The Hokies won't play football on Thursday night in Lane Stadium according to a report from the Richmond Times-Dispatch Mike Barber.
The schedule has not been finalized, but Tech officials do not expect to have a home Thursday night game in 2015, despite requesting the Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN to have one.
The Hokies will play a Thursday night road game, at Georgia Tech, a source said.
The sources requested to remain anonymous since the schedule hasn't officially been finalized. The ACC schedule is expected to be released as early as Wednesday.
Barber also reported Virginia Tech will host North Carolina State in a Friday night game.
I'll have more in-depth thoughts on this once I see the entire schedule tomorrow, until then, the following sums up what I am thinking.
Comments
Two questions why does the ACC take so long to send out schedules? Playing NCST on a Friday? Really!
Playing NCST on a Friday
Is this who we are now?? The ACC has stooped to Friday night games??? Usually Friday night games are teams from non-Power 5 conferences. I don't know if I've ever seen a great "Friday night" game. Ughh....thanks ACC. Perhaps to make up for it they will schedule the rest of our games as nooners.
Edit: After reading down I somehow forgot about the win against UVA on a Friday. However the Friday after thanksgiving is a completely different Animal. That Friday is ok because everyone is watching football and home for the most part that weekend. Kind of like how I think that college football owns Thursday night but the pros playing on Thanksgiving is good. Other than that I don't care for it. But other than that Friday game, what Friday night game has been any good???
Yes, usually reserved for mid-majors like the PAC-12 and Big XII.
I don't recall Oregon playing on Friday nights. Perhaps Arizona has but they've only recently become pretty good. Still look on the schedule and tell me how many "top tier" programs are playing on Friday night. Perhaps Friday night is becoming bigger but what I remember is that in the past I've usually been like "There's a game on Friday night? Oh let me see who is playing. Oh, it's UAB v ULM.....awesome matchup."
Edit: and when was the last time ESPN advertised a Friday night game?? They always have short commercials for the Thursday night matchup. Friday night??? Not so much.
Last year's non-ACC teams who played on a Friday night worth mentioning include:
Michigan St
Baylor
BYU
Stanford
Oregon (against Cal)
In general I agree, but I was surprised when I went back and looked at some examples from 2014. I defined "top tier" as teams that were ranked at the time or ended up ranked or are otherwise recognizable as big-time programs (like VT!):
THURSDAY NIGHT:
SEC (7): aTm (x2), USCe, OM, AU, LSU
ACC (11): VT (x2), F$U, UL
P12 (12): ASU (x2), Zona (x2), UCLA, UO, Utah, U$C
B1G (2):
BigTex (7): OSU, KSU (x2), TCU, tu
Other: BYU (x2), ECU (x3, one was AACCG)
FRIDAY NIGHT:
SEC (2): Mizzou
ACC (7): UL, VT
P12 (13): Zona (x3, one was P12CG), ASU, Stanford (x2), UO (P12CG), UCLA
B1G (3): MSU
BigTex (1): BU
Other: BYU (x2), ECU
Looks like the west-coast teams are favored slightly, but even the $EC was pretty well represented, which was a bit of a surprise. The only other thing that really stood out to me was the absence of B1G-time programs on Thursday nights.
ETA: I added numbers in parentheses after each conference to represent the number of teams from that conference that played on either Thursday or Friday night, regardless of "top tier" status. Clearly the P12 loves them some Friday-night football, but the ACC ain't far behind on either night.
Very surprising. Again the last time I really paid attention to Friday night football it was always a snooze fest of MAC teams or something. I guess ESPN is trying to get another night of football or something.
They don't wasn't to compete with a national broadcast on NFL Network.
I think you're right in the general case; most weeks, the Friday night lineup is pretty weak. Many of the games, especially involving big names, were clustered around a few weeks. Also, games featuring two west-coast teams will often start at 10PM EST, which means they don't get seen by very many east-coast viewers.
This is not exclusive to PAC-12 Friday games. That's just a drawback to being in that conference. Friday night ACC games would be in primetime for the east coast.
Florida State's SBNation site is reporting that they'll be playing @Syracuse for one of the other two Friday night games. So that's a big name. Maybe the ACC is trying to make Friday the new Thursday. They're also reporting that the schedule will be out Thursday at 10.
There was a time when the Saturday 1pm slot was considered the sweet spot and a Saturday nite game was unheard of for a top program. Times and circumstances change.
