Virginia Tech Football

I have been a student at Virginia Tech for about a month and a half now and I have been having some great new experiences. Even though I have not been at Virginia Tech for very long, I have been able to meet many new people and attend numerous on campus activities. But the most fun I have had at Virginia Tech so far was during the football games against Miami and Marshall. Going to these football games has been the most exciting experience of my college career so far because I got the chance to witness and capture true “hokie spirit” while cheering for my college’s football team. Hokie spirit is having and expressing pride in Virginia Tech and school related events while still maintaining respect for others. Although the game its self is usually interesting to watch, all the little things everyone does to express their hokie spirit make the game so much more fun.
When I woke up on game day it seemed as if everyone, including myself, was putting on all the maroon, orange, and Virginia Tech attire they owned. Some people get very dressed up for the game by putting on orange and maroon afros, VT earrings, fake tattoos, or even paint their bodies in order to express their hokie spirit. For three of the home games, there are three specific colors the fans are supposed to wear in order to encourage their hokie spirit. These are referred to as a maroon effect, orange effect and white out games. The two games I have attended so far happen to be the white out and maroon effect games, so I wore those colors to show my hokie spirit. Once my friends and I got ready for the game against Marshall by putting on our white shirts we headed for the stadium to start tailgating.
Tailgating was a great experience for me at Virginia Tech because I got the chance to spend time with my friends while getting excited for the game that was coming up. Tailgating has a huge contribution in making the game a great experience so I was disappointed I did not go before the game against Miami because it was raining. However, the rain had no effect on many other people who still tailgated that day. Tailgating makes going to a football game so much more fun because there are so many people in the parking lots and there are so many things to do. Some of the things people do while tailgating include: playing corn hole or other games, walking around, making food on the grill, meeting and talking to different people, getting pumped for the game by chanting cheers, or just having a good time with family and friends. This is a great way to start out the day before going to a game because all the excitement it raises gets me ready to watch Virginia Tech football.
After tailgating, game days just keep getting even more exciting and enjoyable as the game time draws nearer. Once I was in my seat at lane stadium for the first time I was overwhelmed with amazement and excitement to see the stands filled with thousands of people all wearing white, maroon, and orange. The game usually starts off with one or more jets flying directly over the stadium. When they fly over, their jets are extremely loud and the crowd responds by cheering almost just as loud back. This is a great way to start off a football game because it excites the crowd and it’s not something people get the chance to see every day. After the jets fly over the stadium, the football players get to make their grand entrance. This was one of my favorite parts of going to a Virginia Tech football game because right before they come out they play “Enter Sandman” by Metallica and the crowd starts jumping to the beat. As we are still jumping, the football team comes running out on to the field and the entire stadium cheers. Doing this for the first time made me more excited than I have ever been at a football game because it got me so pumped.
But the crowd’s excitement (or mine) doesn’t stop after the football players come out. As the clock ticks down after the kick off, the football players continue to play and the crowd seems to grow louder with every catch, first down, sack, or touchdown that Virginia Tech makes. During the game, it is little things such as cheering, the band, the crowd, and the cheerleaders that make the football game so much more exciting and interesting. For example, the cheerleaders will start a cheer that the entire stadium will follow. They do it so that one side of the stadium yells “Let’s go!” and the other side responds by screaming “Hokies!” . It is so awesome because it seems like the entire stadium yells, so the cheer is extremely loud and it encourages the football team while keeping the crowd in the game at the same time.
Virginia Tech football games are very unique because of the different cheers and traditions people do when they watch them. Something that caught my attention while at the game was how every time Virginia Tech makes a touchdown, the cadets shoot a cannon. This is something that sets Virginia Tech apart from other colleges because not all colleges do it, it makes the game even more exciting, and it represents the corps of cadet’s hokie spirit in the game as well.
There are several other ways that Virginia Tech fans express their pride at football games which makes Lane Stadium a very exciting place to be on a game day. The fans at Virginia Tech play a major role in making football games a great experience because they will show up for the game rain or shine, filled with hokie respect, and ready to cheer on their team. Every Virginia Tech fan should go to a game at least once in their life because of the great hokie spirit the crowd possesses and is not afraid to express, the memorable time that is spent with family and friends, and because it is over all a fun experience.