WVU Football
WVU Fans Raise Money to Fly Plane with Banner to Embarrass Neal Brown
If Neal Brown thought the embarrassment of his viral comments couldn’t get much worse, he may have to think again. WVU fans have raised the necessary amount to really turn up the heat on the embarrassment and do something that hasn’t happened to a WVU coach in a long time.
A fundraising effort on the crowdfunding website “*spotfund” has now raised the necessary amount to hire a pilot and fly a plane over Milan Puskar Stadium with a banner that is expected to read “Are you having fun? Fire Neal Brown!”
Currently, $4,960 has been raised, which is over the goal of $4,685. This fundraiser started on the heels of his comments from his weekly press conference on Monday, meaning this money was raised in just a few days.
Organizer Curt Hurley wrote the message below on the website:
“This is for hiring a pilot/airplane to fly around Morgantown on football game day with a banner that reads “Are you having fun? Fire Neal Brown.”
3 hours of fly time
The plan is for this to happen during/before the Kansas State game.”
— Joe Knows (@JJustice81) October 17, 2024
If this truly ends up happening, it won’t be the first time a coach has endured such an experience at WVU, granted the previous two occurrences happened to members of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The first time was back in 1974 when former WVU head coach and eventual college football legend Bobby Bowden was hung in effigy following a 4-7 season.
But the second was more recent and targeted Don Nehlen, regarded by most as the greatest coach in program history, towards the end of his career. At that time, fans were split with some wanting him to retire and others appreciating his overall success. This led to contrasting messages flown over a game against Virginia Tech in 1999. One read “Nehlen Must Go” and the other said “We Support Don Nehlen & WVU.”
The Neal Brown backstory….
For those somehow unaware what started all of this, Brown responded to a question asked by WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti for WVU fans after the team squandered another big game. Brown then offered a bizarre answer that angered Mountaineer Nation even more.
Below is what Brown said in its entirety. Based on what’s on all of the graphics and social media posts, it’s possible you haven’t seen the entire thing.
Brown was asked if he had a message to fans to convince them to show up after another disappointment.
Neal Brown’s Sales Pitch to WVU Fans: ‘Did They Have a Good Time?’
“I get that they want to win. But what I would say is – did they have a good time? Did they enjoy it? It was a pretty good atmosphere. I’m assuming they had a pretty good time tailgating, so if they’re in the deal for enjoyment then I would come back. I looked at the weather and it’s going to be nice again,” said Brown.
He then continued. “I get they’re frustrated that we didn’t win. We’ve played a tough schedule. Everybody that’s beat us hasn’t lost. But that’s no excuse, that’s just the truth and the games in our league are going to come down to the fourth quarter and I don’t think this one on Saturday is going to be any different. We need them to help us. I do get their frustration.”
Brown attempted to clarify his comments during his weekly radio show on Thursday night.
For a related story, WV Sports Now’s Mike Asti explained how Neal Brown should’ve handled the question.
