App State was set to play Liberty for the first time since 2014 on Saturday. It was one of the biggest games on each school’s schedule, with both teams being two of the strongest teams in the Group of Five conferences over the last 10 years.
Then Hurricane Helene hit. The storm barreled through the Appalachian Mountains, devastating western North Carolina. Boone got some of the worst of it. Flooding washed away most roads getting in and out of the town, making it impossible for the Liberty football team to get to the High Country.
The App State vs. Liberty football game was canceled.
Fans from all over the country came in to show support for the area and everyone who was impacted by the hurricane. A lot of Liberty fans showed their support and donated to the cause, but a lot of fans online did not like that the game was canceled.
In the App State Football tweet about the game’s cancellation, these fans made remarks about how App State was “scared” or “ducking” the reigning Conference USA champions. App State is never the team to back down from a fight, no matter how big or how successful a school is.
Videos surfaced of how devastating this storm was for all over the western North Carolina and Boone area, and some fans have taken back what they have said about the situation, trying to show their support.
Liberty’s direct Barstool affiliate, who was one of the fan accounts leading the charge in the comments against App State, has been very vocal about showing support for the High Country.
App State fans were having none of this, knowing that the account was only trying to save themselves from the abrasive comments they said in the past. Just because you know something now does not cover up for what you said in the past when you didn’t know.
In an On3 Instagram post about the game’s cancellation, Liberty’s starting quarterback Kaidon Salter posted a comment with a duck emoji, trying to say that App State was “ducking” the Flames. On top of that, Liberty’s starting running back Quinton Cooley posted his story that the Mountaineers were “scared.”
Salter has since deleted his comment and apologized for his actions, but the comments were out there for the world to see.
What Liberty did was uncalled for. It is one thing when people sit behind computer screens and talk about things they know won’t cause them any backlash, but what these two players did was different. It shines some light on the Liberty University as a whole and shows the world what the Flames may be like.
It is frustrating when a fan base and even a team can be as ignorant as Liberty was. Boone and the rest of western North Carolina has been underwater for the past couple weeks and cities have been destroyed. Some fans can say App State was “scared” of playing them just because the game was canceled.
The Mountaineers football team has been struggling mightily since the season started, and these comments could be just the thing the players needed to fire them up about the rest of the season.
These statements made by everyone involved with the Liberty Flames football program have been put on blast and created an off-field rivalry with the Mountaineers. Most surrounding fan bases have come to western North Carolina support, and while Liberty ended up doing the same, they did not start off this way. App State needs to be able to take those brash comments to heart if they still want to salvage this season.
Jeff • Oct 15, 2024 at 8:40 pm
Cc’mon. Don’t pretend they were knowingly using a catastrophe as an opportunity to insult us. If one of our opponents cancelled because of weather, until we knew it was catastrophic, we would have made similar comments; it’s part of sporting banter. Sure there may be some outliers in their fan base who really are callous idiots, but I believe very few if any. We are intelligent enough to know that is not what was happening, and we should be grateful for the care and generosity most of their fans have expressed when they learned the truth of what happened to our beloved community.
Amanda • Oct 12, 2024 at 6:22 pm
I think the question one needs to ask is what was being said on both sides. Talk to the LU students who were sent messages by App students and what that entailed. Also, there were talks of playing at LU and all expenses paid for by Liberty that was denied. Have all of the information and not what little part one section is talking about. It takes the whole truth and not pieces. Just because there are bad apples on both sides of this fence does not make it right. Fall break for LU is this week and the same ones you are talking about are actually in Boone and 6 other areas affected by the hurricanes. Yes the weather was horrific and flooding completely unimaginable that is without a doubt. Maybe both App and Liberty need to be shown more mercy and grace by all. We can all have different beliefs, but showing kindness and most of all respect for each other is foremost. We are all trying to do the best we as humans can here on a not so perfect earth.