This morning, the Washington Post contained an article by Mike Wise mentioning WVU and Maryland's penchant for igniting furniture (mentioning this site by name), previewing the WVU/Maryland game tonight, and squeezing in a few pot shots at West Virginians in the process.

Check the link out to read the full article. I emailed Mr. Wise to comment on this story. Here is the text of that email:

Dear Mr. Wise,
I am the co-owner and head writer of the website you mentioned in your article today, www.wemustignitethiscouch.com. A couple of comments based upon the article:

- We appreciate the plug, but really wish you'd refrain from the "Skeeter and Cletus" jokes. If you've ever actually been to Morgantown, you'll find that those sorts of characters don't generally exist in a university atmosphere, despite the sterotypical generalizations made about some parts of the state to the contrary. Yes, West Virginia has some places where sophistication is mostly lacking, but that doesn't make the whole state the Clampets either.

- Here's something that the national media hasn't grasped yet about Morgantown and couch fires. We only burn couches after upsets and HUGE wins. A win tonight against Maryland will not set the streets of Morgantown ablaze, as we EXPECT to win the game (by a lot.) Couches are burned in Morgantown after games like the 2003 upset of the #3 Virginia Tech Hokies in Morgantown, a game in which we were 20-point underdogs. Couches are not burned for beating an out-of-conference opponent that isn't nationally ranked, even if it is a rival. (We didn't burn them after Pitt, our biggest rival and conference foe, last year either.)

- You said, "How does a young kid like West Virginia sophomore tailback Steve Slaton react when he has fewer holes to run through, when he's not scoring six touchdowns like he did against Louisville last year?"

Ask Georgia.

Again, thanks for the plug, and feel free to contact me at the above address if you'd ever like to engage in dialogue for an article.

Very truly yours,
Jude