Once upon a time someone saw the Governor walk by and shake my hand on some sideline or outside some locker room at some WVU game and the witness joked to me, “Manchin’s seen more sporting events this year than you have!”

I found that funny, but no one really laughed. (Aside: Another funny governor moment? When he was escorted out to midfield for the coin toss of the 2007 Marshall game by two state troopers. The Product had three.)

Truth is, Oll Governor hasn’t been seen courtside or in the press box too often the past few years and, if nothing else, you’ve got to give him credit for maximizing his opportunities. He toweled his brow after working a soup kitchen last Wednesday and secretly sneaked into the Puskar Center to rally the Mountaineers. 

Think about that for a moment. Here you have the governor of the state, not accompanied by cameras and public relations people, not caught up in the heat of a tough re-election campaign, not trying to shake off the latest scandal in his administration as how many politicians have had to do in recent years, stopping by to talk to the football team.

It wasn’t a national championship game. It wasn’t even a game for the Big East championship.

But Gov. Manchin cared.

He’s a former Mountaineer quarterback and has a zipper on his knee to prove it.

Do you think, for one moment, that his counterpart in Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, took the time to address Pitt? Hardly.