"Officially this is a neutral site game. Make no mistake, this is a Virginia Tech home game," ESPN broadcaster Steve Levy said over the opening chords of Enter Sandman to begin the Four-Letter's broadcast of Hokies vs. Mountaineers.
And yes, Virginia Tech's entrance was especially lit, even outside of Lane Stadium.
FedExField cranked Sandman again after West Virginia called its final timeout of the game.
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It went a LOT better than the malfunction at Bristol Motor Speedway. I think they learned some things from Tennessee.
It came across pretty well on TV as well. It was great to hear fans singing "Enter Sandman" in the 4th quarter.
It also helps when Hokie Vision and VT game day operations staff are helping run things.
Exactly. They clearly weren't running the show at Bristol, but picked up on a few techniques.
Anyone have the clip from the broadcast of the fans singing it in the 4th? Came across pretty well if I remember correctly...
Do you remember what time left in the 4th?
They were playing/singing it after the game was over. During the interview with Fuente, Joshie Jack, and Fred, you could clearly hear it in the background.
They were singing it during the game as well, with about 9 seconds left and the clock stopped.
Damn I wish my dad was stil around for this game.
I agree BAG man. I lost my dad in 2011 to cancer so I got to spend a lot of time with him when he went through chemo and I remember vividly watching the WC finals with him when Spain won and thought to myself this is most likely the last World Cup I will watch with him. Now as my kids get older I get to watch my Hokies and other teams with Them and the circle of life goes on.
Yeah... if I were a WVU fan, I'd be a little pissed about how the stadium treated that as a home game for VT. Then again, I sat through the Bristol game last year as well as the ECU game in Charlotte in 2008, so I know all too well how that feels. Technically, we were the home team, but neutral site should mean neutral.
Whatever, got the W and the fanbase got its voice back (before promptly losing it in the 4th quarter). God help whichever sad saps have to play us in Lane this year.
Its hard to not look ahead, but with our next 3 opponents, and knowing who is coming into Lane on the 30th, I may have to make plans to catch some early morning ESPN that day.
The ACC championship game was a home game for Clemson... we can now get our revenge!
Did WV get an entrance for their side?
There was some countdown video that I'm guessing they play at their home games.
I thought they ran into the field between rows of burning couches
The 4th quarter Enter Sandman was hilariously partisan. Not that I care, but yes if I was WVU I'd be a little salty about how this 'neutral site' game was conducted.
Good thing I'm not a WVU fan.
That's not the only reason why it's a good thing, but yeah.
It's been said elsewhere, but as a Hokie fan who sat through the Battle at Bristol, at a "neutral" site in name only, it was our turn. Haha.
They were playing Country Roads but Metallica blew that away./s
It really wasn't a neutral site. The PA announcer was Tech's PA announcer, you could hear him on the TV loud and clear. I went to the neutral site game there against Cinci and we were the away team with the Cinci's PA announcer making the calls for the game. It happens.
Well, that Cincy game was supposed to be played in Cincy.
Tell me about it, was supposed to drive down from Dayton to see the Hokies and instead they move it to the house of horrors.
Prior to this game, if I were a G5 team with a home game against us, I would move to FedEx as well.
To be fair, at that point in time they were a BCS team, since the Big East hadn't lost their auto-bid yet. Though we do play a disappointing number of away games at G5 teams these days, gone are the days of the '90s and '00s where we'd only schedule 2-for-1s.
Was it our stadium announcer? It sounded like it on TV. But then again, he was supposed to retire 2 years ago, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to hear him because he just can't stay away.
I think so. And, man, was he screwing some things up all game long...
The in-stadium announcer was the guy who calls games at Lane Stadium. I didn't hear him enough to tell whether he was being "neutral" or not. Doubt the Mountaineer fans noticed if there was a bias. The video board was definitely pro VT. But whatever, it's not like our fans wouldn't have gotten loud on 3rd down without it. Just something else for the Mountaineer fans to tweet salty tweets about.
Virginia Tech was the "home" team for the game. That's why it was done this way.
