Saturday Down South, which is largely a SEC media outlet, gave Virginia Tech a nice little shoutout on their site today.
Lane Stadium was the #5 best stadium environment of week 14. It should also be noted that the UVA/Virginia Tech game was the only non-SEC matchup to earn honors in the top 5. Also, Lane Stadium made the article picture header.
1) Bryant-Denny Stadium, Alabammer
2) Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss
3) Memorial Stadium, Clemson
4) Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium, Louisville
5) Lane Stadium, Virginia Tech
If youve never been, a game at Lane Stadium is a must.
For the full article from Saturday Down South, click here
We know, we know... Lane Stadium, Enter Sandman, and our fans are all badass. Thanks SDS!
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Comments
Pretty good for being at least 4k under capacity.
I think we were more than 4k under because the whole upper SE endzone was almost empty. And a lot of the student section was empty. It was very impressive though that we were still able to keep it very loud with the loss of all those students. I sit in the west stands and noticed some of the old people even getting into it this past Friday. Normally I am the only person standing and screaming my head off.
The official attendance was 60,431. But the amount of people trying to scalp outside and the fact I had to eat a couple of my own (and also looking around the stadium), I'd put the actual attendance around 52-55k.
The energy more than made up for it though...
On TV, the fans looked like they were going nuts.
Especially at the end when they played Enter Sandman...
I can confirm this. I was jumping around so much on UVA's final possession that I barely had any energy left to yell the last couple of plays. I was exhausted after the game. The crowd was amazing.
Definitely the best environment of this season. My voice is still gone, which sucks... I'm a teacher.
Sounds like it's movie day!
The lack of engaging, interesting movies related to the engineering & architecture subject areas is appalling.
Just put in a Season DVD of How I Met Your Mother, Ted was an architect, that should be close enough.
If that's the route we are going, I'd much prefer...
I had never been so excited during a game in Lane Stadium in my life (though this is my third year of going to Tech games). The stadium lit up with passion.
Our tailgate spot was empty except for one other car. The walk to the stadium was quiet. But the crowd inside was awesome. Weird gameday.
We usually take up 4 spots at Litton reeves but tailgated at a house near campus to stay out of the cold. I'd imagine this was a common strategy
18 started out empty except for about 4 trucks (including our buddies with the trailer and sat dish) but a bunch pulled in at noon.
By 3 it was almost as full as normal games.
I'm not a fan of Sandman during the game, though. (See Ga Tech).
All ended well, but if I was in charge, it would have beer happened because karma.
I am a huge fan of Sandman during the game (see Miami)
Anything that gets the crowd that riled up is awesome.
The crowd got real riled up that day. Lane was rocking.
If i'm not mistaken, that was the first time they have ever done that during a game. And it will probably be the best example of why to use it for a long time.
Also, 5-1...wow...what a great year 2011 was...minus the clemson games. Also the year of "38-0, bro" and our win over Michigan as a result of Danny Coale's spectacular, non-controversial TD catch.
That wasn't the first time. Used in 2009 against GT prior to David Wilson housing the kickoff for the lead, and 2007 against BC before Matt Ryan did unmentionable things, amongst others.
Came here to post the same thing. Also done during a timeout before the last possession of the Wisconsin bball game (2008ish?), when they won on a last second shot. Because of those 2 events ive always been in the only for entrance crowd myself
Wait I don't remember this...what happened?
View at your own risk. There was a timeout with like 15 seconds left and they played sandman it was crazy, but ended no good. The game was actually really exciting in the last minute. Down by 9 with a minute left. Thought we had it
ONIONS!
...and then we lose. Ah that game was so much fun to be at, though.
Yeah, it has been done several times over the past few years. Not every game, but I'd estimate at least 2-3 games per year for a few years now.
This is my third football season as a student at a Virginia Tech. I have been to every home game in this time, and GT this year and UVA this year are the only two times it has happened before the final whistle blew. It also happened after Journell's kick sailed through the uprights to beat UVA in 2012 as time expired. That's a good number of times, but not quite as many as your estimation. I love it. The crowd is always deafening the play or plays after.
I stand corrected and consider myself a fool for forgetting the DW kick return for a TD aftermath. "does it get any better than thursday night in blacksburg?"
Who is Matt Ryan? Does he play football?
I like it during situations like the '11 Miami game I just wish they would start it a little earlier so it could get to the chorus, can you imagine 64,000 people screaming in unison "EXIT LIGHT....ENTER NIGHT"
It happened once at a basketball game I was at in '10 or '11 and because the officials took longer then expected and it was awesome to hear Cassell singing along
Also, I love when beer happens because karma.
Funny story. Duke played Enter Sandman in the 4th quarter when they were on defense. The next play Brewer found Bucky in the end zone for the game winning TD.
Karma
I completely forgot about this until you brought this up.
I remember being able to hear it in the background of the Burnop and Roth of Duke playing Sandman in the 4th.
This happened in Miami at the de facto ACC Championship game in 2004, as well. At some point in the final 4 and done for Miami.
Wake also used it as their intro music for their night game against us in 2006. We proceeded to beat the crap out of em that night.
