Fourth-year Engineering student Mike Bunting was one of nearly 60,000 fans at Scott Stadium Saturday, when the Virginia football team suffered a last-minute defeat against FBS powerhouse Notre Dame. But after Bunting leaned over a white ledge following Irish junior wide receiver Will Fuller’s 39-yard touchdown with 12 seconds to play, he became Internet famous.
A son of two Virginia Tech graduates, a double major in Computer Engineering and Computer Science and a believer in coach Mike London, Bunting chatted with Sports Tuesday night, touching on his Cavalier fandom and his emotions leading up to the big play, among other subjects.
The Cavalier Daily: Can you describe your emotions in the moments leading up to the Fuller touchdown?
Mike Bunting: The entire game was sort of a rollercoaster of emotions. … Late in the game, I realized that a win over a top-10 team was probably unlikely, and so my hopes were dwindling, but my spirit was still full-fledged.
[My friend Dagoberto and I] sensed that — amidst the hubbub of anticipation of winning — we saw Notre Dame push, and so we got very serious, because we’ve been fans for three years, going into our fourth year now, and we know that the game’s not over until it’s over. And we put our hands at 90-degree angles sort of matter-of-factly on the ledge, and we were kind of just hunched over watching every single movement on the field.
They were making [first downs] play after play, and then in the last 12 seconds, as you know, that connection occurred for the 40-yard touchdown by the Irish. And that’s when my arms went from being sort of matter-of-factly positioned on the ledge [to hanging over the side].
CD: Why do you think the media has focused so much on your reaction to Fuller’s touchdown?
MB: From the cameraman’s perspective it was probably a no-brainer to kind of pan over to me because I was [an] orange shirt kind of juxtaposed against a white background that normally doesn’t have anything hanging from it. So it was probably a natural reaction for the cameraman to kind of direct his attention towards me.
And whoever is in charge of the TV room is a comedic genius because they timed it absolutely perfectly with the celebration for the Notre Dame touchdown — and then immediately panning over to my slumped body language in that moment captured the entire feeling of the Wahoo fans in the stadium.
CD: How would you describe your experiences as a Virginia football fan?
MB: I came into U.Va. with 18 years of experience being a Virginia Tech fan. Both my parents graduated there in [1983]. My grandfather also graduated there in 1954 ... and my uncle as well. So ... I came in [to U.Va.] with sort of a clean slate and no expectations really but just enough drive to become a really loyal fan. And then after our first couple of wins my first two weekends my first year, I was convinced that our program was a force to be reckoned with.
Attending every event and living play-by-play with our team has really been what’s caused me to build up my fandom. I get to every game approximately an hour early with my friends through ... CRU, a Christian fellowship on Grounds.
And so we get there early. It’s a great time to socialize and to watch the other team and our team prepare for the game, and it’s a great venue. … And if you do that enough times, then you become a loyal fan, despite the outcome of every game.
CD: Do you think Virginia will win this weekend against William & Mary?
MB: Absolutely. This is the make-it-or-break-it moment in U.Va. football’s 2015 season. This is where it all comes down to if we don’t win this game, I think our chances for a bowl game go to near zero. But after this, if we win this game, I think our chances for going are better [and] are still within the realm of possibility.
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