Media Weekend Emphasizes The Respect Virginia Tech Built

Last weekend's ACC Kickoff provided plenty of fodder for media in attendance. Florida State stood in the middle of the stage, directly in the limelight.

That's how it should be. Two players from each team walked around the Grandover Resort hallways. Aside from Jameis Winston or Vic Beasley, the average fan would be hard pressed to recognize any of them.

It's a crapshoot in the Coastal Division this year and everyone knows it. So, when the polls were taken and Virginia Tech didn't earn preseason favoritism, it didn't surprise. The team doesn't have a quarterback at the moment. Like always, the Hokies can lean on the defense. It didn't quite work out last season.

There's a no-horse race right now. Any team can do it, and one certainly will. There should be no mistake made over Tech's final standing in the preseason poll. Anyone who sends a "disrespect" bark up that tree doesn't realize it was chopped down long ago.

Here's the overriding feeling about the Hokies and their football program — they're not glamorous, nor will they ever be with the current staff. It's not something carried in a detrimental fashion. Rather, it's a sign of respect. They make do with what they have and get the most out of a team. Sometimes they fall short.

Life goes on and they'll be there next year.

While Florida State and Clemson may have a little more glitz, Tech still has the lunch pail. They aren't millionaires. They aren't impoverished. The Hokies are the mechanics, plumbers and construction workers. A job gets done; they earn their keep and downplay the credit.

Frank Beamer said much of what he's said for years at his media availability. Luther Maddy and Willie Bryn each spoke respectfully with firm tones. They showed exemplary skill at the tables where one question volleyed after another.

On Sunday, a brief conversation with Whit Babcock went beyond all-maroon jerseys and plans. It turned when he offered a personal question to a reporter. The candor went along with sincerity and kindness.

Later that evening, the issues facing the conference's media relations stuck out. Some schools, notably Clemson, have made things hard on the media. Some may mockingly cry for the press they hate oh-so-much, but it's a real dilemma.

Some schools don't feel like they need to help the press. Tech's representative wanted to have a real conversation with one.

Matt Porter, the Palm Beach Post's beat writer for the University of Miami, picked the Hokies to win the Coastal Division.

"I like the defense," Porter said. "There's not a lot of offensive firepower in the Coastal. . . . You can go a long way with a defense this year."

It's only Porter's second year on the beat. Still, he knows what Tech stands for and why it's respected conference-wide.

"A solid bet year-to-year," he said. "People at Miami know how scary they can be. I think it's kind of that way across the ACC. No one is going to come close to taking them lightly."

The sample size is one reporter. But two days spent in Greensboro yielded similar results. There's the TV producer who remarked about how the Hokies staff is easy to work with. During a 90-minute sports writers meeting, nary a word came up about Tech's media relations. That means they're doing just fine.

In a word, it's respect. Jim Weaver tried to push it through the way fans saw opposing teams. The bigger understanding is how others view the school and its football program.

Everyone wants success at the highest level. It's America, and the cash cow that is college football has created a monster. We all understand. Think about the long-term tradition and what the Hokies truly represent.

Is it a team who runs stale plays and often struggles to move the ball? A defense relied on time and time again with gritty players? Perhaps, a special teams unit once best in the land now faced with an impossible bar to reach?

Or is it a man who made a program where there was none? National Championships are great, but sometimes in life you see things much more important. The recruiting interviews with Virginia Tech high school targets are full of "they're honest and straight-forward," and "I like that they told my son where he stood."

Decency and respectfulness is what Beamer Ball embodies. There aren't too many things better than that.

Hold on to it now, because the next guy in the door or the guy after that could be someone shooting for headlines and improper benefits.

No one will ever suggest a holier-than-thou approach to Tech fanhood. There are enough of those media-guide thumpers elsewhere. Watch the games, cheer and kick back a few with your former classmates. Wear your "STICK IT IN" shirt and for the love of Jim Druckenmiller, avoid whining over the chant's disappearance. Also, know when this team goes 7-6, 8-5, 9-4 — it's far from a disappointment.

There must be a foundation to stand on, one strong with things that matter. Two days around the ACC and it became clear the Hokies had that, have it now and will have it as long as Beamer's around.

"I'm definitely excited see Lane Stadium and experience that," Porter said. "I don't know if Miami is."

He didn't speak down to the team he covers. Rather, he said it objectively, as a reporter should.

Porter respects Tech. The media respects Tech. The ACC respects Tech.

It's up to Hokies fans to make sure they continue to do the same.