Waiting for the Fall: A Decade of Dreams, Drama and West Virginia University Football [Paperback]

Mike Casazza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2012

For the people of West Virginia—a state that is often ridiculed and disregarded—their flagship university’s Mountaineer football team is a source of pride, a shining representative for their state on the national stage. So when native son and head coach Rich Rodriguez led the Mountaineers to an unexpected Sugar Bowl victory at the end of the 2005 season, behind a youthful roster that included electrifying freshmen Patrick White and Steve Slaton, West Virginia fans figured the best was yet to come. Instead, the seasons that followed served up endless, stomach-churning drama, pivoting around one of the most earth-shattering upsets in college football history—to be known forever by its final score, 13-9. Successes came the Mountaineers’ way, including three Bowl Championship Series victories in seven years. But so did turbulent coaching changes that splintered the fan base, looming uncertainty caused by ongoing conference realignment, power struggles that forced some into highly embarrassing acts, and enough backstabbing and subterfuge to fill a Shakespearian tragedy. The Mountaineers emerged from the turmoil to face a bright future in a new conference, but will the old demons still haunt them? A sportswriter for the Charleston Daily Mail, Mike Casazza has covered the Mountaineers for more than a decade; he’s lived WVU football from Nehlen to Rodriguez to Stewart to Holgorsen. In Waiting for the Fall, Casazza has written the definitive document of this unprecedented period for West Virginia University football. You'll also read an insightful foreword from ESPN play-by-play announcer and native West Virginian Mike Patrick, who broadcast that infamous loss to Pittsburgh. Waiting for the Fall is an epic tale that captures the events and emotions that defined an era for West Virginians who experienced it firsthand. It’s also a must-read for football fans who watched with interest as the sport’s most successful team without a national title became a soap opera disguised as a major college football program. And if you’re a sports fan who simply loves a great story told well, Waiting for the Fall is just the sort of page-turner you’ll love. *Now Updated with a new Epilogue by the author!

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Zone Read (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0985200901
• ISBN-13: 978-0985200909
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Casazza is an award-winning reporter and the beat writer for the Charleston Daily Mail and has been covering collegiate athletics since 2002. He’s covered NCAA Tournaments that have ended in the Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen and numerous football bowl games, including three BCS games. He’s broken stories and been around breaking news along the way and has learned more about coaching searches, coaching contracts, litigation and the legal side of sports than he ever predicted. Born in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1980, he graduated from Osbourn High School in Manassas, Va., in 1998 and attended West Virginia University. He was a magna cum laude graduate in 2002, when he was named the Most Outstanding News-Editorial Student and Top Scholar in the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism. He began his work in a newsroom at the Manassas Journal Messenger in 1996 and moved on to WVU’s Daily Athenaeum in 1998, the Morgantown Dominion Post in 2000 and the Charleston Daily Mail in 2007. He’s won a list of awards from the West Virginia Press Association, including first-place awards for sports news writing in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and was the recipient of an honorable mention honor from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing in 2003. He resides in Morgantown, W.Va., with his wife, Erinn, and lives a quick sprint away from Mountaineer Field, in case news ever breaks. Of course, it often breaks when he’s on vacation—or perhaps because he is on vacation.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Zone Read (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0985200901
• ISBN-13: 978-0985200909
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #588,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book featuring Bill Stewart that you will ever read... March 29, 2012

By Cam

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're looking at this book, you're no doubt wondering, "Is there anything in there that I don't already know?" The answer to the question: There's enough to make it fun, as the pages will turn quickly for any fan of college football. Notice I said "college football" and not "Mountaineer fan." Casazza writes about an athletic department that is simply entertaining. In it, you have bona fide characters . . . Rich Rodriguez, who is the talented, successful character who decided he was worth so much more . . . Bill Stewart, the home grown but in-over-his-head fool . . . Oliver Luck, the decisionmaker who essentially rules with an iron fist . . . and Dana Holgorsen, who represents the hopes and dreams of the fans. One can't help but think that if this book has a sequel, Holgorsen's story will closely resemble that of Rodriguez.

Most fans will probably be most interested in the Fiesta Bowl aftermath. Your suspicions of the hiring of Bill Stewart are probably true and very disappointing that adults are capable of such stupid decisions.

One of the things that's frustrating with sports coverage these days is that ESPN will put out an opinion, everyone on the network will agree with it, and then your buddies will randomly bring up the same topic (and opinion) in conversation later. This book spits in the face of that notion, as it starts off with a foreward by Mike Patrick giving his strong opinion on a subject, and then spends almost 300 pages (and an editor's note) going against it. I love that. As with most Mountaineer fans, we all want the team to win, but hardly any of us agrees on anything else.

