Greetings from Arizona!! It?s so nice to finally be out West. My trip to the Fiesta Bowl started early this morning, with a 7:30 a.m. flight to Phoenix. That five-hour flight seemed a whole lot longer than I originally thought. When we walked onto the plane, the first people we saw were Governor Joe Manchin and his wife, Gail. It was nice to see the leaders of West Virginia on the plane, heading out to the big bowl game. I know that it will mean a lot to the team, and the fans, to have someone like Manchin at the game.

The plane was full of WVU fans, all decked out in their gold and blue gear and wearing their flying WV?s with pride. The pilot came on the overhead speaker to announce that we were going to be running a little late in our arrival to Phoenix, and ended his message with ?And let?s go ?Eers!? The whole plane erupted into cheers when the Mountaineer fans clapped and cheered for their team and for a game that is just a few days away. Fans from all over the plane were talking to people they didn?t even know about the bowl game, about the loss of Rich Rodriguez, and just about anything else that a Mountaineer fan could talk about a few days before the big game.

Getting off the airplane was an adventure in itself. Traveling with seven people is a lot, and it took us a while to get our situation sorted out. When we were waiting downstairs in the baggage claim area by the carousel, a woman who was pushing a baby carriage, and was holding the hand of a girl who couldn?t have been older than three, was wearing an Oklahoma t-shirt. Seeing all of the blue and gold of the people who have just de-boarded our plane, she whispered to her daughter ?say let?s go Sooners!? and ?Let?s go Oklahoma!? I thought this was very funny. Here is a little girl, a small child, who knows nothing about football or where she is, or the big bowl game culture that she was becoming a part of, and she is listening to her mom and saying ?Let?s go Sooners? anytime a blue and gold clad person walked past. The idea of the bowl culture and all that it entails was finally dawning on me.

I am staying at the media hotel in Scottsdale, which is separate from both the OU team?s hotel, the WVU band?s hotel, and the WVU football team?s hotel. I guess they don?t want us hounding the players before the big game. The scenery here is absolutely breathtaking. There are cacti and plants everywhere, and they seem to be growing in rocks and dirt, as opposed to the grass that I am used to seeing plants grow out of. The sky is a crystal, clear blue with not one cloud in sight. The backdrop of the whole city is rolling mountains that look the color of red sandstone. There are homes that are built right into the sides of the cliffs that must have an amazing view of the city, and landscape below.

Tonight there is a huge block party, which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation. There are tons of local bands playing, along with the Barenaked Ladies headlining the event. It should be a real blast to meet Mountaineer fans from all over the country at this event. It looks like it should be a really good time. The bowl game culture has already started to sink into my skin, and I?ve only been here for a few hours now. I can?t wait until I get to experience some real Arizona scenery, complete with Mountaineer colors spread throughout the backdrop.

All photography by Kendal Montgomery