It could be a big weekend in Morgantown for furniture sales.
For those wondering why, it harkens back to an old-school West Virginia trend that has fallen to the wayside in recent years.
It's a time-honored tradition amongst Mountaineer fans and students to set fire to couches when WVU pulls out a big win worth celebrating. Formerly renowned as a top party school nationally (though that reputation has also dropped off recently as well), it's not uncommon to find videos of couches burning in the streets of Morgantown amidst riot conditions during some of the rowdier nights throughout the city's history. Many of those celebrations were brought about by WVU sports success.
On Friday, former WVU kicker and current ESPN analyst and WWE commentator Pat McAfee brought The Pat McAfee Show, his massively popular sports talk show, to Morgantown for what essentially functioned as a pep rally for Saturday’s season-opener against No. 8 Penn State. And McAfee suggested live on-air that it could be time to revive old traditions in the near future.
“I think we should bring back the whole couch burning thing,” McAfee said.
McAfee was joined on stage by his former teammate and fellow WVU football legend Owen Schmitt for the show, who seemed pretty confident that the Mountaineers will come away with the victory this weekend. He also seemed to believe that those in Morgantown will heed McAfee’s advice upon WVU pulling off a Top 10 upset.
“Here’s what I’m going to say -- when we win, the couches will burn,” Schmitt said
Whether or not Schmitt’s prediction will come to fruition and his and McAfee’s advice will be heeded remains to be seen. But come dusk on Saturday, if the Mountaineers do succeed in their mission, it could be a long night for the Morgantown police and every couch and chaise lounge in the city. But maybe, at least, Ashley Furniture will see some Labor Day sales.