Here is a brief recap from the Associated Press via ESPN:
Pat White had a message for all those experts who think the West Virginia quarterback might make a better receiver in the NFL: Not so fast.
A local hero from Daphne, just outside Mobile, White led two scoring drives and passed for 95 yards as the South defeated the North 35-18 in the Senior Bowl, a showcase for many of college football's top prospects.
"I'm just happy I had the opportunity. This was a great coaching staff that taught me a lot in a week," White said. "I'm looking forward to keeping working, trying to get better."
The most prolific running quarterback in major college football history, White stood out among a group of high profile signal callers and was the most valuable player of the game that featured many top NFL prospects.
If there were doubts about the strength of White's arm, he tried to erase them in the third quarter when he stretched the South's lead with an impressive 39-yard scoring toss to Mississippi's Mike Wallace in the corner of the end zone.
Based on this map, I always thought that West Virginia was in the North.
From the West Virginia in the Civil War website, West Virginia was created in the midst of the Civil War and provided the Union Army 31,872 regular army troops. It is also estimated that somewhere between 16,000 and 20,000 men served in the Confederate Army. Therefore, based on the number of people who served the Confederacy and the fact that much of West Virginia is south of the Mason-Dixon Line, historically, I guess you could make a case that West Virginia is in the south.
However, the AP story ends with this line:
The North's Juaquin Iglesias of Oklahoma was the leading receiver with six catches for 90 yards.
I have no explanation.
I got a few points deducted during a job interview once when I was at breakfast with my future boss and commented on the fact that he was eating grits (he was from Boston). He told me he grew up eating grits because of his southern mother. I asked where she was from, he said, "West Virginia", and before I even thought, I laughed out loud and said, "That's not the SOUTH!" He took some umbrage to that.
ReplyDeleteI got the job anyway.
Gilahi - That's a great thing to say during an interview! Morgantown, WV is north but I would guess that almost everywhere else in the state would consider themselves in the South. Of course, Virginia is probably the same way. Do folks in Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria consider themselves as living in the South?
ReplyDeleteJust as people up north tend to have lower opinions of southerners, people from the deep south tend to look down their noses at anything north of where they grew up. My brother in Atlanta is still convinced that I've moved to Yankeeland, despite the fact that I keep reminding him that Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy. I know that technically I'm still in the south, but I'm about as far north as I ever want to be on a full-time basis.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in New Jersey, living in Alexandria is like living in the South for me... and in the opposite fashion of Gilahi, this is probably as far south as I want to be on a full-time basis.
ReplyDeleteMy mom currently lives in TN. And while it's a great rural retreat for when I want quiet solitude, I could never imagine myself living there.