Going beyond the Bill Stewart issues, there are many things in Waiting For the Fall that are enjoyable to read even though they are not bombshells.... Specifically, revisiting the Sugar Bowl win (love it), "13-9" (it still hurts), RichRod's departure (it doesn't still hurt), the many ridiculous quotes from Bill Stewart, etc., are all interesting as Casazza weaves in quotes from the key participants, statistics that aren't as readily available to a newspaper when writing on a deadline, and - as he typically does in the Charleston Daily Mail - sticks with facts that allow the reader to form his or her own opinion but not shying away from the actual stories.

The title, Waiting For the Fall, at first made me think it was only a reference to Bill Stewart. Casazza points out that it's actually the mindset of the entire West Virginia fanbase. Think that's not true? Try standing at Mountaineer Field of a game West Virginia is winning by three touchdowns in the fourth quarter and shouting out, "This game is over."

If I were to compare this book to others in the marketplace, I would compare it to a John Feinstein book but without all the "filler." For instance, in The Last Amateurs, Feinstein writes about very interesting stories within the Patriot League basketball conference, then regurgitates at least 50 pages of play-by-play of games that no one cares about and add nothing to the stories he's telling. Casazza eliminates the play-by-play in favor of the stories... which are perfectly segmented chapter-by-chapter such that each chapter is its own story.

Truth is, this book took me back to the good times and the bad. It caused me to make an impulse purchase of a WVU football jersey - even though I read it in March. I can't think of a higher compliment, and hope that this isn't Casazza's last book but that the title of the next book has the words "National Championship" in it. Read more ›

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars You HAVE to read this book. March 15, 2012

By Sadly Lacking Radio

Format:Paperback

By far the best literary masterwork since Alfred Lord Tennyson. Like a fine tuned Rolex, Casazza guides the audience through the most important events of the 21st century. Congratulations Mike, its been an honor.

"And out of darkness came the hands that reach thro' nature, moulding men."
Alfred Lord Tennyson

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent March 27, 2012

By David

Format:Paperback

In Waiting for the Fall, Mike Casazza captures perfectly the never-ending angst that comes with loving and following the West Virginia Mountaineers. Reading the book not only reminded me of the roller coaster ride of the last ten years, but reminded me of where I was for each of the ups and inevitable downs. If you love Mountaineer football or just love good drama, you must read this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for WVU fans! March 19, 2012

By M'tn. Man.

Format:Paperback

This is a good recap of the last decade of WVU Football's Highlights and Fails on and off the field. This is a well written book and obviously the author knows the real back-stories and is acquainted with the individuals involved as well. Dirty little secrets revealed here. WVU fans seem to always be "Waiting for the Fall" in more ways than one. Casazza has covered it!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Waiting on the Fall" is a must read for any WVU fan! March 26, 2012

By Jeff Woollard

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Mike Casazza has done a excellent job of telling the story of WVU football since Don Nehlen retired. Including the reasons behind Nehlen's retirement, and fall from grace. In true Casazza style, the book is more about the story than the author's opinion of the story, Casazza provides the background and allows the reader to evaluate their opinions based on that background. The book is a perfect illustration to why Casazza has become the premier beat writer covering the Mountaineers. If you fancy yourself a fan of WVU, "Waiting on the Fall" is a must read! Once read, you will become a fan of Casazza, if you are not already. The book is that good.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read for All CFB Fans June 10, 2012

By M Smith

Format:Paperback

You don't have to be a WVU fan to enjoy this book, and you may even find it more insightful if you are not a diehard Mountaineer. Casazza details a rollercoaster ride of a decade for a fanbase (and as it turns out, athletic department and coaching staff as well) filled with constant paranoia because they always come up just short. It describes how the pressure and demands of college football caused good people to make judgmental mistakes that cause serious consequences. From coaching drama to inexplicable losses to changing conferences, no team has had a decade quite like West Virginia. An enjoyable, easy read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mike Casazza: Waiting for the Fall March 25, 2012

By Dann White

Format:Paperback

Mike Casazza explores the comings and goings of a decade of West Virginia University's Mountaineer Football Team and the people who make it tick; both on the field and in the Athletic Department's inner sanctum. His ability to get to the facts, and sort out the fiction makes this a must read for those who live and die with the teams success and failure.
Having covered the team as a reporter in Morgantown since the late nineties and blogging Mountaineer Sports for years, Mike follows the program's roller-coaster like ride from the close of the Don Nehlen Era, through the Rich Rodriguez - Bill Stewart debacles, and up to the dizzying heights of a record-breaking performance in the 2012 edition of the Orange Bowl under Dana Holgerson.
His unique approach to this piece is a study of the depths Mountaineer fans fell to after breathtaking close calls with success. Witnessing how the faithful came to expect the program to snatch disappointment from the jaws of championship gave Mike the inspiration for his title: "Waiting for the Fall".
Don't wait around before checking it out.