WVU coach pitches ‘great time’ to disappointed fans
Oct 15, 2024, 02:04 PM ET West Virginia coach Neal Brown is facing criticism over his current remarks focused on the Mountaineers’ frustrated fan base, whom he advised to continue supporting the group due to the fact that of the “great time” they have at home games.West Virginia was up to 3-3 with Saturday night’s nationally televised home loss to No. 9 Iowa State. It was the eighth consecutive loss versus a ranked challenger for the Mountaineers, who misused an early lead versus the unbeaten Cyclones and stopped working to capitalize on the raucous environment at Milan Puskar Stadium.With another prime-time home game on tap for Saturday night– this time against No. 17 Kansas State, Brown was asked Monday whether he had a message to fans who are upset with West Virginia’s uneven efficiency this season.Editor’s Picks“I get that they wish to win,” Brown stated.”However what I would say is, did they having fun? Did they enjoy it? It was a pretty good atmosphere. You understand, I’m assuming they probably had a respectable time tailgating. “So if they’re in the offer for pleasure, then I would return. I took a look at the weather, and it’s going to be good once again. It’s a night game, and we require them to offer a home-field advantage.”
Fans have since responded angrily to Brown’s comments, triggering the press reporter who asked the question Monday to publish on social networks that he “truthfully didn’t plan to stir anything up. I thought it was a basic concern.”
Brown is 34-32 in his five-plus seasons at West Virginia. The Mountaineers were a popular preseason pick to win the Big 12 this season after going 9-4 last year– their greatest single-season win overall given that 2016. But West Virginia was routed by No. 3 Penn State in its season opener and likewise suffered a 38-34 loss at rival Pittsburgh last month.Brown stated Monday
that the Mountaineers have dealt with a”hard schedule “and kept in mind that the 3 groups that have actually beaten West Virginia all stay undefeated.”That’s not a reason; it’s just the reality,”Brown stated.”The games in our league are going to come down to the fourth quarter, and I do not believe this on one Saturday’s going to be any various.”So we require [the fans] to help us.
I do get their frustration. However I don’t think when you enjoy our product, I do not think the item is something that they should be– aside from the outcome … it was an amusing football game. If you’re a football fan and simply seeing that, it’s quite entertaining. We simply didn’t play well enough to win. So I hope with that in mind, they would return for another amusing game that hopefully we can play much better at the end and win.”