I think we're seeing (will continue to see) a shift from Thursday to Friday as the preferred non- weekend slot for college football.
I hope so. NFL has taken over Thursday nights, and as many have already stated, Friday night games are way better on vacation days and traveling and such.
IIRC, the newest ACC contract requires
everythree schools to play one friday game a season. We were lucky last year and got it on rivalry week, which is pretty common. Not so much this season.EDIT: Found the right stuff
there's no way that's accurate
Corrected.
Not quite- the ACC has to host 3 Friday night games/season, one of which is the day after Thanksgiving. It's not that bad.
We are hosting the game. So it's a lock for Black Friday then.
That would mean VT wouldn't end the season against UVA. I doubt that would happen.
it's happened before. my junior year (2005) we played UVa the saturday before Thanksgiving and finished the season with UNC the following saturday. Sadly, the ACCCG had to be canceled that year...
come to think of it, my sophomore year (2004), we played Miami as our last game, but that was before BC joined so there was no championship game that weekend (even though the winner of that game would be ACC champ, so it might as well have been an ACCCG).
I hope not. I would rather end the season against UVA than NC State.
Technically, it could be BC or Syracuse that plays on Thanksgiving Friday. Also, the fact that it requires 3 games to be played does not mean that it can't be more than 3 games.
Even if they did, there would have to be a second ACC game on Black Friday. The contract calls for a BC and 'Cuse game PLUS a Black Friday contest.
Don't worry, guys! We still get to use two days of precious vacation on Virginia Tech football - the day after Labor Day, and the Friday of the NC State game! Right guys?!?!?!?.......Right?......
Damn it, Weaver!
Hurray, Weaver!!!
You read my mind. Haha
Why NC State on Friday? Make that Thursday and almost everyone is happy. Duke or UNC would be better, but whatever.
Booooooooooooo-urns
I think Coach Beamer wishes he had three hands so he could give this three thumbs down (apologies to Dave Chappell)
Easy solution. Let's win baby and get a primetime Saturday night 7pm ESPN or 8pm abc slot!
I'm not that upset if it's true about the Friday night game. We already have the anOSU game at night so 2 night games is still awesome. Friday games are a little weird but I care more about the night game atmosphere than what day it falls on.
Coaches should be out recruiting on Friday nights, not coaching in a conference game.
Hard to recruit when the kids are playing that night and you have a game the next day. You might be able to go see a game and say hey to a recruit. The biggest loss on Friday night games is fewer kids can visit that night.
Coaches go to Friday night games to see recruits.
Maybe if the game within 2-3 hours flying time, but no way is a coach going too far away with a game the next day. They however are not spending time with the players and their families during that time, more likely they are scouting and giving a player some attention.
Considering that we recruit mainly guys that are driving distance of Tech (and I frequently hear about our coaches at games on Friday nights) I'm pretty sure it happens on a relatively regular basis.
When you don't score in regulation against Wake Forest you can't be upset when networks aren't rushing to put you in prime time slots.
Well, then there's the win on the road against the eventual national champion...
One can cherry-pick any moment from last season, but none of those captures who we were, are, or will be. You're never as good as your best or as bad as your worst. Lane Stadium is still a premiere venue for a night game.
One could argue that result wasn't what ESPN wanted from of the Hokies either.
Hey, they should be thanking us. It gave them a constant storyline.
September: "B1G doesn't deserve a playoff team if even anOSU can't win!"
October-November: "B1G redemption - look at anOSU reclaim tops in the conference!"
Playoffs: "anOSU is basically a phoenix rising from the ashes of an early loss to VT"
VT's offense was unwatchable for long stretches last year. Can't blame ESPN for not wanting to expose the rest of the country to that again.
Going to the UVA Friday Night Game this year, I'm okay with this as long as the Friday Night Game holds up.
You are right about the Black Friday game - it was awesome and that day has become a legit power 5 game day.
Random Friday night game, however, is conference usa esque.
Part of the ACC ESPN TV deal included a clause that the ACC would play at least three Friday games each season. The initial reports on the deal indicated that Boston College & Syracuse each agreed to host a Friday game on an annual basis and that one of the Friday games would be on Black Friday. In 2014, those details held up; BC hosted Pitt on a Friday (Sept 5), Syracuse actually hosted two Friday night games (Aug 29 vs Villanova & Oct 3 vs Louisville), and obviously Tech-UVA was the Black Friday game.
