Opinion: Between A Rock and A Hardcore Fan Base

Regardless of whichever side you're on, Frank wouldn't approve of Hokie-on-Hokie infighting. - Michael Shroyer/Getty ImagesBefore this gets intense, I want to give a little background on my experience with Virginia Tech, and my own personal story. I graduated with the Class of 2013 from Virginia Tech's College of Architecture and Urban Studies. I attended every home game I could while at Virginia Tech four of my five years- one year I was studying at the Washington Alexandria Architecture Center and couldn't make it down for the games. I'm the son of a Virginia Tech grad that used to pantomime Old Hokie with me when I was a baby. And until I was 14, I absolutely hated football. Despised it. I hated thickheaded muscle-brains that made my life miserable. When my Dad threw me into freshman football because I had the size for it in high school, I was reading books on football just to catch up with everyone that knew the sport already. But I'm an intellectual by nature and a history nut- by the time I graduated high school, I spouted sports history trivia out my ears and had spent a ton of time learning whatever I could about strategy and technique- for me, working the mental game was the only way to success. And I started watching football. A lot. I remember in high school ESPN would have MAC games on late on Tuesday night, and I'd watch the Toledo Rockets way more than I care to admit- they were the team that seemed to get all the air time. And, with my dad being an alumni, I of course tuned in to Virginia Tech, starting in 2005/2006. I'll readily admit to being part of what sections of the fan base refer to as the ‘spoiled generation'. All I can remember personally are 10+ win seasons, and NFL draft success. I can also remember a lot of stunning victories (2009 Miami Typhoon) along with soul-crushing defeats (2010 JMU debacle), both of which I've attended. I've never known completely abject disaster- which is something my dad lectured me on regularly as I pointed out things I noticed that could be done better on the field. He bought me a book on Virginia Tech history for my education a few years ago, which I read. Going way back to the beginning of the program, this school desperately despised sports and the athletic scene as much as I did. It wanted nothing to do with the reputation of being a football school. It's why it went independent and stayed small scale for so long. After a taste of success under Bill Dooley- and the unfortunate subsequent scandal that sunk him and Doctor Lavery, sending us into NCAA purgatory- Virginia Tech hired a long shot. Frank Beamer. A coach of tiny Murray State that had played cornerback at Tech. It took a few years, sure, but Beamer eventually brought the program to prominence- we got to a national championship game, which at one time would have been completely unthinkable. He revolutionized how people thought of an entire phase of the game. He did it the Right Way. He did it with Loyalty. He did it with Heart and Toughness and Hard Work. The Lunch Pail Mentality.

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