XM MLB Chat: West Virginia Football team WORE YANKEE CAPS to meet South Florida....

From 'The Oklahoman' by John Helsley, 12/29/07

"Before its September matchup with South Florida, this same team compared itself to the New York Yankees"... (Referring to West Virginia's football team)...
(Somebody screwed up and didn't give these guys the NY media slant...)SM

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — "True story:

Heading for a late-September football game at South Florida and learning that the Bulls had managed a sellout for just the second time in school history, West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez must have been feeling a bit frisky, popping off.

"We're highly ranked, and when you go somewhere, they're going to sell out the stadium,” Rodriguez said. "I think it's like the Yankees. Every game, they get a big crowd.”

Let's see, West Virginia… New York Yankees.

Uh, no. Where's the championships? (And please, no Big East braggadocio.)

San Diego Padres, maybe. Similar color scheme, too.

But wait, it gets better.

When West Virginia arrived at Raymond James Stadium that day for its Friday walkthrough, the Mountaineers emerged from the team bus sporting ball caps — Yankees caps.

Love the attitude.

Not that it helped that weekend, with South Florida sticking a 21-13 loss on West Virginia, which hardly conjured any pinstripe pride, bumbling through six turnovers and failing to produce a touchdown until just more than five minutes remained.

"Kind of backfired on us,” Mountaineers kicker Pat McAfee said. "But it was a kind of cool idea, I guess.”

Or not so much.

"You can tell West Virginia they can take those Yankees hats and stick them… you know what I'm saying?” South Florida defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said afterward.

But wait, it gets better.

Now, it appears, some Mountaineers want to play the insult card.

Disrespected they've been, hearing word of Sooner wishes that they'd rather have played Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl for potentially higher stakes instead of the Mountaineers in the Fiesta Bowl.

"We found out what they said, they wanted to play Virginia Tech,” Mountaineers wide receiver Darius Reynaud said. "That really got us heated.

"Now we've got to come out and really show 'em that we can hang with the big boys.”

Seems the Mountaineers are dealing with an identity crisis.

First, they're college football's version of the New York Yankees.

Now they're the dishonored little guy.

So which is it? Or is there some confusion? What, with Rodriguez no longer around, having bolted for Michigan, where it's actually OK to reference the Yankees.

Every day, there's something in the news, and little of it has to do with Wednesday's date with the Sooners. The school's lawsuit with Rodriguez over a little matter of $4 million he owes. The growing list of coaches apparently not interested in the West Virginia job.

Is some guy named Steinbrenner scaring off candidates?

"What's pretty sad is SportsCenter,” McAfee said.

Said West Virginia center Mike Dent: "I just flip the channel.”"