Looking ahead to 2015, if we are hosting NC State on a Friday night, then it means at least one of the following is true:
(1) More than three ACC schools are hosting Friday games this season.
(2) Either BC or Syracuse is hosting the Black Friday game
(3) BC and/or Syracuse asked out of hosting a Friday game altogether
(4) We are hosting NC State on Black Friday ... which seems doubtful, but keep in mind there have been a few cases where we didn't play UVA in the regular season finale, and it's always been in years where the game is @ UVA (e.g. In 1999, VT@UVA was in October. In 2005, VT@UVA was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and UNC@VT was the Saturday after Thanksgiving)
Ah, yes. I see now. Reading between the lines on (2), BC or Syracuse is hosting the Commonwealth Cup on Black Friday this year as Mike London wants to increase the number of fans cheering for YoU!Va at the game.
FUCK THIS BIG EAST BUSH LEAGUE FRIDAY NIGHT SHIT.
Tell me how you really feel
Couldn't have said it better myself
Reminded me of Big Lebowski
Whats this day of rest shit...whats this bullshit..it don't matter to Jesus
- Jesus Quintanna
Those fucks at the league office.
"Blacksburg, VA. Folks we go to noisy stadiums all around the country, but I'm not sure..."
Didn't see that coming
People on "The Keyplay" Facebook page are blaming the AD, do they really not read?
I asked the guy and he thought Weaver was still the AD.
"Fire Al Groh...wait, I mean keep him there (at UVa)"-Hokie Football Fan, Herm Itcrab
I'm also interested to see who gets Thurs night games instead of VT. Waiting for that head scratcher of Wake vs Cuse.
When you don't even score double digits on an awful Miami defense, you don't deserve a Thursday night home game.
The you you are referring to helped make thursday night games on espn what they are today.
Absolutely, but I can't exactly disagree when ESPN comes calling for a more exciting football product. Keep in mind it has to compete with an NFL game every week. While they might not be the most riveting games, they still bring in more viewers than VT-GT or VT-Miami. It's all about viewership and dollars, and when you embarrass yourselves on national television, the directors will look elsewhere.
you mean the one on NFL Network that millions of people don't watch because the don't have NFL Network?
Yeah, I won't subscribe to that. Why when there's a Thursday night college game on.
Also on CBS the first half of the season.
Like MPHOKIE stated, for the first half of the season, the Thursday Night NFL Games were simultaneously broadcast on CBS and the NFL Network. Last time I checked, CBS is available in a lot more households than ESPN. You don't even need cable or satellite. CBS only doing half of the season is just a trial phase to see how the ratings shake out. I seriously doubt that they only stick with half of a season in the years going forward since it was so successful for them. Eventually this will become CBS's version of Monday Night Football. Once the expansion to broadcasting all Thursday Night Games happens, a Thursday Night college football game loses a ton of value. It pretty much becomes as futile (in terms of ratings) as a regular season Monday Night college football game. Friday Night games are going to be the new Thursday Night games going forward in terms of being the only football game on that night. The PAC12 has been using them as a way to get more eyeballs on their games/brand.
It is not an insult, it is just ESPN and college football adapting to NFL sprawl.
If CBS is going to broadcast the Thursday night NFL games what is the point of the NFL network? Not that there is much of a point to it now. It isn't like they generally show games.
During the season they do show condensed replays of games from the previous weekend during the week. They cut them down to about a half an hour or an hour. They also show all of the preseason games. After a long summer without football, you can get your fix by watching the replays of the preseason games that run pretty much on a non-stop loop. That is a good way to see what some Hokies are up to and to do research for your Fantasy Football team(s). It is unfortunately about the only way that I get to see Tyrod play.
Plus you occasionally get good stuff like the "A Football Life" series.
I admit that I also like their Sunday morning pre-game show(s). They have a lot more knowledge, Super Bowl rings, and current/future Hall of Famers than the ESPN crew. At noon I usually hop over to Fox.
Besides, the NFL knows it can basically print money by slapping its logo on anything and having their own network helps them "guide" narratives the way that they prefer.
They can also attempt to screw over a college fan base because the cable provider didn't want to pay them extra money to carry them.
Before they did that, I was just "meh" about them. Now, I don't care what kind of programming they offer, there's no way I pay for their channel.
