. game against LSU.
Armel, a senior athletic coaching and education major, was camped out with three friends. In order to keep up with schoolwork, they took shifts sitting with their tent. They were dedicated to their mission to be standing in the first line during the broadcast.
But they weren't the only ones with the idea.
By Thursday afternoon there were about six tents pitched on the lawn, as crews continued to set up for the Saturday morning broadcast.
Dillon Tucker, C.J. Walters and Alex Bernstein, all 19-year-old sophomores, set up their tent Thursday morning. It wasn't their first time camping out — they did it last year before a dozen basketball games — but there is more riding on this.
"We've just got to be ready at all times," Tucker said. "We want to be standing up there behind all of the people we watch on TV every week."
It's the first time in the show's 25-year run that crews and on-camera personalities have been sent to Morgantown to discuss the ins and outs of dozens of college football games that will take place all across the country Saturday.
Because of the influx of fans, traffic and parking restrictions in Morgantown will be in place today and Saturday, the university announced.
Maiden Lane will be closed from 5 p.m. today to 5 p.m. Saturday. No parking will be allowed on Prospect Street, North High Street or Maiden Lane until after 5 p.m. Saturday.
With the expected increase of recreational vehicles on campus, officials say parking at the WVU Coliseum will be extremely limited today. The entire left side of the Coliseum parking lot has been closed and reserved for recreational vehicle parking.
WVU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use the Mountaineer Station garage on Van Voorhis Road, Spruce Street or University Avenue parking garages as alternative options.
Anyone with questions or needing help navigating Morgantown this weekend can call 304-293-5502 or visit the Transportation and Parking website,
transportation.wvu.edu.
Tent city springs up on Mountainlair plaza
by Shay Maunz
Charleston Daily Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- The anticipation has been building for weeks.
Record numbers of students requested tickets to Saturday's game, while fans shelled out hundreds of dollars apiece online for the chance to go.
All of Morgantown is abuzz as preparations get under way for the arrival of ESPN, the No. 2-ranked Louisiana State University football team and thousands of Mountaineer faithful that hope to see a stunning upset.
Among the legions of giddy fans is Chris Armel, who never misses a WVU game.
He's going to great lengths to ensure that Saturday he'll not only be at the game, but in the thick of the pre-game action.
Armel and his friends set up a tent Wednesday night on the Mountainlair Green in Morgantown in preparation for ESPN's "College GameDay," which will be broadcast from there Saturday for WVU's 8 p.m. game against LSU.
Armel, a senior athletic coaching and education major, was camped out with three friends. In order to keep up with schoolwork, they took shifts sitting with their tent. They were dedicated to their mission to be standing in the first line during the broadcast.
But they weren't the only ones with the idea.
By Thursday afternoon there were about six tents pitched on the lawn, as crews continued to set up for the Saturday morning broadcast.
Dillon Tucker, C.J. Walters and Alex Bernstein, all 19-year-old sophomores, set up their tent Thursday morning. It wasn't their first time camping out — they did it last year before a dozen basketball games — but there is more riding on this.
"We've just got to be ready at all times," Tucker said. "We want to be standing up there behind all of the people we watch on TV every week."
It's the first time in the show's 25-year run that crews and on-camera personalities have been sent to Morgantown to discuss the ins and outs of dozens of college football games that will take place all across the country Saturday.
Because of the influx of fans, traffic and parking restrictions in Morgantown will be in place today and Saturday, the university announced.
Maiden Lane will be closed from 5 p.m. today to 5 p.m. Saturday. No parking will be allowed on Prospect Street, North High Street or Maiden Lane until after 5 p.m. Saturday.
With the expected increase of recreational vehicles on campus, officials say parking at the WVU Coliseum will be extremely limited today. The entire left side of the Coliseum parking lot has been closed and reserved for recreational vehicle parking.
WVU students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use the Mountaineer Station garage on Van Voorhis Road, Spruce Street or University Avenue parking garages as alternative options.
Anyone with questions or needing help navigating Morgantown this weekend can call 304-293-5502 or visit the Transportation and Parking website,
transportation.wvu.edu.
