Next week this time, as we groggily awaken from the haze and discomfort made by the actions of the night before, a slight comfort remains. The comforts of knowing that each weekend for the next four months not need any confusion as to purpose or planning; for football has arrived. Neatly packaged on our doorsteps is a product that has yet to reveal itself as a new layer sheds each week. And, like kids on Christmas morning we will giddily feign patience as we hope what’s held within is in congruence with our ultimate hopes, that crystal ball.
I digress as this is not a speculation piece regarding our fortunes come January. Rather, a welcoming to a new season of college football. More importantly it is another season enjoying our beloved Hokies. Many outside of major college football programs and the regions that contain them have little knowledge as to what college football brings to the rest of us. Thinking it more than an excuse to watch TV all weekend and drink is all but lost upon them. Sure, getting housed and yelling at little men on a High Definition screen is a part of it. More than that though, is a sense of community that comes with being a fan. Especially this day in age as technology can bring us closer than ever. No longer do we have to collect others like us on a Saturday to benefit from a sense of camaraderie and familial ties that come with being a Hokie fan. We merely have to press power to any device nearest and fire away at any social media outlet, website, or otherwise that lets us do so.
For that reason I so eagerly tell people about this site and about those who most contribute to its success. Outside being an outlet for Hokie news and not so news, The Key Play has become a water cooler of sorts for a great many of us to get acquainted and share insights. Without it and its contributors I would not received a ticket to the UVA game (Thanks Vince!) or had reason to so boldly venture to New Orleans by myself for the Sugar Bowl.
Being a Hokie is an invariably unique and amazing experience and whether we become so by alumni status, relation, interest, or otherwise we are an infectious breed of people. We love colors that only we think match, gobble at people in public expecting the same in return, drink bourbon just because it has Wild Turkey on it, and above all else are eager to welcome another to our family. Therefore, anyone coming for the first time or just starting to, welcome. Come share your thoughts, ideas, and most importantly meet some of the best new friends you’ll soon gain.
A Big Hokie Welcome by a Fan For Fans
DISCLAIMER: Blog posts may not have been written or edited by The Key Play.com staff.
Comments
Very well put
Great read and well written. As someone new to the site, I've found everything written to be true and then some. I love this site and I love our Hokies!
This
i enjoyed reading. well done.
Seconded
Definitely the best Hokie site around.
expectations
As I enter my 10th season as a hokie fan I find myself feeling residuals from the Sugar bowl. It may the result of espn hyping up the Michigan/Alabama game or maybe the idea that America's reckoning of VT losing the big game has become so firmly entrenched that it's bordering the definition of a "curse." Don't get me wrong--I'm excited about GT, Logan and the defense, etc, but I think the only thing that will satisfy me is beating a top 10 team or beating a legitimate BCS opponent. No longer do I talk with my friends about winning a national title, something I did every year since 02 until 2010. It's almost silly to have a serious conversation with another fan about that these days. Whats eating at me now is how close we've come in most of the big time games. I was at Fed Ex in 04 and witnessed the bad penalty in the 3rd quarter. I was at the Sugar bowl in 05 when a dropped pass in the endzone cost us a 4 point victory against Auburn. I was outside Lane stadium in 05 when Marcus had the worse game of his short career. I vividly recall Matt Ryan throwing a touchdown in the final seconds in 07, the same year Tyrod started his first game in Baton Rouge and we suffered the worst defeat by a top team. I was there watching Sean Glennon flounder in the second half in the Georgia Dome, and later watched Alabama pull away in the fourth quarter a couple years later in the same stadium. More recently, I lost sleep for two nights after Kellen Moore moved his team down the field in the final two minutes of the Boise game and luckily watched from home as Stanford whipped VT in the second half. I was the only one to stay at home of my core group of fellow season ticket holders who traveled to New Orleans for Michigan. A half a bottle of bourbon is the only thing that put me to sleep after watching the reversed Danny Coale TD...I didn't even watch after that call and went straight to bed. I know I'm probably missing a few games, but most of the top 10 opponents we play---we play them hard, we are in a position to win, and we come up short...which reminds me of Nick Saban and the "4th quarter" mentality they have. I wonder why Frank doesn't instill some sort of new mantra for the team this year. We are missing an identity this year. I can't remember getting so little coverage before a season---nobody is talking about the hokies. Maybe I prefer we're off the radar and maybe I don't know about something the coaches are preaching to our players, but i hope its something refreshing. We need a new story--something to look back on years later and decide to put in the 2012 season dvd before we turn to 04, or Ryan Williams highlight reels of 2009. I don't know what the story will be, but I hope its not 11 wins and a BCS loss. I would rather have 8 or 9 wins and remember one of the greatest victories in Lane against a top 3 Florida State team...or even losing the ACC and whipping a respected top 10 team in a lower tier bowl. I realize that may sound ridiculous, but after all the big defeats I am so hungry for a HUGE win. It means more than an acc title or an appearance in the BCS. Our program has become boring to America its time we do something to really shock and awe the football world. I'm optimistic that could be Logan-throwing for 4000 yards in our new offense and running for 700-or a defense that sets a record for sacks, tds and turnovers. If we can't get to a title game, then by God go out there and make a name for ourselves even if we lose to UNC or Clemson. I realize this has become sort of a cynical rant, but I needed to get it off my chest. Heres to this Monday night hokie nation--I'll be in the east stands for the start of what could be a very special season. LETS GO HOKIES!!!!
Agree with everything you said
This is exactly how I feel. I love my Hokies to death but something has to give, and it needs to give soon.
Always enjoy reading your pieces RiVA