One person's blowout loss is another's blowout win. I doubt the miami game has anything to do with us not getting slotted this year.
I believe we shouldn't be rewarding teams because of previous successes but rather current.
Don't we all hate the love that ND, Michigan and other historically great but currently terrible programs get? Should Michigan be getting prime time games often in their current state?
I think it's ridiculous we don't have a Thursday night game but I can understand why.
A bad michigan team would still pull more ratings than most good teams.
"Barber also reported Virginia Tech will host North Carolina State in a Friday night game."
So the ACC has officially achieved MAC Level? Wonderful.
UVA vs VT should be moved to permanent Friday after Thansgiving and that should be only Friday night game. Market it like the old Texas AM/Texas thanksgiving games. Use the gobbler etc.
I think this is a great idea. Take the bulls#!+ by the horns, and claim it!
Thursdsy night games are losing their luster a bit for me anyway because of the NFL playing on Thursdays. Friday games don't have as much competition TV wise.
This makes me sad
Is there anything else like Friday Night in Blacksburg?
Wait... that's not it.
Looks like we just officially fell out of favor with the ACC and ESPN.
Sometimes I really do hate this conference. Friday night football is MACtastic high school levels of desperation to get on TV. It's complete weak sauce and what is even worse is that you know ESPN and the ACC is going to force us into a string of nooners to round out the remainder of our home slate.
The Pac 12 has played Friday night games for several years.
#Pac12AfterDark ain't no joke
Big XII as well
I really believe this is self-inflicted. We were a darling on Thursday nights for a solid 10+ years, but with dwindling performance on the field (and in cases, poor attendance) I find it really hard to fault the ACC or ESPN for wanting to look somewhere else.
The cure you ask? Dominate and Win ALL THE TIME
I don't recall a poor attendance problem at Lane, especially in comparison to other teams playing at home.
I mean we didn't sell out all the games but have you watched any other ACC games on TV?
In comparison, they're empty.
We should never, ever use other ACC programs to gauge our attendance levels. We're essentially an ACC school with an SEC fanbase. There's no denying home game attendance is trending downward, and that's a concern regardless of what other ACC stadiums look like on Saturdays. We need to get back to selling out six times a season.
Oh I agree but he made it sound as if attendance was a problem. The stadium looked empty and quiet or something.
Well, without sounding alarm bells, I would definitely say attendance is a problem right now by the levels we should expect. It's a sign of a disengaging fanbase. The stadium isn't empty and quiet...yet...but we have to put asses in seats or we will be hurting financially before long.
The discussion was regarding poor showing on TV.
I understand your comment regarding the point we have not sold out every game and therefore signifies a decline.
But we do not rank yet as poor attendance that shows on TV. Our TV show numbers in the stands do not make the stands look empty.
edit: Bowl games want us because we even fill their stands.
I agree that our attendance numbers are probably not factoring into decisions of which games to televize at what times, but noticeably-lower-than-sellout attendance is the direction we're headed. That, coupled with our level of play the last few years, won't do us any favors in terms of bargaining posture with ESPN. It needs to be addressed now before it becomes an albatross around the neck of the program.
Attendance is trending down nationally. I don't think that should be surprising given that we are recovering from a significant recession and every game is now available on TV or over the internet in high definition. Is it a problem affecting Virginia Tech football? Yes. Is it a Virginia Tech football problem? No.
Do you believe the sellout streak would have ended had the ten win streak not? Correlation does not imply causation, but it's awful damn suspicious that our attendance dipped simultaneously with the number in the wins column.
I don't know if we have "fallen out of favor", it might be more like ESPN's eyeballs work as well as the rest of ours. I love m some VT football, and even I have found myself tuning out of some of the absolute stinkers we have put out there over the last few seasons. That Miami game last year was off by halftime and I was helping to put the kids to bed. I made my poor 1 year old watch the Wake game with me and I felt like I was committing child abuse.
If we truly have fallen out of favor, we have no one to blame but ourselves at this point. "Ourselves" being the overall level of performance and results of the football program. Like it or not, we don't have the cache to be medicore to downright not good for years and still pull numbers like an ND or Michigan.
