Jason Smith's
WVU-WKU game watching experience
March 2005

Thought you folks might appreciate my experience trying to watch the WVU-Wake Forest game Saturday night.  For the Mountaineer fans down here in S. Ohio we really got shafted.  The tip-off for the UC-UK game was changed to the same time as ours, I swear in an attempt to hold us down. Basically this means that both our CBS affiliates, one from Cincy the other from Kentucky, are going to show that game and not ours.  

Our alumni association was stumped on where to go to see the game.  I stepped forward and found a really nice sports bar called Mulligans that said they would have our game. Unfortunately it is was close to the UC campus, and of course half of Kentucky lives here in CIncy. Several of us Eers' made it to Mulligans and found it to be so crowded I am not sure my feet touched the ground while standing. They had one TV showing our game, but I left because it was just too uncomfortable.

Being VERY disappointed that I could not see the game I started driving towards my office to update my resume to get the hell out of Cincinnati.  March 20th is my birthday and all I wanted was to be able to see the damn game.  I ended up stopping at what can best be described as 'white-trash' joint near my house in Fairfield called Mable Murghy's. They have 20 TV's and are good about having all the games, if you can see through the smokey haze.  I sat down at the bar by 3 men who apparently are all convicted felons.

Their topic of conversation was where were the best places to serve time (they were all in agreement that the state pen was much preferable to the county jail).  I stuck out like a sore thumb in this place dressed in gold and blue sporting a high school diploma.  I made a request to the owner to put on the WVU game.  He got a tear in his eye then told me that his dad was from WV, and recently passed away.  Needless to say I got my game. At this point one of the felons to my right noticed me cheering by myself and we struck up a conversation.  Apparently his dad was also from WV, and also had recently passed away.

 I now had the nucleus of WV fans to cheer down the lone Fake Forest fan on the opposite side of the bar.  It was difficult to keep my focus on the game what with the freak show going on around me.  At one point the hottest girl in the bar noticed our cheering and came over.  I would say on a 10 scale she was a 6, would have been an 8 if she was not 7 months pregnant.  She fired-up a cigarette and slammed a shot of Vodka, but soon left us because we were further distracted by the transvestite/transsexual that sat down to the right of my felon friend. He was pretty hammered and did not seem pick up on this persons true gender, so that left me to watch the game in peace.By 'peace' I mean I could see the game, but everything was drowned out by the thrash metal band that started playing after the UC-UK game. By the game's end I had the whole bar cheering for the Mounties.  The poor Fake fan came to me after the game and said that was one of the best games he had ever seen, which is one thing we both agreed on.