Fun with Yucky Chucky and Uncle Joe

I truly thought I was done with Chuck Landon until the Capital Classic in December.

Well, I was dead wrong. I kinda owe him an FJM-style beatdown after posting a blatantly wrong article about the jokeshow called the “Friends of Coal Bowl.” Enough preliminary talk, let’s get this show on the road! [HHD]

Chuck Landon: Manchin push should keep WVU series going

September 12, 2010 @ 12:00 AM
The Herald-Dispatch

It’s obvious.
The sky is blue, grass is green, people in Huntington are FAT…? WHAT IS IT, CHUCKIE!?

West Virginia University does not want the football series with Marshall University to be a rivalry.
Well, no shit, Sherlock!

It’s certainly obvious to Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick.
So, someone from Marshall GETS IT!

And, more importantly, it’s now obvious to West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin.
Something tells me I’m not the only Mountaineer fan tired of Bingo Joe.

Hamrick already knew that, but Manchin wasn’t aware of it until the Friends of Coal Bowl brunch on Friday at Marshall’s Alumni Center in Huntington.
That’s because Manchin was too busy… maybe if you would have read Mitch Vingle’s article I FJM’ed, you wouldn’t have had to include this sentence!

That’s when the governor realized he was being played by WVU.
Played by his own Alma Mater!

And he didn’t like it.
Just like we don’t like the series with Marshla.

Not one bit.
Well, whoopty-doo!

When Manchin learned a Friday morning meeting between Hamrick and new WVU athletic director Oliver Luck had accomplished virtually nothing toward extending the Marshall-WVU football series, he wasn’t a very happy governor.
He shouldn’t be a very happy Governor because in his almost 6 years in office, he hasn’t done a DAMN thing for this state!

Then, when Manchin realized WVU officials were using stall tactics in an attempt to end a series the Mountaineers never really wanted in the first place … well, reality set in for Manchin.
“Well, maybe WVU doesn’t want this series after all… but, I’m still the Governor, so I get the final say—screw what Oliver Luck says! If I had my way, I’d also be Athletic Director!”

The reality is WVU officials detest the Marshall football series just as much as Manchin loves it.
Oooh… opposites!!!

Therein lays the tug-o-war.
It should be more like a cagefight.

Manchin considers the Marshall-WVU football series as his gubernatorial legacy. WVU considers it a blight on their existence.
HOLY SCHNIKES… OUR STATE STILL RANKS NEAR THE BOTTOM ECONOMICALLY AND HE CONSIDERS THE COAL BOWL HIS LEGACY!? GET THIS GUY OUTTA OFFICE ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!

That’s why Mountaineer officials have been stonewalling. They know Manchin is likely to win the special election on Nov. 2 to succeed the late, great Robert C. Byrd in the United States Senate. They know a Senator Manchin will be leaving for Washington, D.C.
Well, we don’t know FOR SURE if he’ll change his job title from “Governor” to “Senator.”

So, they played the waiting game.
Homer Simpson recommends playing Hungry, Hungry Hippos as opposed to the waiting game.

And it was working until Manchin saw through WVU’s stall tactics.
JOE WANT COAL BOWL! JOE MAD!

That’s what prompted Manchin’s announcement at the brunch Friday that the series would be extended.
…and I bet Oliver Luck wanted to choke out Manchin at that moment.

When Manchin realized the games that were being played off the field to try to keep the Marshall-WVU games from being played on the field, he summoned Hamrick and Luck for an impromptu conversation at the brunch.
Joe: “Now, you two either do as I say, or else…”
Oliver: “Or else what, Governor?”
Joe: (stunned and shocked that someone stood up to him.)

The governor gave the two athletic directors a simple directive.

Get it done.
GET ‘ER DONE!!! We gotta have this WV-KY rivalry!

Where it goes from here will be very interesting. There has been talk of a 3-for-2 arrangement with a pair of the games being played in Huntington.
WVU makes 400,000 to go to Huntington, KY. Marshall makes 750,000 to go to Morgantown, WV. Why are we paying 750K to a school in Kentucky and calling it an “in-state rivalry?”

But WVU officials are adamant about not playing the game every year. Again, that is a means to prevent Marshall vs. WVU from being a rivalry.
IT IS NOT A RIVALRY, AND IT NEVER WILL BE!!!

It appears there definitely won’t be a MU-WVU game in 2013, the season after the current seven-year contract expires. The Mountaineers have ensured that with their scheduling practices.
Thank God! No Herdie Terdies in 2013! REJOICE!!

After that, WVU wants to play Marshall one season and, then, skip a couple of years. That’s yet another way to down-play the rivalry.
I guess you gotta slowly kill it off to ensure that this “rivalry” never gets spoken of again.

The fact of the matter is an on-and-off series is no series at all. Which is clearly WVU’s intention. That’s the Mountaineers’ plan.
And, hopefully, this plan will go off without a hitch.

Will it succeed? I have doubts based on one compelling fact. WVU officials stepped on Joe Manchin’s toes.
WVU is bigger than Joe Manchin. I guess Manchin is wanting to be Marshall’s Senator?

That was a mistake.

A big mistake.
OOOOOH… I bet Oliver Luck is REALLY scared.

/sarcasm

It prompted Manchin to issue the directive to Hamrick and Luck and, then, to tell the brunch audience that the extension “would make Marshall fans happy.”
But what about your Alma Mater, Bingo Joe?

WVU has raised the governor’s ire.
“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH… WVU doesn’t wanna play in my Coal Bowl!”

That’s not a smart move.
Get ready for a Luck vs. Manchin power struggle, ladies and gentlemen!

It’s also why Manchin made a point of telling the brunch audience that governors always get involved in intra-state games like this one.
Really? I don’t see Rick Perry getting involved in Texas-Texas Tech or Texas-Texas A&M…?

If Manchin has any say — and he will — the MU-WVU series isn’t likely to skip any years after the 2013 hiatus.
That’s because when 2018 rolls around, he’ll need the Huntington, KY vote again.

Joe Manchin isn’t accustomed to losing power struggles.
Even the 2007-2008 Patriots lost a game… THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE OF ALL!!!