Morgantown, West Virginia – Rewind back to Friday night. As I drove past the West Virginia University Coliseum, I noticed The Pride of West Virginia practicing in the parking lot and I stopped to watch them excitedly, knowing they were back and ready to perform. Moments later, I broke the story that The Pride would be performing the next day at the West Virginia and Kansas football game.
The Pride of West Virginia has and will always be one of my favorite parts of a West Virginia football game, particularly the pre-game show featuring the song “Simple Gifts.” I get chills every time I watch it online or in person.
Unfortunately, The Pride was not able to do their standard performance this past Saturday due to COVID. They were bound by safety measures and were not able to perform in the way that West Virginia fans are accustomed to.
In my article “My Complaints About the Mountaineer Game Day Experience”, I said the following: “Yes, it’s imperative that everyone stays safe during the pandemic, but how exactly is not dressing in their typical uniforms, skipping the pre-game show and sitting in the stands help prevent COVID? While it was nice to have The Pride back at all, their performance was pretty disappointing and left a lot to be desired.”
My frustration was with the safety regulations and the disappointment in not seeing The Pride of West Virginia performing in the way that they typically do, not with The Pride itself. Obviously The Pride of West Virginia couldn’t do anything more than they did and I was appreciative to have them at the game at all.
So you can imagine my shock and horror to learn that not only were people claiming that I was somehow against The Pride but also members of the The Pride read my article and took it the wrong way.
If any members of The Pride of West Virginia read that article and this subsequent explanation, please know that my intentions were not to bash the marching band or its members in any way. Rather, I was expressing my extreme disappointment in not being able to see The Pride in all of its typical glory due to what I contend are bogus safety regulations.
I understand the hard work that goes into putting together a Game Day performance and I apologize to any member of the band – past or present – if my frustrations were taken out of context.
Again, The Pride of West Virginia is my favorite marching band in the country, the part of West Virginia Game Day that I look forward to the most, and I’m sincerely and profoundly sorry if my words were taken the wrong way.
It’s my greatest hope that we’ll soon see the most spectacular marching band in college sports once again on the field and performing very, very soon!
