It couldnt get any better, yet it was just beginning.

Way back on Sept. 2, West Virginia Universitys Lauren Black got an amazing perspective on the fan phenomenon that is Mountaineer football.

One that literally came through loud and clear. Loud, especially.

That was during the season opener at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, and Black, a freshman geology major from Shippensburg, Pa., was also making her debut as a member of WVU s renownedPride of West VirginiaMountaineer Marching Band.

When she ran through the stadium tunnel that very first time, the �€~Eers in the stands gave her ears on the field an onslaught of appreciationthe likes of which had never been heard.

It was amazing,she said.Absolutely amazing. Everything was vibrating. It was all I could do to hold on to my clarinet. Thats when I learned what WVU football really is.

The next time she runs onto a football field, it will be in Florida on New Years Day when WVU squares off against Georgia Tech for the 2007 Toyota Gator Bowl at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville.

Fans wanting to learn a little bit about what that will be like for Black and her fellow Pride-sters can make a connection online by pointing their browsers in the direction ofhttp://bowlgame.wvu.edu/beginning Dec. 28, where one can connect to her blog, plus plenty of other fan information related to the game such as whats happening at the popular Mountaineer Fan Center.

Blacks dispatches will chronicle the bands bus trip to the bowl that will, no doubt, include stops in West Virginia and other states along the way as they make the trek to Florida.

Shell log some impressions of life at theMountaineer Connection, WVU s official Fan Center at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront Hotel Dec. 30-31. The lodger near Jacksonville Landing will be the site of fun giveaways and interactive exhibits like the Mountaineer Connection Kiosk and the popularDance Dance Revolutionvideo gamehop on the computerized dance mats and shimmy the stress (and pounds) away.

She might even ponder the Mysteries of Life (you can do that online, too) withThe Questiona collection of queries likeWhat is a team?andIs winning everything?presented by WVU s Department of Philosophy.

Theres a lot of neat things happening,she said.When youre in the marching band, youre a big part of things anyway. When I do this blog, Ill be an even bigger part of things. Thats a privilege.

Having Black keep a blog for the bowl keeps right in with the Fan Centersconnectiontheme, WVU spokeswoman Becky Lofstead said.

Lauren is also part of a team of students who regularly go on camera for WVU s acclaimedVideo Diaries Project(http://studentdiaries.wvu.edu/) chronicling the

student experience at the University. The project, in fact, just picked up a prestigious award in one of the largest marketing and communications competitions in the world.

WVU scored a Gold MarCom Creative Award from the Arlington, Texas-based Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals.

The Diaries get it done, Lofstead said, because of the level of the student contributors involved.

And that, of course, boomerangs back to Blacks blog, she said. When the Gator trek gets going, Lofstead said, Laurens online entries will be one more compelling layer to add to the life and times of the WVU experience.

Its immediate and its genuine,Lofstead said of the project.Laurens a bright, engaging young lady and you cant help but connect with her enthusiasm. Shes having the kind of experience we want all of our students to have. Were thrilled shes doing this for us.

Black, in turn, is thrilled to be at WVU . Shes living at Lincoln Hall, the first residence hall on campus to employ the innovativeresidential collegeconcept (http://admissions.wvu.edu/undergraduate/housing/lincoln.asp), and shes enjoying her classes and friends.

This is such a special place,she said.I think about the friends Im making, and my professorsIm meeting a lot of cool people. Im going to Europe in the spring. Id recommend WVU to anyone. Im a proud Mountaineer. This thing just keeps getting better and better.

Which leads her back to football, and the inspiration for her blog.

If she thought nothing could top the first game of the season, well, she wasnt counting on the laston a cold Saturday night in Morgantown Dec. 2.

Rutgers. WVU finally nudged past the Scarlet Knights 41-39 in triple overtime, and the collective lungs of thePride of West Virginiagot a real workout on that gridiron evening, Lauren said.

We were jumping up and down and screaming,she said.I mean screaming. It was wild.

Laurens the daughter of Brett and Lisa Black, of Shippensburg, Pa. Her sister, Emily, is a sophomore at Shippensburg Area Senior High School who isdefinitely looking at WVU as she considers college, Lauren said.