West Virginia's Generational Publicity Run Added Another Chapter

West Virginia is on a generational run right now with free publicity. The WVU baseball team's run to the College World Series amplified it, but it all began before they even reached Omaha.

After their win over Kentucky in the Morgantown Regional, the tradition of singing "Take Me Home, Country Roads" went viral, thanks to ESPN deciding to stay on site for it and putting the cameras on the fans and players, including Armani Guzman, a kid from New York, singing the song with tears in his eyes.

I know we get lost in the chaos of NIL and the transfer portal

But, listening to West Virginia’s Armani Guzman, a young man from New York, singing ‘Country Roads’ is so darn wholesome.

College Sports still deliver pic.twitter.com/IwFyFqwodV
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) June 2, 2026

Over the last seven days or so, the spotlight has been all over West Virginia. As we noted in a separate story on Friday, WVU has recorded over 155 million views/impressions from their postseason victories, singing John Denver's hit song, and their first game against North Carolina was the third most-watched pre-College World Series Finals game ever.

You would have thought that it would be a while before West Virginia captured the nation's heart again due to the baseball team being eliminated and the Mountaineers' next big event not being until September 5th, the football season opener against Coastal Carolina. As the great Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast, my friend."

After the United States men's soccer team defeated Australia 2-0 on Friday in Seattle, the entire stadium was on its feet, belting out the lyrics to "Take Me Home, Country Roads." If you didn't know what time of year it was and just happened to walk into the room, you probably would have thought the Mountaineer football team just won a game. What a scene this was. Nearly 70,000 people, the majority of whom are not from West Virginia, are singing it like they are.

The @USMNT faithful serenade their team with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in Seattle 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/XI3Q3EkxhK
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026

You can't pay for this type of publicity. And who knows? Maybe it becomes the new tradition for the United States soccer team throughout the World Cup, which would have athletic director Wren Baker, president Michael Benson, and the entire WVU administration smiling from ear to ear.

Maybe 2026 is the year things turn around for WVU athletics. The women's basketball team won the Big 12 tournament, the men's basketball team won the College Basketball Crown, and the baseball team made it to the final four of the College World Series. Just imagine what it will be like if Rich Rod and Co. get the football team turned around this fall and are playing meaningful games in November.

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