Can't say I blame him.

"It's been five days," he said. "Chapel Hill has moved on."

And I'm sure it has. But to be a fan of Appalachian State, you get used to feeling like a second-class citizen in the heart of ACC country. Regardless of the quality of ASU football, in terms of coverage it will always lag behind the three big-time Football Bowl Subdivision brothers to the east (four, counting Duke).

ASU fans would want it no other way because it makes them feel closer. Like they're a part of something special.

That's why last week's Appalachian victory over Michigan at the Big House will always be my greatest sports memory. So, forgive me while I get it out of my system for another 500 words.

It's been 10 years since I went to Appalachian State for the first time. I graduated a year later, and it's been on my mind every day since. I was honored enough to do play-by-play for several games on the campus radio station.

While the members of the Big Four have doled out countless millions on hapless football coaches and facilities over the last decade, my wry little secret was the most consistent football program in the state was nestled away on the Dark Side of the Boone.

Needless to say, ASU is no secret anymore.

Not after the cover of Sports Illustrated, leading off SportsCenter, becoming a token on YouTube, becoming the most-searched item on MSN and being proclaimed the victor in the greatest upset in the history of college football during the past week.

Heck, a few anchors even started to pronounce "Appalachian" (ahp-pah-LAH-chin ... not Apple-LAY-chin) correctly. Somebody, please, get that memo to Mark May.

Funny thing is, most ASU fans understand this isn't nearly the upset many in the mainstream media have made it out to be. Sure, it's a surprise. But on a caliber of the 1980 U.S. hockey team beating a squad of Russians who took down the NHL's best the year before?

Please.

One Detroit columnist compared Michigan's loss to the Harlem Globetrotters falling to the Washington Generals. Apparently, he hasn't been to Chrysler Arena lately. He's not the only one.

Many ESPN analysts are too focused on the USCs, LSUs and Oklahomas of this world to concentrate on Appalachian, particularly quarterback Armanti Edwards.

Truth is, ASU's talent level is of the caliber of some ACC teams (granted, it's the bottom tier, but still on a par). So if, say, N.C. State defeated Michigan this weekend in Ann Arbor, would it be the biggest upset in football history? No. But experts get lazy with the familiarity of levels and tradition, and see only the I-AA (or FCS, as it is now) beside ASU's name and think inferiority.

Plus, there's the Rocky factor. Let's face it, no sport needs an underdog more than college football, an industry where one's quantity determines its quality. The traditional names remain the same year after year, and the sport is in dire need to some new blood. Where's the Gonzagas? The Chaminades? The Valpariasos? The Virginia Commonwealths?

Up until the last few years, they've been in football's netherworld. Then came the last 12 months. Wake Forest wins the ACC. Boise State over Oklahoma. And, by the way, there was a second straight Div. I-AA championship for Appalachian.

Not to say there's a new age coming in college football. Just that change should be welcomed while it's still around, because it is fleeting for non-traditional powers.

There.

My reveling is done.

My boss will be proud of me.

ASU will get ready for Southern Conference play before long. The arrogance will seep in again around Ann Arbor, and Mark May will still say APP-uh-LAY-chin.

But you can bet the mountains will never be the same.

See you on the Dark Side of the Boone. >br>