An Open Letter to the Virginia Tech Athletics Department

Mr. Whit Babcock and Staff:

Please, I beg of you: make it stop. The "it" I'm referring to here is the over-amped pumped-in music, usually of the EDM variety, that finds its way into the soundboard and through the giant speakers of that new videoboard we have.

I know that you, Mr. Babcock, came from a Big East/CUSA school. And you're not off the hook either, President Sands, having come from a B1G school. Virginia Tech is in none of these conferences; let's stop acting like it. In fact, let's stop acting like we're anything other than who we truly are.

Most of us came to this school because we knew exactly what we were getting -- a hard-nosed, blue-collar football team who didn't go for gimmicky tricks like other schools (Oregon's uniforms, B1G's almost-required use of "Seven Nation Army," UVA's loss record). We have our relatively simple but great game-day traditions: the Lunchpail, Skipper, "Enter Sandman," The Key Play, countless others. Some traditions are so great that they need to remain not just untouched, but encouraged; certainly no more were required to be added.

Somebody in the booth doesn't see it that way and, hearing the call to appeal to the lowest common denominator here, the current Millennial students, now we all have to suffer through the overbearing tunes of "Sandstorm" and bands like fun.. I understand the need to have the students engaged while inside Lane, but keeping 20,000 happy at the expense of our great bands, traditions, and the 47,000 majority is the incorrect tack to take. Those 20,000 should instead be learning the traditions that came before them -- before us -- to keep them alive for each subsequent class.

The continued use of EDM and bands like AC/DC (really? "Thunderstruck"? just show "Varsity Blues" clips already) or Guns N' Roses isn't what we the fans want. This is a college game played by college teams...college teams that field and travel with marching bands. We're not the NFL. We don't want to be the NFL (seriously, have you seen the NFL these days?). If I wanted to hear shitty piped-in music, I'd go to an NFL game. As it is, I pay my money to you in part to make sure the Marching Virginians and Highty Tighties continue to have their respective places in Lane Stadium. Because I pay that money to make sure they're there, I want to HEAR THEM.

I remember my first home game in 1998, Mr. Babcock. I remember the defense taking the field to the MVs' arrangement of "The Imperial March" from "The Empire Strikes Back." It was (and, when played, still is) chilling. I remember when we really used to outdo ourselves and play "O Fortuna" from "Carmina Burana." Nobody could name the song, but damned if it wasn't ominous.

Saturday, and during the William & Mary game for that matter, the MVs and HTs were effectively silenced from performing in their traditional manner. During breaks in play, where previously some new arrangement would be played by one of the bands, pumped-in dance music was blasting at deafening levels. You're doing it so much that the band barely can be heard starting the rhythmic stomp buildup to precede our kickoffs. THIS MUSIC IS EVEN BLARING WHILE WE'RE ON OFFENSE, when Lane should be so quiet that you could hear a squirrel fart in Stadium Woods.

Look, I get it. The giant videoboard is in its second year and you're in your first, Mr. Babcock. You probably want to use and abuse the hell out of it to make sure we get our money's worth. I understand the need to sell advertising coupled with dance cams to help pay for the board and manage the numerous other costs of hosting a football game every weekend in September (we'll address poor home-game scheduling in another letter). I'm economical; that's all well and good. However, you're going about this pumped-in music the wrong way: less really is more.

Your predecessor took away one of our other favorite band traditions, "Stick It In." [The current students try an unaccompanied "Stick It In" chant and it...well, it's not good.] Please, start to reverse course on this EDM situation before you take away the band's powerful presence altogether. Virginia Tech home games are not designed to be raves with football played between song breaks.

Inventing the future doesn't mean abandoning the past.

Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey T. Ferguson
Class of 2007

P.S.: Why aren't we arresting and prosecuting these students who are making and flying paper airplanes in Lane? I was about ready to ask a Montgomery County Sheriff to take these individuals into custody, forcefully if necessary. Here's a great rule to enforce: any paper airplane found by Stadium staff comes with the loss of season-ticket-holding privileges for the balance of the current year and the following year (or as a first-year Hokie Club member, should said student be a senior). Counterproductive, as you're having trouble getting asses in the student seats? Maybe. But I'm all ears for a better solution to end LaneStadiumPaperAirplaneGate. The sooner the better.

[edit: correcting formatting not carried over in copy-and-paste]