I personally believe this falling out of favor thing is being blown out of proportion. Virginia Tech played 2 of the 13 regular season Thursday night games on ESPN last year. That's a disproportionately high number even compared to every other ACC team, so I think it's understandable that ESPN would want to get a few more teams in the mix or even that other ACC schools requested Thursday night games. Not to mention that Virginia Tech is still playing a Thursday night game in 2015 against our biggest challenger from the Coastal Division since joining the ACC in Georgia Tech.
That leads me to another point- it was brought up that perhaps lower attendance in Lane Stadium is the cause of VT not hosting a Thursday night game. Just look at our opponent for the Thursday night game that was scheduled! Nobody would argue that Georgia Tech has better attendance or a more raucous fanbase for ESPN to show off, so would that be the deciding factor in taking away a Thursday night home game from Virginia Tech? I'd guess most ACC teams have better attendance/atmosphere for Thursday night games and like getting the exposure, so why wouldn't it be just as likely that other ACC teams have expressed interested in hosting the games?
Oh well at least we have Monday night v OSU
Is a Friday night game better than a Saturday nooner? Because that's what it would have been.
GT game likely comes on 12 days rest and prep.
Or on 5 days short rest...
wouldn't be surprised to see them slate us for GT on the Friday after playing OSU on Monday. ha. That would be a total kick in the balls.
That would be medieval considering we then play Furman the following Saturday.
To me, yes it is.
Me too. Playing on a Big East Friday Night isn't flattering, but neither is being buried on ESPNU at noon on a Saturday.
And I got kids at soccer games all Saturday's in the fall, it's looking like we may have 4 or 5 Saturday's free now. One Thurs, one Fri and one Monday night game.
I'll certainly be disappointed if we don't have a Thursday night game,but two guaranteed night games isn't all that bad exposure wise. I know folks think it's beneath us to play Friday night games, but it will be easier for people to travel to the game. I imagine I'd try to make it to that.
My guess is that the NC State game might be Friday, November 20th as an attempt to keep students in town for the last home game before leaving town for Thanksgiving Break. That's the last day of classes before the 9 day break.
I'd be up for this as it would give the team another day of practice/prep for UVA the following week.
#goacc
2 guaranteed night games, no Thursday night.... 2 guaranteed night games, no Thursday night....
I still don't know how I feel about this.
But next year is my senior year...
Well hey, my (first) senior year was 2012. How do you think I felt?
I know, they're called doctors!
Medical and dental Dr. go longer than that.
Never seen Tommy Boy?
My other real name is Bluto.
Well fuck. I guess that's what you get if you're a declining program. The only way to show ESPN/ACC is to go out there next season and kick ass and remind them what type of team we really are.
To be honest, this is absolutely ridiculous. Since 1998, Virginia Tech has made a name for itself on a national stage by playing a marquee game on a Thursday night every year (with the exception of 2001 and 2013). It has produced some of the best games in the ACC in the past decade.
It has produced some of the most memorable moments in recent Virginia Tech Football History. See Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
and Exhibit D #WelcomeToTheTerrorDome:
Since 2004, VT has captured 4 ACC Championships (tied with FSU for 1st in the conference), 5 BCS Bowl Appearances (1st in the conference) and 6 Division Championships (1st in the conference). VT has been a financial windfall as demonstrated by being the second most valuable football program in the ACC. . We've had over 45 players drafted post-Big East. And we've done it all without suffering any major NCAA violations and having one of the highest graduation rates of any program in the conference. Without a doubt, Virginia Tech has been the second most important program to ACC football since we joined the conference. No allowing us to continue a hallowed tradition in the Frank Beamer-era demonstrates how out-of-touch John Swofford is with one of it's most important programs.
I cannot express how frustrated I am with the ACC's decision. I'm just going to leave a series of YouTube clips here that should concisely conclude my rant:
goddammit man... I'm going to go out tomorrow night at 7:30 on my front lawn, hand my wife a football, tell her to run, then absolutely destroy her just for that post!!!
Then the NFL won't let you play football anymore.
Unfortunately that would probably help his NFL chances.
I was at every single one of those games. On a side note, I'm a bit old school and like the uniforms from the late 90's, but the 05-06 uniforms probably look the best, especially with the #allmarooneverything. I was in the minority and actually liked the Orange shoulder pad look in the 05 Miami game above. I thought that it kept the basic style, but just added a flair of the secondary color. IIRC the same style of uniform was tried for several other teams that weekend, including the Florida Gators. IMO we were the only team to actually pull it off.
