Get to Know Brian Jozwiak

Yeah, it's game day. For reasons other than the game itself, today is a huge day for West Virginia football. This is a chance to wipe away the memories of the loss to Pitt and to start building for 2008. I'm nervous! Not scared, but nervous in anticipation of what West Virginia will be able to do against the Sooners. I haven't felt this way since the Louisville game of 06. I haven't written as much about it because of other things that have kept my attention away from what will take place in Tempe today. But the big game feeling is there. I have no intention of predictions or analysis. But rather something that fired me up.

I met Brian Jozwiak once in 1989. My band was playing at Bentley's (now called Sam's) during the golf tournament at Berry Hills CC. Brian and Brad Hunt were out hitting the bars in Charleston and stopped by to give us a listen. After a few songs, Brian came up and offered to buy each of us a shot of Wild Turkey if we would play Cocaine. We didn't tell him that that was the next song on our list, but we played it and drank the shots anyway. And that's pretty much what the rest of the night was like. Play a song, do a shot. Luckily everyone in the bar was as drunk as we were. He only talked to me once all night. He came up and shook my hand (which I was afraid he was going to crush it and end any chance I had at a musical career right then) and pointed at our drummer and said, " I bet he could kick your ass! And if he can't I WILL!" Maybe he thought I needed to hear that. I don't know. But I get the feeling that I must have played it right the rest of the night as the shots kept coming. I know it was all in jest, but you tend to take the word of a man that is 6'6", 320. Anyway, that's about as much as my memory allows me to remember meeting Brian Jozwiak.

On the field, he is a big part of the time I spent developing my loyalty to WVU sports. I was at the 1984 games against Penn St. and BC. There is no exaggeration in what he says about the crowd at Mountaineer Field back in those days. Maybe it's because we were always the underdog beating the Heisman candidate, etc, instead of the other way around. But anyway, I saw this on Youbube and got a little fired up just watching and remembering. And I hope it does the same for you as you get ready for tonights game.

Be Loud! Be Safe! and.......

Let's Go!.........Mountaineers!