The classic underdog

On Saturday afternoon I sat in front of a friend's television, absolutely spellbound. On the screen the announcers narrated rebounds, turnovers and fouls as the camera panned over crowds dressed in blue and gold. Normally I don't follow basketball, and in fact I often require instruction on the game's subtler points. However, my home team's participation in the NCAA Elite Eight had turned even me into a rabid fan. West Virginia's miracle streak sparked in me not only an uncharacteristic interest in sports, but also a new surge of pride in my state.

While West Virginia is now making news for its men's basketball team, this has not always been the case. Rural, poor and known for its senators who stimulate the state economy with Congressional pork, West Virginia tends to attract negative attention, when it's noticed at all. Comments like, "Oh, I've been to Virginia Beach," show how little most people know about the place where I grew up; jokes about incest and wonder at the fact that I wear shoes complete the stereotypical picture. West Virginia exists on the margins of most people's geographical and cultural maps, if they're even conscious of it.

When out-of-state, I, too, am sometimes guilty of the same tendency to dismiss West Virginia. When people ask if I will return to my state after my education, I say no, that there are few opportunities there. While it is true that jobs are not as numerous, prestigious or lucrative as those in the big East and West coast cities, they do exist. Many West Virginia students, in fact, choose to remain instate for college and after graduation. Beyond the state borders, though, different expectations about acceptable standards of living prevail. In such conversations I often revert to others' frames of reference, but never without an apologetic feeling that I've betrayed those I grew up with.

After a year abroad and two at an elite university, West Virginia has become a place that I am from. Even when I return home, a certain distance remains. When I visit high school friends, it is obvious that, at least for now, our lives have taken different directions. We talk about mutual acquaintances and Morgantown happenings, but certain spheres just don't intersect anymore.

Now, however, excitement for the game brings us back together. My friends and I connect again via delirious phone conversations and anguished IMs. I read and leave affirmative replies to away messages gloating, "WVU is in the Elite Eight . . . (and Duke isn't)!" We reminisce about earlier basketball games that we attended together, from Girl Scout days to Family Nights, when squealing girls thronged the stadium and four tickets came with hot dogs, colas and popcorn. Those eight or nine years disappear in the euphoria of West Virginia's streak. When the hometown team is winning, state pride erases time spent away.

The Mountaineers' amazing performance has done more, however, than bring West Virginians living in the Diaspora to reconnect with their state. The basketball team's success has also put West Virginia — the classic underdog team — on people's radar. Coach John Beilein has said that his team can play anybody in the country, and it's true. Through teamwork, discipline and hard work, this team triumphed on the court in a way that has made people nationwide take notice.

The unexpected rise of the Mountaineers represents, in microcosm, the state of West Virginia. It and its people tend to be written off and overlooked, but in solid values and undeniable talent West Virginia possesses a real winning combination, a fact that WVU's Elite Eight loss to Louisville doesn't change. There's a special pleasure in rooting for the underdog when that underdog is yourself. Emily Stolzenberg is a sophomore from Morgantown, W. Va. She can be reached at estolzen@princeton.edu.