A sage piece of advice for WVU fans – courtesy of Tom Hanks
When WVU president Gordon Gee and athletic director Wren Baker named Josh Eilert the interim men’s basketball coach, there seemed to be a collective calm settle over Mountaineer nation.
It wasn’t exuberance. It wasn’t joy. But considering the late date of Bob Huggins’ forced resignation, many felt it was the best move available – if the fine roster of players stuck around.
Of course, we know what happened after that. Word is, players looked Baker in the eyes and said they’d stay if Eilert was hired.
Yet the transfer portal was hit by Mountaineer players. One, then two and three, then four and five.
Each was like a gut punch to WVU fans. If this was going to be the case, came the cry, why not do whatever it took to grab the proven John Beilein?
Beilein was offered, we know, but according to one in on the negotiations, it “couldn’t get pushed across the goal line.”
So here we are. A basketball season once filled with so much promise – one we thought could still be so after the Huggins arrest – is now very much up in the air. The good news is top-flight transfer signees Kerr Kriisa and Jesse Edwards appear to be staying. RaeQuan Battle became popular in Mountaineer land after saying he was staying. But Tre Mitchell has already left for Kentucky. Joe Toussaint is on a tour of the country. Big men James Okonkwo and Mo Wague are in the portal and weighing options. There have been some rumblings regarding Jose Perez.
I feel the despair from WVU fans. One looked at me with sad eyes and asked, “Why Mitch? Why can’t we have nice things?”
He said that knowing there are low expectations for the football team in addition to the hoops situation.
And I get it. I do. I FEEL it from Mountaineer fans. All those that support WVU athletics have enjoyed top-shelf success through the years. They are ready for more memories. They don’t want to keep looking back at the Pat White and Geno Smith days or 2010 Final Four days forever like Pittsburgh Pirate fans look back at “We Are Family” teams.
And I can only offer a couple pieces of advice. One, I offered last week I believe. Contribute to Country Roads Trust. Give them muscle to flex when Mountaineer coaches use the transfer portal for their benefit.
The other? Well, I’m trying to incorporate the advice of one Tom Hanks into my life. Yes, that Tom Hanks. The actor.
I saw a video of him during an Actor Roundtable discussion with Robert De Niro, Jamie Foxx, Adam Driver and Adam Sandler. The advice was simple. It was sage. It’s what I’ve learned through many trials and tribulations through my life. It’s what I wish I’d have heard and listened to early in life. I even passed it along to my daughter and that of Joni.
Hanks was asked what he wished he knew early in life.
“I wish I’d have known this too shall pass,” he said.
Those at the roundtable looked and listened.
“You feel bad right now?” he asked. “You feel pissed off? You feel angry?
“This too shall pass.”
Hanks smiled.
“You feel great? You feel like you know all the answers? You feel everybody finally gets you?
“This too shall pass.”
“Time,” he said, “is you ally.”
That hit home in my life overall, but it should hit home regarding WVU’s athletic situation. When I was a senior in high school, the Mountaineer football team was 2-9 as an independent. At that time, Penn State ruled the East and beat West Virginia 49-21 in Morgantown. One of WVU’s only two wins came against Richmond in the opener – by 14-12. The season ended coach Frank Cignetti’s third and final season in Morgantown with losses to Pitt (52-7) and Colorado State (50-14). The Mountaineer defensive backs coach, by the way, was Nick Saban.
I rarely even paid attention to WVU basketball at that time. When I was a senior in high school, the Mountaineers were 12-16 in coach Joedy Gardner’s last season there. I grew up in Fairmont when everyone followed the local college’s Falcons. Joe Retton finished with a winning percentage (83.6) higher than that of UCLA’s John Wooden. He was the Jim Crutchfield of that time.
Of course, all that passed. WVU’s losing in football passed until recently. The losing in basketball passed for the most part. Good times were had by all. And then those passed.
So now? You feel bad? You feel pissed off? You feel angry?
“If nothing else, just wait,” Hanks said in finishing his speech. “Just wait it out.”
The hope for Mountaineer fans is indeed this too shall pass – quickly.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.
