Cramps are an unfortunate part of the world of football, or any sport, actually. They are real and can occur randomly and temporarily stop the play on the field until the player can get off the sideline and work it out. When playing for hours in 80-degree weather, it becomes even more of a possibility. Instead, when these cramps occurred, they were taken as a sign by the TCU faithful that this was the only way that we could slow down your high-scoring and blazing second-half offensive prowess. Except, it wasn’t there. Whether the Horned Frogs were moving the ball or not, injuries and aches can happen on any snap.
Jordan Lesley did not coach our players to travel to Ft. Worth, be decisively aggressive for the entire game, hold the TCU offense to almost no positive yardage in the third quarter, to simply start faking cramps in the 4th. Believe me when I say I’ve seen fake cramps in action. Just ask the Mountaineer faithful what was happening when we played LSU. Hell, ask a lot of people what happened when LSU started getting outplayed. So, the idea is that we were feigning cramps to slow down Chandler Morris, which brought out the boos. Except for an actual injury.
When Trey Lathan went down in the 4th quarter, those watching at home could immediately see the severity of the situation from the actions of the training staff surrounding Trey on the field. They were calling for a cart, trying to stabilize his leg, and setting up an air cast. The TCU fanbase was booing, assuming this was one of the fake cramps designed to keep their team from gaining momentum. It wasn’t until the cart came out on the field that the sea of black and purple realized that maybe this wasn’t a fake after all.
Part of the world of college football is getting loud and being passionate about your team. We get it because that’s what we do every time the Mountaineers take the field at Milan Puskar Stadium. What happened Saturday night was classless and distasteful in a game I can only describe as plain dirty. I don’t know what’s in the water in Ft. Worth, TX, but that is not the ‘happiest student body in the country.’
See you next year in Morgantown.
Photo Credit: Vivid Seats