Most underrated part of enter sandman is singing the opening verse
Best part of those last moments
Maybe we could start doing that before they run out in the future? And run out after the neverland line?
I think this would be really cool however I think it would take way too long. I love them hitting the field when the big bang in the song kicks in.
Anyone remember the NC State game a few years ago when the rain delay threw off the timing of everything. If I remember correct, they left Enter Sandman playing and the crowd sang the opening verse and the opening kickoff somewhat coincided with "Off to Never, Neverland."
Yep. I got into the stadium about 5 minutes into the game. I was pissed. lol
You and 30k others lol. Still blows my mind that they set kickoff to start 15 mere minutes after gates re-opened. Created nothing but a headache for stadium staff, and the one's that made the decision weren't the one's that got to hear it a hundred times from the fans.
And yes, I vividly remember everyone singing Enter Sandman at kick. That was AWESOME. I wish this became a tradition in some way.
Still kind of made sense to rush the start, there was a break in the storm but the forecast still didn't look too good and they wanted to try to fit the whole thing in.
It made sense that they wanted to rush the start (although I figured it had to do with TV). However, I was really pissed because, although I graduated in the 80's, this was my first night game in the Enter Sandman era and I missed the entrance waiting in line.
I was there for Miami last year, though, and will be there for Clemson this year.
You know...there's only one thing that bothers me about the Sandman entrance.
We start with the Let's Go -> Hokies -> Let's Go -> Hokies chant. And there is ALWAYS a spot, at the loudest part of the chant, where we should drop the opening bars of Sandman. But it NEVER happens that way. The crowd always settles back down and then the song opens.
Hey stadium sound guy, after the 4th or so chant repeat, when it is obnoxiously loud, start the dang song!
Nitpicking, I know...
True that. I feel like the chant goes on a few too many times. People probably stop chanting because they don't want to miss the beginning of Sandman, even though it's still about three more chants away.
I know a lot of the resident MV alumni probably wouldn't approve but I wish they would just let it play instead of cutting it off for the band. We get to hear the band a million other times during the rest of the game, would much prefer to hear more of Metallica when we get the chance.
Technically, the HTs do the majority of the post-Sandman fight song. (But I'm sure neither band would mind cutting out one playing of the fight song, considering most of us can probably still play it in our sleep years later.)
What I have said since my days of being part of the tunnel is that there's not a good transition from Metallica to marching band. Maybe we need a metal version of Tech Triumph.
But they have definitely let the song go longer in the last few years.
best part of the video is that Mountaineer band members standing around watching our entrance. At one point I think I saw one jumping.
Not just watching it, but filming it on their iphones.
To be fair it's pretty damn hard not to jump.
They weren't jumping. They were being bounced up and down by the stadium.
God. I teared up. Emotional reck after that beautiful win haha.
I loved it when the team immediately went to midfield and started yelling at the WVU sideline. Fuente isn't afraid to let the guys trash talk as long as it doesn't turn into a Miami game from the 1980s.
It was amazing hearing the stadium sing it in the 4th and singing after the game was over.
Thanks so much for posting!
Any one have the ESPN broadcast of Enter Sandman with the Steve Levy comments?
Enter sandman is cut off in the WatchESPN replay. Anyone record it?
this was most disappointing for those of us streaming!
Someone has to have the version of the fans singing the opening verse
Well, to continue my ever burgeoning reputation as an out of touch old man, I have to admit that I didn't even know there were any words. All I've ever heard of the song are the opening strains. I guess a sigh is in order.
Took me a while to figure any of it out. Spent most of my first two years referring to it as "that song that starts football games."
Fish play it until you remember it! You must have been an Archie's fan in high school! Not to worry I thought the title was "Enter Light".
When I was in high school, there was no Metallica. I was 31 when they formed, and I was never a metal head, though I did like Deep Purple and saw Black Sabbath when I was in the Army. The Archies? C'mon, now.
