WE WON!!! The Mountaineers are the Fiesta Bowl Champions. This is honestly the most intense and incredible experience that I have ever been a part of. I was a little worried there for a second at the beginning of the second half when it seemed that the team was starting to lose their momentum, but they came back and scored and showed the Oklahoma Sooners who the more elite team was.

I went down on the field at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and was standing at the corner of the Mountaineer end zone, right in front of the band. It was the most incredible feeling, being on the turf and watching the team play, surrounded by all of those fans. The sound of the Mountaineer faithful was deafening, and almost ridiculous. My heart was pounding and my pulse was racing every time I heard the WVU fight song, or heard the crowd erupt into the ?Let?s Go Mountaineers? chant.

When Noel Devine ran for that 65 yard run that put us at 48-28, it looked as if he was running right at me at the end of the field. The band erupted into cheers, the color guard was dancing in the stands, and every Mountaineer fan was jumping up and down, waving signs or pom-poms and cheering for the team.

When the Oklahoma fans started to leave the stadium, I knew in my heart that we had clinched the Fiesta Bowl win. This win is extra sweet because we came in as the underdog, where 84 percent of the country had pitted us to lose, including all three of the sports writers on The Daily Athenaeum staff that are here covering the Fiesta Bowl. As interim head coach Bill Stewart said in his press conference, it feels nice to win this game, especially in light of the circumstances of losing a coach and being an underdog.

After the win, I went onto the field with the rest of the media and celebrated with the team, taking pictures of their embraces and listening to the band play Country Roads and the fans cheer in the stands. It was an amazing feeling to be part of that intense bowl culture and I couldn?t have been more ecstatic. I looked into the stands and people were crying with happiness at the win over number four Oklahoma.

We watched Bill Stewart receive the Fiesta Bowl trophy for the team, and that was an incredible thing to watch. Having his son up there with him sure meant a lot, and it was nice to see the team come together as a large family in their celebration.

I went to both the Oklahoma and the West Virginia press conference to get the real media feel for the event, and even went into the West Virginia locker room. That was something I never thought I would experience, and I bet every Mountaineer fan wishes that they had been able to be there, too. The guys were all in such a great mood and were all celebrating and relaxing and trying to absorb the feeling of a huge win.

I know that all over the Mountain state, and all over the country for that matter, Mountaineer fans are celebrating and cheering for their BCS bowl game win.

I am impressed with the coaching style of Bill Stewart, and I am impressed with the heart and soul that every Mountaineer football member put into the game. I have never been more proud to be a Mountaineer.

Congratulations to the team and to the coaching staff that brought us to this prestigious win. I couldn?t have been happier to be a part of it.