I guess the moral is... if you want success against VT, don't play Sandman
Georgia Tech started it as their intro at home a few years ago then did a *record scratch* and went to Ramblin' Wreck. We won that game as well.
It usually does.
I dislike in-game Sandman except when it's the potentially game-sealing play.
Non-sealing plays:
Miami 2005 - MV5 fumbles in the end zone
GT 2010 - we almost blow it and my blood pressure got way too high
GT 2014 - yeah, we know what happened
Game-sealing plays?
Miami 2011 - see above
UVA 2014 - yup
BC 2008 (Night game with Matt Ryan). Memory's a little hazy about the exact circumstances, but it played and we lost and everything was horrible.
2007.
^He's right, 2007, but I vaguely remember it playing in the closing minutes, can't remember if it was after their first or second score, but yeah, it got really cold really quick.
Of course, after that, Hall and Adibi kicked Matty and his team's asses all over the field in the ACCCG.
That happened two years in a row. BC barely beats us in the regular season and then we stomp in them in ACCCG. The worst part is how in 2007 it cost us a MNCG appearance. Seriously, fuck Matt Ryan.
I love Josh Morgan but man he got butterfingers on that onside kick. If we would have recovered that thing then Matt Ryan game winner never happens
Louisville? Really? I watched that game with a few friends and we kept joking about how lame the student section looked and sounded. They played zombie nation at one point and I saw maybe a 5th of the students really react to it. Agree with the other choices though.
They had to try and explain how a lowly ACC team would beat a UK team that would be undefeated in any other conference.
Sorry to bash the SEC, Joe. I know you hate it but I just read the AA article on ESPN
The student sections were mostly barren wastelands, but the Alumni packed Lane, stood, and cheered their hearts out to support our team.
There's NO WAY Loserville is louder than Lane. They barely even have 50k seats. Puny stadium.
It felt like Lane Stadium again. Great crowd, great atmosphere.
Every SEC fan I've ever talked to has told me they really want to see a game at Lane. Our program, and more specifically our fans, are very respected in SEC circles.
Yeah, the one thing I've heard fro guys that have gone to games vs SEC football teams is that the fans get along well, there is mutual respect there.
The word has gotten around that our fans are there to have a good time and realize they're there for the same thing.
At the Alabama game last year I was tailgating in the RV lot with 30+ other students who were all hammered by noon, and Bama fans who were walking by stopped to take pictures of us tailgating and film us jumping to Enter Sandman. I think they were a little thrown off by the intensity in which we tailgated/party.
Jesus Christ. No, just no.
Watched 2+ games on tv hosted by Louisville this year, and I was far less than impressed.
There is just something about that end zone with 'HOKIES' that is just.... Its off. Its not the color, because I think this every time I see it, regardless of it being white, maroon, or orange... Its just too.... I guess you could say its way too overly generic with too much open space, especially for an end zone that doesn't have a painted background.
We should add the old gobblers on each end of the HOKIES...
Buuuuuuut I know that it is not possible to do so.
I know what should go on either side of "HOKIES"...
And on the other side
The Hokie Tracks would be pretty awesome..
I think it's the open space on either end. It doesn't look that bad on the other end.
That said, I am not a fan of the Nike Font that we are using on all athletic branding. The O, G, C are all too......round. I don't think it looks good with the VT logo.
In other news, I'd like to see this logo make it onto the field at some point. I think it'd look sharp:
and rip off ECU? i think not, sir!
No, no...
If we wanted to rip off ECU, there are far more effective ways of doing so...
This has bothered me all season, it should just say Virginia Tech on both sides
Or... they could just make the lettering on HOKIES larger, then put a VT logo on either side of it.
Should be symmetrical
I hope Whit has some plans for it...
Seems like he is slowly working to "improve" some things, and this would probably be one of them. See the VT on the helmets for every game this year and the VT at center field matching them.
I never got around to posting this after the the Miami game. You know, because of the horrible way I felt inside. We were across the RV lot from 3 Penn St fans. I got to talking to them, and all three of them were college roomates and long time friends. They were freshmen at Penn St during our 99 run, and "always had a dream of making it down to Tech for a game." They had completely bought into the scene, had music going, games, food, went to the gift shop for shirts. They were asking me about all our traditions, the atmosphere at Lane, etc. It was really cool to see, and it was one of those "proud Hokie moments."
Then we shit the bed.
We had a blast that day and night. Got into town early, hung out at Bull & Bones before checking into the hotel, got to Lot 2 (our buddy got a pass online). We were 20 steps away from the gates of the SEZ, which to a group of Hokies who usually park at Price's Fork and hump it across campus was incredible. We had giant jenga going, saw people we hadnt seen in years, my wife got a pic with that guy who dresses like some cyborg Hokiebird on stilts, and our Miami friend even got to yell at Duke Johnson when they rolled up. Got heavily inebriated, ate some good food, hung with old friends and had a great time.
Then we shit the bed.
We should have done a "Then we shit the bed" thread after that game. Although, I think only now am I ok to even talk about it. Time heals all.