Fans settle in to West Virginia University football in the age of the pandemic

WVU got through its first game, against Eastern Kentucky, without any snags on the field or off, be they related to football or COVID-19.

But whether the Mountaineers can finish their full slate of games is a big mystery and likely will remain that way right up until the clock runs out on the season.

Afton Wagner, WVU alumna and fan from Morgantown, is watching closely.

“I feel that if everyone plays a part in the safety of the players and personnel by taking precautions at facilities, limited outside interactions away from practice and meetings, and building as much of a bubble environment within the program, then I fully support them playing,” Wagner said.

Some fans are just glad they have football to watch on TV or the internet, even if they can’t sit in the stands.

“I’m glad WVU is playing because it gives me something to watch on Saturdays. As long as they continue to put players’ health and safety above all, I’m all for it,” WVU student James Cava said. “It’s not how anyone wished it would be this season, but with everything going on, I think they’ve done a good job taking people’s minds off everything else for a couple hours.”

Nicole DeSimone of Nutter Fort is a parent of a student-athlete in Harrison County’s K-12 schools. She speculates that just as for middle and high school athletes, college athletes have quite an adjustment to the much smaller than normal crowds.

“When it is so limited to who can come to watch and support them, I think it does mentally effect how they play, how they practice and sometimes the amount of effort that they put in,” DeSimone said.

Wagner notes that universities like WVU have motive to play — the revenue needed to sustain athletic department programming — and also plenty of resources to stay safe from the virus, to test for it and to handle community isolation.

She just hopes that younger athletes can keep playing too, “because I feel that extracurricular activities for children play a huge part in mental health wellness.”

The home-field advantage at Milan Puskar Stadium always has been an important factor for WVU, but the lack of a crowd didn’t seem to impact the Mountaineers as they crushed heavily overmatched Eastern Kentucky.

Whether that will hold true for home games against Big 12 foes Baylor (Oct. 3), Kansas (Oct. 17), Kansas State (Oct. 31), TCU (Nov. 14) and Oklahoma (Nov. 28) remains to be seen.

Of course, there’s also the chance that restrictions could be lifted and at least some fans might be allowed to attend by some or all of those games.

If it’s safe to do so, WVU coach Neal Brown and his players sure won’t mind.

“WVU feeds off the crowd energy and that environment,” said Jaren McCrae, WVU alumnus and fan from Hurricane.