I am also a fan of the two tone sleeves and shoulders. I thought it was a cool effect and different than the normal. We may be the only two though.
Make it 3
Post of the year to date. Well done.
When I was a student, Thursday night games were the highlight of the season. You pretty much didn't have to go to class Thursday or Friday. After school when I entered the real world they became a huge pain in the ass. To have to take two vacation days, spend money on gas and hotel for a mid season game got old really fast. Then the ACC championship game was introduced and the Thursday night game was gone for me. No way my wife would let me spend over a week of my vacation and dig into our vacation savings for a bowl game, Thursday night game and possibly the Acccg. And I think this situation is the same for many alumn and fans.
I like Thursday night games but I don't think they are needed every year. I also like the idea of a Friday night game. If ESPN will promote it right it could be big. Remember that Thursday night games were laughed at when VT started playing in them.
Student me hates this post. Recent grad and now working me totally agrees. Its tough having to use a chunk of vacation days and spend on gas/hotel/tickets. At least, with a Friday game, its one less vacation day, which is a pretty big difference for me.
Times have changed as far as the Thursday night games. They were great a few years ago, and have created many memories. You just cant recreate that same atmosphere anymore. Thursday games dont matter. Look who else plays on Thursday, nobody is watching the Thursday night college game. Unfortunately, the NFL now plays a Thursday game and it is just a bigger story than unranked VT vs NC St or Miami or whoever. We are living in our own fantasy if we think anybody cares about that game other than 2 fan bases playing and few random others. No matter how much we try to hype up enter sandman and whatever else, it is not 2005, we are not nationally revelant at this time, the crowd isnt the same, the opponents arent the same, and there is other stuff on TV.
And Friday vs NC St is embarassing. This should actually be a good game that would be perfect for a Saturday. Friday games are for schools who dont have good High School football in their state and isnt for big time schools like VT. Virginia has good high school football that a lot of people attend, a VT game shouldnt be the focus on Friday. Saturday's are for college football, and we dont have a full slate of Saturday games. Tell me how you feel on those Saturday's when you should be getting ready for a VT game, but there is none.
But we all know the end of college football as we know it is coming, if not already here. This confirms it. I remember when they started these BS Friday games how awful it would be if VT had to play on a random Friday night. That day is here, and it is a sad day.
I still believe this NCSU Friday night game will be late in the season - probably a week or two before UVA. By that point in the season the regular season for high school football is over and the majority of high school playoff football games are on Saturday during the day around here, so if that's the case I don't see a problem.
I'd take a Friday night game over a Saturday nooner/1:00 any day.
Leg for perspective, logsign and being new.
Also, this is why you don't voluntarily give up something when you have a stranglehold on it. I do wonder if the fact we willingly gave up the Thursday night game 2 years ago showed ESPN and the ACC that they could move on from us hosting those games and it would be OK. The unintended consequences from costing to give that game up a couple years ago are just staying to now pay out.
BC in 2007.
Maryland in 2008.
UNC in 2009.
GT in 2010.
As a 2011 grad, I had my share of joy and heartbreak in Lane on Thursday nights. The atmosphere was electric under the lights on Worsham field, and the games I mentioned above are memorable for so many reasons. I'm bummed we don't have a home game on Thursday night this year. But as many of you have said, once we start winning a bit more consistently, these things tend to work themselves out.
Since the NFL started playing Thursday night games starting week one, Thursday isn't THURSDAY in college football anymore. You don't have a dedicated nationwide audience with no competition anymore.
For all the people feeling slighted that we're scheduled to play on a Friday night, there are a lot of other fan bases that make fun of us for wanting to play on a Thursday, basically repeating all the things we're saying here about playing on Friday.
We made Thursday night games what they are by having an "anyone, anytime, anywhere" mentality. So why the hell aren't we applying that to playing on a Friday? If ESPN wants to schedule us at 2 AM on a Tuesday, we're gonna Beamerball the hell out of that shit and make people who love good football set an alarm to wake up and watch it.
Leave the entitled attitudes to the SEC and B1G. Tell us when we play, and we'll punch the clock and our opponents in the mouth.
I'm glad someone here gets it.
