After watching colossal underdogs Appalachian State upset #5 Michigan on Saturday, my initial thought was whether the rest of the country would understand the magnitude of this win.
I had no idea how much they would.
Within minutes after the victory, the faces of Armanti Edwards, Kevin Richardson, and game winning field goal kicker Julian Rauch were plastered across every sports show and website across America.
For many, this was the greatest upset in the history of college football, a shocker of ultimate proportions, one that broke the hearts of Michigan fans across the country and crushed the dreams of a team that planned on competing for a national championship this year.
For me, the upset hit closer to home. Literally.
I’ve lived in Boone, NC for the last decade, where the Appalachian State Mountaineers reside. To those who have never visited Boone, it’s a small mountain town, despite what its 15,000 plus student population may lead you to believe.
It’s beautiful and peaceful. Very peaceful, especially when the snow begins to quietly blanket the city streets from at least December to March. The best way to give directions to someone entering this little town is to point them toward the two-story Wendy’s, which over the years has become a landmark in this area. Honestly, there’s just not that much else to guide a visitor around here.
Put it this way: this town is not full of 109,000 screaming, rabid fans. But then again, neither is Ann Arbor, Michigan right about now, is it?
That landmark Wendy’s may need to be changed to local Kidd Brewer Stadium if things keep progressing this way, however. And on this pace, Mountaineers coach Jerry Moore may soon have a statue that stands as the shining beacon of this small town. Step aside, Dave Thomas.
You’ve likely heard far too often this week that ASU won the last two Division I-AA National Championships, a fact that quickly gave us newfound credibility with the suddenly interested media.
And while it’s true that we’ve relished the attention up here of course, all of the publicity still feels a bit surreal to locals like me. Sure, it’s nice to see our town featured on the news constantly. It’s just humorous to us that all of a sudden, every member of the media acts like they “know” Boone, despite their ongoing inability to pronounce it correctly (it’s Appa-latch-in, by the way).
I know Boone. It’s my home. I was here for both of those I-AA championships. And as wonderful as they were for this small town and the trophy case that’s housing those two medals of honor, both of them were a disappointment to me.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not Appalachian State’s fault. It was great to see my local team win back-to-back national championships. I watched students and fans of our team celebrating just like any other school, tearing goalposts down and burning dirty apartment couches in the city streets. But beyond that, something still seemed like it was missing.
After working so hard to get to the national championship game, what was the reward for this team? A spot on ESPN2 and a minute or two on Sportscenter after commercials and NFL highlights? It was an accomplishment for the town, but heartbreaking for me. This was it? That’s what winning the Div. I-AA championship gets you? It was such a letdown. What would it take to be the talk of the nation? This team deserves more, I thought.
On Saturday, they finally got it.
It took a trip into the Big House against a top 5 nationally ranked supposed powerhouse to cast aside any doubt that this team from Boone, NC can compete on the biggest of stages.
My close friend and Appalachian State alum, who received tickets as a wedding gift, called me on the way back from the Big House to the hotel. “You can hear a pin drop out here”, she said after the game. I told her it might be a good idea to be just as quiet on her way back. I mean, it is Michigan, and besides the expectations Wolverines fans may have had, Ann Arbor’s still in close enough proximity to Detroit to probably still hear a gunshot or two.
Regardless, I hope she held her head up high while she walked back to the room. After all, we Mountaineers have a right to.
To college football fans, it was an epic upset. To those of us who live in Boone, we may not have seen it coming, but I’m not sure anyone here was as shocked as the rest of the nation. We’ve personally watched this team grow into our own little powerhouse, and we know it will stay that way as long as quarterback Armanti Edwards is running the show.
Shhhhhh……don’t let that get out though. We’re trying to keep it our little secret.
Besides, this town is quiet and peaceful…..and we like it that way.
