There will be some hard feelings, but . . . .
Honestly, I think WVU fans will take this better than folks in places like Oklahoma State and Texas Tech who have not experienced this sort of thing before.
I think many WVU fans have come to understand that a bad reputation matters. From my direct observation, WVU fans have been much more hospitable to opposing teams and fans during the past decade in the Big 12. Part of that comes from gratitude that the Big 12 gave WVU a life raft, and part from the recognition that reputation may have hurt WVU's chances of membership in the ACC or SEC.
WVU fans want to be part of the P5 or whatever the future may call the top level of college football. And they appreciate that the Big 12 has provided excellent top-to-bottom competition in the sports that matter - better competition than the ACC would have provided during the same period. But the novelty of football visits by Oklahoma and Texas has worn off. WVU has joined the rest of the Big 12 in resenting whatever it is that allows Kansas to dominate basketball. While schools like Okie State, K State and Iowa State have a great deal in common with WVU, they will never generate the interest in West Virginia that regional rivals like Pitt, Maryland and Virginia Tech did. WVU folks miss being able to make road trips easily. There are some who would already prefer having a chance to be a top dog in the American to being middling in the Big 12.
So I expect a lot of "Horns Down" and a boisterous crowd when Texas comes to Morgantown this fall, but I doubt it will be anything like the 2003 Virginia Tech game. When push comes to shove, a lot of WVU fans probably understand that they enjoyed a decade of P5 sports only because Texas gave WVU its blessing.
Texas Tech is the place where a bad scene is most likely to occur with TU and OU. Lubbock is arguably a rougher environment than Morgantown. They throw tortilla chips at opponents "just because," and the transition to more aggressive ordnance will be a natural progression. And the future prospects of Texas Tech may be the worst of all Big 12 teams relative to its recent standing in the sports world. [Post edited by Tailgate Guru at 07/27/2021 11:33AM]
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In response to this post by Nelsonia Hokie)
Posted: 07/27/2021 at 11:33AM