The Backyard Brawl

Whether you're tailgating in the Blue Lot, Brown Lot, Light Blue Lot, Red Lot, etc., the goal remains the same: Eat pepperoni rolls, enjoy cold beverages to counter the pregame heat, listen to your favorite music and elevate the mood and atmosphere ahead of kickoff.

Our Brian Persinger had buckskin boots on the ground, so to speak, as he followed Mountaineer Mascot Mikel Hager around while he greeted tailgaters. Jennifer Shephard was on the ground as well, even though she wouldn't, quite literally, be for long — you'll see soon what I mean about that soon.

Tailgating at Milan Puskar Stadium has a new look between the Light Blue Lot and Teal Lot. The Almost Heaven Village is a new space where fans can gather for pregame music and entertainment. An estimate 700-800 fans gathered ahead of kickoff to listen to Landon McFadden and the Davisson Brothers Band, plus an appearance from West Virginia native and "Three's Company" star Joyce DeWitt.

Again, Persinger and Shephard were there to document life in the new village, with David Malecki joining.

It was the first time a Backyard Brawl was kicked off by a Mountaineer Mantrip, capped off by the now signature wave to WVU Children's Hospital.

The Mountaineers made their way through the crowd and into the stadium, gathered to wave at the children who waved back from WVU Children's Hospital and then made their way through the stands, across the field and into the locker room.

For Shephard's contributions below, she no longer had boots on the ground. She was, in fact, in an airplane shooting down at the stadium. Persinger photographed the empty stadium after it had been dressed in gold and blue pom poms to emphasize the stripes. I took the image you see above from that same corner — this time as the Mountaineers took the field — and the ones from the same spot as the Mountaineer Marching Band performed. Malecki took tight images from the field using field elements to frame the plane and blimp.

Fans executed the stripes perfectly this year, were in seats early and the sky was up to the task .

Of course, as much of a help as the atmosphere at Milan Puskar Stadium can be, football is won on Mountaineer Field at the center of it. And if the 2022 Backyard Brawl was a shootout, the 17-6 2023 variant was a lesson in execution and ball security.

The Mountaineers won the battle on from the defensive side, forcing three interceptions to help secure the win. Persinger, Malecki and I were on the field to capture the hits, picks, runs and celebrations.

Halftime belongs to the Mountaineer Marching Band. And so now do New York City's streets. Wesley Whatley, the creative producer of music and talent for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, surprised The Pride when they gathered in the Indoor Practice Facility before the game.

The band was invited the participate in the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They, of course, accepted the invite and were then presented with a $10,000 check to get the band started with their travel fund.

The announcement was made privately until the band was performing at halftime of the Backyard Brawl. That's when it was made known to the sellout crowd, and the check was again gifted to the program near midfield.

School spirit didn't stop with the band, and the passion for the game wasn't limited to the field. Beyond striping the stadium perfectly, fans showed up with the type of enthusiasm you'd expect after an 11-year hiatus from hosting the Mountaineers' biggest rival. The cheer and dance teams played their part on the field, and Hager found his opportunities to ignite stadium-wide chants and cheers. One fan even helped to set the tone by holding a Monster Energy Drink in their mouth.

The tradition of singing "Country Roads" is the exclamation point on any win at Milan Puskar Stadium, but it rings even louder with a Backyard Brawl crowd. Marchiol and fellow quarterback Scott Kean found my camera after the game to point into the lens before climbing into heading to the student section. That's when Marchiol climbed into it, was handed a pepperoni roll once acquired through an on-field toss, and he even wound up on one end of a student's video call.