Sometimes it’s hard being a Hokie football fan – like during the 2014 season, and when I was a student.

This past fall, Virginia Tech played Ohio State early on in the season, and I was nervous.  Many of our friends went to Columbus to watch the game.  Bill and I didn’t.  I refused to go – I don’t like train wrecks.

But then, a funny thing happened.  We played well.  I mean, really well.  We played #8 OSU like we were a top ten team.  Not only did our brand new quarterback look amazing, but so did the rest of the team.  And we won.  We didn’t just win.  We dominated.

VTvsOSUFinalScore
Ohio State went on to win out the rest of their season, and win the first ever National Championship Game last night, beating Oregon.  National champs – that’s got a nice ring to it, and their fans must be ecstatic.

The Hokies, on the other hand, imploded after that game.  We lost to teams that we used to assume were gimmes.  We almost broke our double-decade-long streaks of not being shut out in Lane Stadium, and of not making a bowl game.  At the end of the season, we broke even with 6 wins and 6 loses.  Winning our bowl game put us at 7 and 6…..

My dad taught me early on that part of being a Hokie fan means learning to say, “There’s always next year!”

And there is – always next year.

We’ll buy our tickets with the same anticipation a child has when he tells Santa what he wants for Christmas.  We’ll plan our tailgate food and drinks for that first game of the 2105 season to perfection as if we’re planning for our own national championship game.

With fireworks exploding overhead, we’ll jump to Enter Sandman as the Hokies run onto the field on Labor Day evening with more enthusiasm than Lane Stadium has ever seen.  It will be a thing of beauty.

 

And just as we finish jumping, the Ohio State football team will run onto Worsham Field in Lane Stadium’s southeast corner.  That’s right, our season opener is ESPN’s Labor Day Monday primetime game – Virginia Tech versus Ohio State.

Yes, the Hokies were the only team to beat this year’s national champions; but wouldn’t it be even better to beat the reigning national champions, and then go on to have a stellar 2015 season?

A girl can dream…..  And her team can make it a reality.

Let’s go!

 

  • Questions:
  • Did you watch the national championship game last night?
  • Have you ever been to the Super Bowl or one of the big college bowl games?