No Purple Pill Needed

No Purple Pill Needed

Last week’s malaise is this week’s mellowness.

When I wrote about last week’s game experience at about this time last Saturday night, I was feeling both angry and sad regarding some issues specific to the game day atmosphere and athletic program in general. My comments last week had almost nothing to do with the football team. In the stadium today, no one threw up on me for the second week in a row and that’s a very positive outcome. Additionally, my team won. The players looked to be having a blast, and we were able to get valuable playing time for our back-ups. (I do wish those backs would hit holes…I even wish there were holes to hit.)

After a week of pondering last week’s malaise, I’ve had time to clarify what I felt and put it all into some personal perspective.

As I mentioned last week, visiting Lane Stadium in the fall is a very special experience for me. So many memories are tied to that structure for me. I remember visiting Lane back in the 70’s with my parents. I was fascinated back then with the scoreboard sporting the turkey head on it and the cool gobble call. Years later, I remember walking around the stadium trying to keep my two-year old daughter occupied. Once, with her on my shoulders, we almost caught a field goal in the old south end zone. When I was in college, I used to sneak into Lane through the tunnel at night and just sit there on the west side 50-yard line and lament my passing from youth to adult. Years later along with many of you, I watched Corey Moore terrorize Brandon Streeter in a defensive blitzkrieg. Lane’s always been a special place to me.

Last week, I was distressed at what I view as the ridiculous imposition of unnecessary rules surrounding the game day atmosphere and the corporate branding of Virginia Tech. I still am concerned about those two things. I find my mind trying to figure out the next big thing to be banned, the gyrating High Tech’s and sticking in things during the “Hokie Pokie” come to mind. I’ll probably get banned for booing the wave, too.

I believe that the game day experience is being not so subtly sanitized with the imposition of ridiculous rules. For example, ticket holders are no longer allowed to toss a football at their tailgate before the game. Now I haven’t seen this enforced yet, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time. No more “Stick It In,” lots of respect crammed down our throats, and security forces rudely ushering polite fans out of the stadium before the band’s even finished playing. These issues concern me.

In my estimation, what makes Virginia Tech so special is the people who choose to spend time together every home Saturday. Today, I happened to take quite a journey before the game. I walked from Shultz parking lot to the stadium and then into the south end zone parking lot across the road to chicken hill before looping back to the stadium. What I saw on that walk cheered me remarkably. All over the place, there were people simply having fun. My favorite moment came when a group of young recent grads spotted me, average Hokie, walking up Chicken Hill and one of them threw a football to me. I caught it and zipped it back to them behind my back. A few minutes later, I was walking back down the hill and the same guys spotted another average Hokie with a graying beard cruising down Chicken Hill on the opposite side of the road and they lofted an excellent pass to him and he snatched it deftly with a big grin on his face then tossed it back. The young grad fumbled the reception drawing cheerful needling from the bearded guy. To me, that’s what the game day experience is all about. That’s where Hokie Respect is born. It’s like the Staple Singers preached in their song, “Respect Yourself”…

Respect yourself, respect yourself.
'Cause if you don't respect yourself
ain't nobody gonna give a good, good hootenanny boy.
Respect yourself.
Respect yourself...

We do respect ourselves, and I think it’s time for Corporate Virginia Tech to respect us.