Metallica takes their >1 minute instrumental intros to every song very seriously. So its not surprising somebody wouldn't know there are actual lyrics. "One" in concert is phenomenal.
Dude,
Hold your head up high. We all have our golden memories..
I would kill to have been old enough to have seen a young, lean, mean Black Sabbath live back in the day.
Old, wrinkly, curmudgeony Black Sabbath live was pretty heavy last summer too. Geezer can still tear up that bass solo before NIB.
I still remember it like it was yesterday. Saturday night of a three day festival in Speyer, Germany. Everyone was burned out, many sleeping and at the stroke of midnight, the opening chords pealed out absurdly loudly, then "I am Ironman" thundered through the campground. It looked like a zombie thing, people were streaming toward the stage, just waking up again...it was awesome to experience. That whole festival was incredible, with more big acts than I can remember to name, but what I'll never forget was Black Sabbath's contribution. Ahhhh, youth.
You're not alone, mom and I were driving to Blacksburg at one point in 2007, listening to WBRW as we saw the "Virginia Tech Sports Complex" sign on 460 when Enter Sandman started playing. After the first verse, she turned to me and said, "this is an actual song??"
I've always wanted them to get to the lyrics at Lane. A 69k person karaoke seems fun
Seems fun, but I remember a game that had waaaay too many people singing and dancing the Macarena. That was almost creepy, but the kids loved it.
Came across this thread today via someone's Facebook. Is that Cody Journell on the far left towards the end of the video?
That was a great Sandman! The one at the end of the game was freaking awesome too. I was not at the earthquake game at Lane vs Miami, but I imagine this one was close.
Props to VT atheletics marketing dept - the production value of our in game hype vids has gone way up. The one before the game was amazing, and the SHOUT with h.o.a.t. cameos was great also.
What song is that we play as the team is lining up in the tunnel and the video with the players is running in the stadium?
I remember hearing it before when ESPN did a broadcast of the boys walking into the tunnel at Lane.
"Gods Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash
Ost remix
Incorporating Johnny Cash into any pregame/mid game/end of game segment is good for business.
This is just awesome! No doubt JJ heard the tremors in Saline while in HS!
For any salty WVU fans. That is if they can read:
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20140715/DM03/140719598/1309
And there it is, in black and white -- why we didn't get the Russell Athletic Bowl last year.
And the TL;DR for every discussion we've had about this game and series...
-scheduling of this game and upcoming home-and-home (dates added by me):
-"home" team, refs, and TV rights:
That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering why the stadium was so skewed tech. Playing enter sandman in the 4th and the shout video was insane for a "neutral" game.
Also, most of the other neutral site kick-off games are annual affairs with a set crew putting them together, usually the same group that organizes a bowl game in the same location.
The games we've played at FedEx were not such organized events, and are usually one-off events. (Well, maybe the 2004 USC game, but there's a lot of different circumstances going on there.)
I think my favorite part of the second clip is how hyped the players get. Talk about memories for these young men.
That WVU delusion extends south to Georgia, apparently.
Haha my old roommate was on the wreck tonight for this.
Definitely not the best entrance in college football (because we lose our damn minds when those chords are played), but lets be honest here. This is WAY cooler than rubbing a rock and running down a small hill while balloons are released. I'll give props to the lesser Tech for having a pretty durn cool entrance.
The entrance that breaks legs...
Right before the Hokies ran out onto the field I think Steve Levy said this, it's a little unintelligible, but this is what I heard -
"Are you ready Lane Stadium
Exit Light, Enter the Hokies"
He definitely referred to it as Lane Stadium, you were not hearing things
Agree...actually think he called it "Lane Stadium North"
You're right, I forgot about that one,
I don't remember when he said it, but I remember that one as "Lane Stadium Northeast"
I remember thinking he must know there's already a "Lane Stadium North" in hooville
We need to make sure all of our recruiting targets see these. I'll be sure to DM all of them on behalf of the fan base. /sssuchagoodidea
Seriously, though - anyone know who we had at the game?
For those that missed the beginning, Enter Sandman on WatchESPN: