West Virginia's Twelfth Man

A lot has been written lately regarding ESPN's portrayal of West Virginia in its recent film, Requiem for the Big East, part of its critically-acclaimed 30 for 30 Series. The film depicts the "meteoric" rise and fall of the Big East basketball conference, a now-defunct conglomeration of Eastern collegiate superpowers and big-name superstars. West Virginia University (WVU) played a critical role in the success of the Big East, especially in its final years, winning its first Big East Conference title in 2010 and making the line "The Butler did it!" a household classic.

In the film, West Virginia is mostly ignored while other institutions are romanticized and praised for their athletics and overall prowess. When WVU receives its limelight, a sour taste is left in the mouths of those who live, love, and took an oath as life-long Mountaineers in the Mountain State.

Not only does executive producer Ezra Edelman use West Virginia to illustrate the racism that Patrick Ewing received while playing his collegiate years at Georgetown University, the all-too-familiar opening licks of "Dueling Banjos" echo through viewers' living rooms as overall-clad hillbillies play the Appalachian staple instrument on the rickety front porch of a dilapidated mountain dwelling.

The racism Ewing experienced was not specific to West Virginia, nor is the poverty that continues to plague this multi-state region (including the likes of Kentucky-based University of Louisville, which received no negative criticism or stereotypical Appalachian depiction in the film).

Fellow WVU student Christopher Nyden drafted an emotional and well-written response to the film in the WVU student newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum. I encourage you to read his letter to gain a full understanding of the film's disappointing WVU depiction, and to share in his sentiment.

Enough about that - criticism and unfair portrayal of West Virginia in the national media is nothing new, in fact it's something I've come to expect as a native son of this rural and oft-forgotten state. I'd need a few extra hands to count the number of individuals I met out West who didn't realize West Virginia is, in fact, its own sovereign state. "Oh, western Virginia, I have a cousin in Richmond!" is a classic line that our residents use as satire to illustrate Westerners' lack of geographical knowledge.

West Virginians place their collegiate sports teams on a pedestal as proverbially gilded as the Capital's golden dome in Charleston. After all, a forested state bisected by a few interstate highways will never play host to a professional team. And their legacies are epic - in a state with a population of only 1.8 million, WVU athletics have accomplished some amazing things. The story of the 1970 plane crash that took the lives of the entire  Marshall University football team is immortalized in the film "We Are Marshall." Knowledgeable fans of collegiate athletics can't deny the Mountain State's place in glorified sports lore.

I could write yet another heartfelt response begging ESPN for an apology that it won't issue, but that won't accomplish anything. And while Nyden's letter is well-deserving of the publication - and publicity - that it received, his call for apology has been made many times in the past. I believe these requests fall short in their (perhaps unintentional) desire that West Virginia's Appalachian heritage be not portrayed at all.

I'd like to suggest something different for ESPN: a focus on West Virginia's Twelfth Man. And by that, I mean those who play in its great outdoors. World-class rock climbing and bone-crushing whitewater accompany some of the best skiing and mountain biking in the East. And with those adrenaline-fueled mountain sports come some of the world's strongest athletes - physically and mentally.

Alongside highlight reel Mountaineer touchdowns, ESPN should show Fayetteville climber Pat Goodman putting up some of the world's hardest traditional climbing routes at the New River Gorge. Buzzer-beating buckets should be paired with footage of the carnage that occurs when the annual Summersville Dam release makes the Upper Gauley River some of the gnarliest white water on the entire planet. Bundled with these clips should be West Virginia's residents shredding vertical lines in the summer and winter at the 24 Hours of Snowshoe mountain bike and ski events.

And while we're at it, let's boast these amazing adventure sports with a soundtrack of beautiful Appalachian music from the likes of West Virginia native Tim O'Brien plucking alongside mandolin wizard Chris Thile. 
Let's show these technical masters of mountain music playing on the nationally-broadcast favorite Mountain Stage. If bluegrass ain't your thing, choose from the diverse list of well-known West Viriginia musicians. Or if you need some grime to pump up your footage, play world-famous producer Pretty Lights' remix of the state anthem that he dropped at the 2011 All Good Music Festival in Preston County.

After all, we've got a lot to be proud of. Unfortunately, national media outlets don't see it that way. And as they continue to cover the bad and stereotype the good, Mountaineers will move forward. While touchdowns are scored and foul shots are made, limits will be pushed on rock and in water. While tailgates rage and traffic accrues, powder will spray and solace will be found on Wilderness trails. That's how West Virginia's real Twelfth Man participates. Because at the end of the day, the best escape from the dark shadows of national discourse can always be found in those ancient Appalachian mountains.