Thank you! We still get 2 home night games guaranteed with Labor Day against the Bucks and NCSU on a Friday (unless this happens to be on Black Friday in which case a night game isn't guaranteed). In the end, I don't understand why there is a bigger deal made when it's a THURSDAY instead of any other day. If the game is at night, it's a different atmosphere than a noon game. This isn't some slight against us, despite so many posters thinking that we deserve better. The sense of entitlement is growing far too large and is mostly growing from a restless fanbase who can't handle a few down years after being unhappy with success (10 win seasons, ACC Championships, BCS Bowl games) when we had it for many years. Let's be honest with ourselves for just a second and realize that we haven't EARNED anything. Sure, we are the most successful ACC team since the expansion, but what do we have to show for it on a national level to make people care?
This. So very much this.
We earn it for four quarters, and it lasts only as long as it takes for the football to leave the tee in the next game.
Our collars need to be dyed blue again.
Yep, do we need a reminder of the entertainment value of the last Thursday night game in Lane?
It was....um....not so great.
Speaking of which, wasn't that Attoachu (GT) punch on a Thursday night (I wouldn't remember, but I'm damn sure we played a Thurs. night game that year BECAUSE TRADITION!) (RANT RANT RANT)
It was a Thursday night game in 2011 but it was at GT.
With the NFL moving to Thursday night games, Thursday night is dead for college football. Thursday night is pretty much for the nostalgic now -- probably much like Saturday noon games are for a certain generation of fans. Friday will probably become the new Thursday and I'm gonna guess the powers-that-be are way ahead of the VT fanbase on this one.
Is Friday perfect? No. But neither was Thursday. Living 4 hours from Blacksburg, I personally kinda like the idea of a Friday night.
Hey ACC....
Sucks that we won't have a Thursday night in Lane, but this is what happens when you don't compete when they DO give them to you. Maybe next year.
I for one am just fine with a Friday night game. This way I only have to take 1 (maybe even just a half) day of vacation time to attend and tailgate appropriately, and I can sleep in (read: recover) the next day without any ramifications from work. And it's a hell of a lot better than waking up at 6 for a noon game. I realize there are TV implications but I don't care as much about that. Maybe I'm selfish!
Come on guys, the ACC is just trying to be progressive, and keep up with powerhouses like the MAC and AAC.
/sarc
Edit: accidentally put ACC instead of AAC... Dang those abbreviations throw me off
The thing I hate the most about the Friday night games is that our recruits will all miss it because they will all have games of their own going on at the exact same time. At least with the Thursday games, sometimes the recruits would be able to get out of a practice and head over before playing the next night, but Friday night games completely screw that up, unless they're played late enough in the season that the high school season is over.
By process of elimination, it's on Black Friday.
Thats awful if its the case. One of the main reasons that people went to and got excited about the game last year was because it was UVa. Anyone not our rival, and I'm not sure the fans are really going to show up, especially the students.
This year it'll be to clench an ACCCG berth and maintain our playoff positioning, so it'll probably be another sellout.
Not if we go undefeated in ACC play, game will be nearly meaningless at that point in the season.
At which point we'll have a BC 1999 type moment. Incentive to be present to witness history.
I doubt that happens. The agreement with the ACC and ESPN guarantees three games on Fridays, inclusive of what's stated above, but that doesn't mean there can't be more than what is guaranteed. If we're playing NC State on Rivalry Weekend instead of UVA, that's just a travesty.
I am admittedly operating under the assumption that the ACC will only agree to the minimum required Friday night games. We'll see.
EDIT: Just thought of this. There's a question of what the ACC can contractually compel us to do. The ESPN agreement is for a BC and Syracuse home game on Fridays plus a Black Friday conference game. Of they're trying to get us to play a Friday game any other week of the season, they're going beyond what's contractually necessary, which means they probably don't have the authority to assign that scheduling without the consent of the affected teams. If they aren't giving us the Thursday game we wanted, I doubt Whit will give them the Friday game they want.
do HS coaches really let players go out of town the night before a game? My coach would have laughed his ass off
Rarely, but it has happened.
At the very least, those kids were able to watch those games live on TV, something they won't be able to do if this Friday game coincides with high school football
In theory, they would only be able to go if they are local. Most high schools have a rule, and it may even be a Virginia High School League rule, that the athlete has to be in school a full day on the day of a game to be eligible to play. So you aren't getting a lot of recruits in for those games during the week anyway whereas you'll pull a huge recruit audience for a weekend game.
