George Orwell had his "1984."
Well, call this my "1993" with the subtitle of "1996, 2003 and 2006."
See, I've had '93 on my mind much of the college football season as I've covered West Virginia University's football team.
This season's Mountaineer team, like that 1993 team, struggled with national respect despite fine records. The difference, you might know, is the older WVU team finished the regular season undefeated. At the end of that regular season, it was No. 2 in the coaches' poll and No. 3 in the Associated Press poll, but was left out of the national championship game by the Bowl Coalition in favor of Nebraska and Florida State. (In light of WVU's subsequent 41-7 Sugar Bowl loss to SEC champ Florida, it proved to be the correct call.)
I bring this up, though, because when the bowl pairings were announced, and when West Virginia's Russell Athletic Bowl opponent was unveiled as Miami, 1993 again rose from the memory bank.
Many memories, actually, involving Miami and coach Mark Richt surfaced. And I wondered if that was also the case with longtime WVU fans.
Understand there aren't many happy memories for Mountaineer fans in regard to the Hurricanes. UM, a former Big East peer of WVU, has a healthy 16-3 series lead. Yet some good and bad memories have to be seared into the brains of West Virginia followers.
Let's look from the Mountaineers' angle:
GOOD - In that '93 season, WVU was ranked No. 9 (No. 6 in the coaches poll) and Miami hit Morgantown No. 4. I was the sports editor of the Dominion Post there and the newspaper bumped up a special edition section from 24 pages to 32 because the town was so excited and advertisers wanted in on the action.
It was a special year for Don Nehlen's bunch. At season's end, WVU knocked off No. 11 Boston College when Darren Studstill floated a 24-yard touchdown pass to Ed Hill to cap the undefeated season.
Yet it was that game against "the U" that truly made the season. Huntington native Robert Walker's 19-yard TD run with 6:08 left proved to be the game-winner. Quarterback Jake Kelchner (yes, there were two QBs, which is another story) somehow sealed the deal with a 41-yard pass to Jay Kearney. Down went the goalposts as the scoreboard read 17-14.
"That was a statement game," said WVU fullback Rodney Woodard, who caught a short TD pass. "Everyone said they would come and blow us out. We wanted to show people that was not going to happen. We're a good football team. We're no Cinderella. This was no fluke."
Does the attitude remind you of any other team?
BAD - Well, there was this guy named Tremain Mack.
You might have heard of him. He was a pretty good player for Miami back in 1996.
Anyway, Mountaineer Field was packed and the home crowd was ready to again storm the field. WVU led 7-3. There were just 29 seconds left. All the No. 12 Mountaineers had to do was punt to No. 23 Miami and the game was pretty much over.
But Mack trucked Brian West's punt. It bounced into the hands of UM's Jack Hallmon's arms. He handed (some still say via an illegal forward lateral) the ball to Nathaniel Brooks, who scored.
WVU lost 10-7. And rumor has it some Mountaineer fans are still undergoing therapy.
GOOD - Ever hear of Quincy Wilson?
Well, he played running back for West Virginia back in 2003. He once won a Kennedy Award for Weir High. But he will always be known for "The Run."
In one of the finest, hardest-hitting college football games you'll ever see, Wilson turned in one of the best runs you'll ever see. It was Earl Cambell-esque.
OK, technically, it was a reception, but don't tell anyone because it truly is "The Run." Against a loaded Miami defense that included Jonathan Vilma (yes, that Jonathan Vilma), Wilson took a swing pass from QB Rasheed Marshall, beat lineman Vince Wilfork (yes, that Vince Wilfork), shrugged off safety Sean Taylor (yes, that Sean Taylor, may he rest in peace), bulldozed future NFL Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather, leaped over top of Meriweather and went into the end zone. All on a third-and-13 play.
It gave WVU a 20-19 lead late in the game.
BAD - Um, ever hear of Kellen Winslow Jr.?
His name will go down with Mack's as a cause for cringing among WVU supporters. Because, you see, his catch spoiled the ending after Wilson's run.
In that same 2003 game, the game clock rolled under a minute. Frank Gore played running back for the Hurricanes. But, with time running out, QB Brock Berlin threw a pass high to tight end Winslow on fourth-and-13.
Somehow, some way, Winslow turned, stretched his big frame and caught the ball. It led to a 23-yard field goal, a 22-20 Hurricanes victory, a celebration in Miami and a punch to WVU's gut.
And finally...
GOOD - Maybe you noticed I pointed to Richt's name earlier in this piece.
That's because the coach was at Georgia and took one on the chin courtesy of WVU.
The Mountaineers were playing in their first BCS bowl game in January of 2006 as a representative of the then-laughingstock Big East Football Conference.
Pat White, Steve Slaton and then-WVU coach Rich Rodriguez took full advantage of the opportunity. West Virginia won 38-35 and, at the end, Richt could be seen on TV dejected for all the world to see.
The reason: Rodriguez made the best play call I've seen in 36 years of covering the Mountaineers. With Georgia rallying, WVU went to a wide-spread look on a punt. When the ball was snapped, the Bulldogs retreated to set up a return.
Only there wasn't a return. Mountaineer punter Phil Brady ran with the ball for a first down. There wouldn't be another Tremain Mack moment. WVU killed the clock from there. The Sugar Bowl trophy would go to Morgantown.
One could argue two of those WVU victories - the 2006 Sugar Bowl and 1993 Miami game - were among the school's top five to eight of all-time.
Whatever the case, there certainly are lots of memories connected to West Virginia's bowl opponent.