I see you sitting there with that look in your eye. It's that same look I see in the mirror every time I think I'm buying a bottle of Jack Daniels and it ends up being a bottle of Jack...well, you know. See, it's all about expectations. You look at that bottle of brown liquid and take for granted what's in there and you start planning you're next step before you even know what's in there. And when you find out, a) it's too late, and b) you're left with that empty feeling a thousand bottles of the good stuff couldn't fill.

Now I'll admit I don't know that much about football. All I really know is what I learned from that movie I was in with Shaq. He must be one tough dude. I don't think he ever wore pads. But anyway, I'll never forget a line from that movie. It goes a little something like this,"Every time I say it's a game, you say it's a business. And every time I say it's a business, you call it a game."I don't know what that means, really. But it's got a lot of angst to it. And I like that. It makes me wanna scream.Come to think of it, I don't believe Shaq was in that movie.

But you almost look afraid to scream. I know it hurts when reality doesn't meet up with your expectations. But I'll bet there's another one of those games this week. I'll bet it's against someone ranked higher than you and now you get a chance to play the spoiler. You remember how it was when you used to come out of nowhere and whoop someone! Alright then!! Put all that crap in the past and let me hear you scream!

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 The news that Louisville will not be sending their Cheer and Dance teams to Morgantown this Saturday for safety issues is a bunch of crap. In my mind, it's just a jilted ex-lover going out of their way to make the other ex-lover look bad. Believe me, we know something about jilted ex-lovers.

The idea that Morgantown is any worse a place to visit than any other college football town is silly on a lot of levels. Mostly because WVU doesn't own the market on stupid drunk people. You can find those types pretty much everywhere. As someone that's gone to quite a few road games, I can say that you have to be ready to defend yourself everywhere you go. Except Mississippi State. Those folks were wonderful to us. But I bet if I had looked hard enough, I would have found someone that wanted to fight me because of the clothes I was wearing.

If anything, WVU developed a bad reputation a long time ago. So every time anything negative happens in Morgantown it turns into a "see, I told you so" moment. The key to visiting Morgantown or any college football town is to not walk past a house full of drunk 18-year-olds wearing your school colors. Five minutes of research can usually help you accomplish this. But what you've done by signaling to the world that Morgantown is not a safe place for your fans or cheerleaders, is you've put a bulls-eye on every fan that does come to Morgantown this weekend. Because if you call someone an A-hole, they're probably going to be an A-hole to you every time they see you. My own suggestion to Mountaineer fans is that you kill them with kindness. Be so over-the-top nice to Cardinal fans that they kind of resent you for it. Sometimes, it's mind games.

Terry Tate mind games.wmv (via netolanetacabrones)

Poor fan behavior shouldn't be accepted in Morgantown or anywhere else for that matter. It seems like an issue college football has been fighting for as long as I can remember. But in this post 9/11 world, I'd like to think we could all find a way to come together as Americans and stop all this pettiness.

It's a long off season and we've certainly had (more than) our share of drama this year. But now that the dust has settled, it's time to start thinking about getting our game faces on. I mean, camp starts in a little over a month and the season starts a month after that. I don't know about anyone else, but I want to know that I did everything in my power to be in mid-season form by the time the season kicks off. With that in mind, The Smoking Musket suggests you use the following as a guide to prepare yourself to be the best Mountaineer fan you can be this season.

Cheering

Like every other muscle in your body, those vocal chords need a good workout every day. But you don't want to risk injury right off the bat. So you'll need to work you way up to it over the next two months. There's a Marshall fan that lives on my street. So what I do this time of year is catch them as they are driving to work and just give a little boo as they drive by. As the weeks go on, the boos get louder and louder until I feel confident they know I don't like them or their school.

With our new offense, we strongly recommend you practice the first down cheer until you can do it in your sleep. My Marshall neighbors come in handy for this as well. After you clap, just point in the opposite direction they are going. You may not have a Marshall fan in your neighborhood, so just make due with what you have. If, however, all you have are Mountaineer fans, you can practice the Let's Go chant with someone across the street. Don't be afraid to get your neighbors involved! They need this as much as you do.

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Some of you may be tired of talking about it but watch me disregard your feelings and talk about it anyway. No, I will not talk about our great football coach Bill Stewart again. Instead, I am going to dive head first into the seemingly endless debate on student misbehavior at WVU sporting events.

The students terrible behavior reared its ugly head again during Saturday’s game against tOSU. There were countless times on TV that you could hear "Fuck U Turner," "Fuck the Buckeyes," or "Fuckeyes" chants. While these are all very original cheers, which took hours to think up, they need to stop.

One of the toughest places to play is Cameron Indoor and those nerds don't curse out opposing teams.  They come up with classic chants like "Sheed can't read." That is funny and could really get into a players head.  I don't want to become Duke, because annoying white guys that flop a lot are not fun to watch, but intimidating teams without looking like uneducated morons can be done.

More ranting after the jump...

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During the week there was a ton of trash talk on this site between WVU and Auburn fans.  Following that, one would think that the experience in Auburn would be something like it is in Morgantown during game weekends.  Meaning, fans would yell expletives and generally treat visiting fans somewhat poorly.  That could not be further from our actual experience in Auburn.

I was never cursed or even yelled at by "real" Auburn fans while walking around Auburn.  The worst I heard all weekend was "War Damn Eagle."  I was invited into multiple tailgates for adult beverages, great food and stories about Auburn football.

It was a great weekend and I was impressed by everything I saw, especially the co-eds.  Southern hospitality is alive and well in Auburn, Alabama. Thank you to all the fans I met this weekend and to all those that visited the site over the last week.  We hope y'all come back and share your views any time.

I will be rooting for the Tigers the rest of the season.  Good luck and thanks for everything, except the loss!

We're all on the same side here, right?  I have to ask, because the last few months have seemed anything but cheery.

Here were are, starting into the middle of football season, and last thing people want to talk about is Mountaineer football.  Not really, anyway.  Sure, they might mention Mountaineer football, but they'd rather talk about everything around Mountaineer football.

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Note: The Smoking Musket's fan manifesto will be an ongoing series...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make Mountaineer Field and the Coliseum the toughest places to play in the nation. There are not many steps, but it will take a lifetime of devotion to accomplish. If you succeed, your gravestone shall read, "Here lies a true Mountaineer fan."

The teams prepare year round to defend their home turf. This is what we, as fans, must do to help them defend our home. Again, the purpose of this "manifesto" is not to make all of you feel like failures because you are not the perfect fan. Quite the contrary.  Rather, it is a set of goals that we should all strive to achieve.

Some specifics within each step will only apply to one sport or the other, but the main point rings true whether it is football, basketball, or rifle.  Nobody’s perfect -- not even us -- as hard as that is to believe. But if you want to strive to be the perfect Mountaineer fan, here is your guide.

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