Flip the Switch -- Turn the Thursday Night Lights Back on in Lane

Virginia Tech players and coaches know how important Thursday's game against Miami is, and the role Hokie Nation will play in Lane.

Watch this, and then for good measure watch it again.

Are you done? Are the chills gone? Good, because that clip signifies two different things, both of which are extremely relevant leading up to Virginia Tech's Thursday night matchup against Miami.

The first is this: I have been to every single game in Lane Stadium since September 12, 2009. That's 34 in a row in case you were wondering. The time between Logan Thomas' 19-yard go-ahead touchdown and the moments after Alonzo Tweedy brought down Lamar Miller in the open field was the last time that football stadium has been electric.

I don't mean raucous, I don't mean excited. I mean electric. I'm talking about ear ringing, goosebump inducing, make-you-find-religion-loud.

As sad as it may be to say, a stadium that once swallowed up marquee opponents hasn't been hungry in over two years. Less a Terrordome, more a halfway inflated balloon.

The thing is, it's no one's fault. This isn't about calling out the students (who've been really great this season), nor is it about calling out alumni who have stopped buying as many season tickets as in previous years. There has to be a certain kind of situation that breaks just right to unleash the kind of sound hell that has made Lane Stadium famous, some sort of combination of the game itself, the Hokies and the opponent.

That leads me to my second point. As hard as it may be to believe, that clip also signifies the last time Miami came to Blacksburg. Due to a change in ACC scheduling after the league added Pittsburgh and Syracuse, the Hokies had to travel to Coral Gables in both 2012 and 2013, which is a shame because the 'Canes may just be one of the only teams who can bring that level of intensity out of the fans.

Even in a year in which everything seems to be falling to pieces at just the wrong time, beating Miami is something that cures all ills. Hokies love to hate Miami, it's one of the few things that carried over from the old Big East days. Even when both teams are fighting for relevance in the ACC Coastal, there's a different kind of animosity pulsing through the stadium when your fans are not only rooting for their team to win, but for the opponent to lose.

It doesn't seem like a coincidence that these two things happened on the same day, over three years ago. Miami coming to town causes the kind environment that actually helps a team win, not just in a way that helps market season ticket sales.

"I've said all along that our fans help us win," Beamer said. "And we need their help here Thursday night."

It's a primetime Thursday nighter, a time slot that has made both Tech and its crowd famous over the years. It also happens to be a game that's a must-win for the Hokies and the fans alike. For Tech, it's a chance to remain relevant in the conference race. For its fans, an opportunity to live up to their reputation as one of the best crowds in the country, on national television no less. Even the players who have yet to experience a game as the lights beat down on Worsham Field are ready for something a little different.

"I've heard a lot about Thursday nights here, you know even from when I was being recruited," said quarterback Michael Brewer. "I've heard that's it's pretty awesome, that one of the best atmospheres in college football is a Thursday night football game here in Lane Stadium.

"So I'm really looking forward to that, it's going to be fun for our fans, getting to see us play a team of Miami's caliber, and it's going to be really fun for us too, seeing all those people out there supporting us and to be a part of something special like a Thursday night in Lane Stadium."

It's not only Lane Stadium on a Thursday night, it's also Virginia Tech against Miami. It's a game that just feels more important than anything at home has felt in quite a while. The team is standing at a crossroads, to win keeps their hopes and goals alive, and to lose means a third consecutive season careening towards irrelevance.

The fans are at a crossroads of sorts too. This the first time that their team has played in Lane on Thursday night in almost two years. They need to remind people why players would want to come to Blacksburg, why their stadium was once called the Terrordome and why it has forced so many ESPN broadcasters to carry two packs of lozenges.

On Sunday, I got a chance to catch freshman running back Marshawn Williams alone during media availability. He had been consistently pestered about the status of his ankle and how he felt about his squad's poor rushing performance against Pittsburgh, not necessarily the most positive of conversations.

I didn't ask him about his ankle, or whether or not a change on the starting offensive line was going to have an impact on his future performances. All I wanted to know was whether or not he was excited to play his first Thursday nighter.

"Man, I just can't wait," said Williams with a bright smile that lit up the room. "It's going to be a big party, you know? Go out there, have some fun under the lights, it's going to be a great game."

Big party under the lights? Sounds like football's coming back to the Terrordome.

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