We've been on a three year slide. We are not the team that made Thursday Night CFB what it is anymore.
Will we be again in the future? Maybe, but ESPN and the ACC need to worry about ratings.
Yes, we beat the eventual National Champions but the non VT world is generally dismissing that as a fluke because of the performance of the team the rest of the year.
You earn slots in prime time. We need to do that again.
Is there any proof that this is about ratings and "earning a primetime slot"? Thursday night ESPN games last year included: BYU v. Houston, Ok St v. Texas Tech, UCF v. Houston, UCF v. BYU, Pitt v. VT, Miami v. VT, Clemson @ Wake, Cincinnati v. ECU, and UNC v. Duke. That's 9 out of 12 games. I don't see a bunch of national title hopefuls or stadiums with electric atmospheres on that list.
fuck that, more reason to go to that somewhat big game on Labor Day
No (home) Thursday night game sucks, but being a recent post grad, I don't mind the Friday night game. I can drink as much without worrying about waking up early for work the next day.
Wish the Hokies were playing this Friday night.
Offseason sucks.
Don't let Wolowtiz hear you say that.
No Matter if it Thursday night, Friday night, or Saturday night I will watch it and...
Just as long as it isn't 12:00 Kickoff any day...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but part of the ESPN contract has the ACC playing in the Labor Day night game as well. I would be interested in seeing the distribution of ACC contractual commitments across the teams. Since VT is already agreed to the Labor Day game, it seems like another team should pick up the slack here.
This is my gripe, we picked up ANOTHER contractual commitment for the conference. aLso BC and Cuse, two other expansion teams, picked up the others. I would love to see the numbers the "original" ACC has picked up since the expansion. We were expected to raise the profile of ACC football and we carried the torch for nearly a decade, why are we picking up the slack. I could understand if this was basketball, but let the perennial bottom feeders pick up the slack for a change.
Florida State @ Syracuse is expected to be one of the other Friday night games, so there's that.
I'd argue the stipulation that BC and Syracuse host the Friday games is a mixed blessing. Yes, they play a Friday game every year. But two other ACC teams have to play a Friday road game at the two northernmost conference members each season. At least BC and Syracuse know they're staying home.
I'm torn, because I used to love Thursday night games. But now I've got two kids and making it to a game during the week is nearly impossible. And given the weakness of our home schedules over the last decade, it's even tougher to justify season tickets when I know going in that I won't be able to make one or two of the better games in any given year. It's just not worth the money to see directional Michigan and ECU.
We've had some truly amazing Thursday night games (aTm comes to mind), but at this point I would MUCH rather see us earn late afternoon or evening slots on Saturday instead.
I HAD, taken my dad to every Thursday game since '02 for his Birthday present. They were always amazing, during the great ones, and the not so great. It was our thing, one of the few times I get a day with him. The Marty Smith intro this year after a year off was icing on the cake. We were back to Thursday games, the good times were going, i had scored amazing seats. The game sucked, but we had a blast, heckled the Miami players a bit, they were super cool btw.
To put it bluntly, fuck you Weaver. I hope you have a bad year. Thanks for ruining my dad's birthday present.
I'm guessing the f--- you weaver thing is a joke, right? Cause this is all ESPN & ACC's doing. Whit requested a home thursday night game and was denied by the powers that be.
Yeah, I was with him all the way to the end, then the last part was kind of a dafuq moment for me. Can't tell if serious or sarcastic.
Weaver requested to not have a Thursday game in '13, therefore breaking the streak. I don't see us loosing that slot if we hadn't kept a Thursday game that year.
There were birthday festivities for a friend last night, my thoughts get scattered sometimes, sorry for the potato story telling.
NOW it makes sense.
Sorry about the break in family tradition, my friend.
They delayed releasing the schedule until today.
Does that signal someone bitched long and hard and effectively and the schedule had to be reworked a bit?
We can only hope our man was in there fighting the good fight.
Guys, guys... there's an easy solution here, and one that I think Whit would like
So we are two tech schools, right? How about this:
We play the other team every year on a Thursday night. On that night, both stadiums are full. One to watch a game live and in person, and the other will be full to watch the first full-size, full-field dynamic holographic projection of the game broadcast from the first stadium.
We're both tech schools, right? Would there be a better pair of teams to innovate this? Remember, we invent the future, and they're the bees, they can do that.
No Thursday night game makes me feel like this kid...