I'll start off saying that for 20+ years I have hated Notre Dame. No particular reason but they typcially ranked just behind uva as most hated team. So I was excited when Tech finally had a chance to play them, enough so that I went to South Bend 2 years ago for that first game.
My wife and I went to ND stadium decked out in orange and maroon everything (walking bookstore) and met up with 30+ friends dressed the same way in the bar just outside the stadium. We all shared the same hate for ND and were ready to be rowdy.
Beginning in that bar and throughout my walk through the stadium, I was stopped by the home team fans who went out of their way to welcome me to South Bend and wish for a good game. We had 2 different locals buy our crew a round of beers. Even after we came back to beat them in the 4th quarter and effectively keep them out of a bowl game, on the way out several disappointed fans came up to me to wish us a safe trip home and thank us for coming to South Bend.
I still don't root for ND but its tough to hate them. Having visited many away games with dreaded fanbases (thinking Maryland, Miami, odu, uva, wvu, etc.), ND was welcoming and truly wanted to see a good football game. I hope that the Hokies can leave a similar impression this weekend, as they are genuinely good fans.
So I hope that we absoultuely crush their team and graciously wish them well during their visit to the burg. Go Tech!!!
Comments
So basically, don't be this guy.
In that guy's defense we were playing UVA.
This is an obligatory gif for a thread like this.
I love that guy...
I feel if you do that no one in particular, you good.
Be Excellent to Each Other and
PARTY ON DUDES!
In the stands:
On the field:
When you say visiting fans you mean Hokies from out of the area?
That's how I read it.
I had a very similar experience. Very nice people, pretty campus, and wonderful (if a bit cold) weather.
I too was in South Bend two years ago and was treated wonderfully by all ND fans I interacted with. Thanks for bringing this up.
Like all fan bases, I'm sure there will be a few idiots on either side on Saturday, particularly after hours and hours of tailgating. Don't let one bad egg influence your thoughts on an entire fan base.
There will be a group of Notre Dame fans with us in Lot 18 this weekend. I cannot wait to show them our shenanigans.
Don't go full shenanigans. Never go full shenanigans.
Hey Farva... What's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?
I cannot promise this.
That's okay, as long as your shenanigans are cheeky and fun.
My shenanigans are good-natured and well-meaning, but also drunken and irresponsible. I've learned to accept it.
Sounds like the best kind of shenanigans.
I concur. The ND fans were pretty gracious even after the game. The only thing I will knock them for was their stadium running out of hot chocolate by halftime. The forecast was cold long before the game , I get that it was the last game of the season and maybe they didn't want to have a bunch of powder left, but it could have been used for Basketball games or in the campus cafeterias. My wife was about to lose it when we had to bounce three concession stands before half time to find a cup, she does not do cold well.
Even when they had hot chocolate to serve it wasn't that hot. Mine before kickoff was closer to ice cream then hot chocolate
We are the world....we are the children.... Come on, sing along.
via GIPHY
Also on the list of songs I hate getting stuck in my brain.
World Peace!
Is that Turtle?!?
You can see the exact moment when that guy realizes he's facing down an angry human in top physical condition whose anger is focused on HIM.
RIP Tough Guy Heckler.
So we don't throw batteries at them?
We're so above that with our expertly engineered paper airplanes.
ziploc baggies full of piss?
Dropped from the expertly engineered paper airplanes.
From the stories I've heard from fans of opposing teams visiting South Bend combined with my experiences with ND fans away from games entirely, there must be a strong divide between Domers that go to games and Domers that don't.
In any case, anyone going to the game please take this advice. In my mind the best thing Weaver ever did was the Hokies Respect campaign, because even though it didn't eliminate shitty fan behavior it certainly curtailed it a bit to the point where the vast majority of stories I've heard from opposing fans about visiting Lane Stadium are fairly positive.
C'mon folks
Now isn't that the kind of face that makes ya wanna show "Hokie Respect"?
I was going to make a disparaging remark, but then I looked in the mirror....
I am all for this, and I'm going to let you finish. But I would love to hear stories of shitty fan bases and what made them so shitty
I think there was a thread about this a month or two ago
If that was the offseason I think I blacked out due to all of the bad news
My dilemma: My son is a ND fan. He wrote a book report in the 5th grade on the Fighting Irish and then saw "Rudy" and has never been the same. (Sorry I could not do my fatherly job). He still likes VT just not as much as his beloved Irish. I always told him that if ND ever played VT at Lane stadium we would go. He is an adult now and responsible for his choices.
We will be going to the game together and he will be in full ND gear (and not in the ND visitors section either..lol).
It's ok for me to mock him with impunity right....?
Just don't be a Dick and you should be fine.
Do you look at him like this in the fall?
You brought him into this world, you can take him out if you need to.
Also, if he goes bitching about how bad the hokie fans were, and ends his story with 'and the real jackass was my dad,' everyone's going to laugh and think it's a joke, or laugh and think he got what he deserved, so you're good either way, and hokienation comes out smelling like roses.
When I went to WVU for the first time after highschool I walked into the student section and they started chanting Fuck VT, you can hear it on the broadcast over the national anthem (2001). I was called horrible things and a state trooper came over to see if I would move. I looked back at the crowd and called out a couple of guys by name and told them the trooper said to knock it off. Half the section were friends from high school. So what I am getting at, it's best when it comes from people you know and are closest to
Well, you sure showed them, well done! The one, the only, the first and without a shred of doubt the last time I went to Morganhole for a game, the WVU state troopers were useless in our defense, even threatening to lock a couple of our fans up for "looking drunk", and one of our fans for having a drunk WVU fan in a wheelchair try his damnedest to get in a fight with him (and while he was drunk, too, he was also the toughest MF we had with us but showed incredible restraint in the situation). I have heard other stories about the state troopers poor behavior at those games as well, so I'd say you must've encountered the only helpful one in the state of WV.
C'mon man....this is your son! Your offspring. Someone that hopefully is loved as much as life itself! It is not only your obligation, but your paternal duty to mock him endlessly. This is what therapy is for man!
I'm just going to make my children watch the power-hours
Man, I hate to say it, but I liked Rudy. Don't give a fig for ND, but the movie was ok.
And before you go too crazy, remember, this is only my opinion.
Just get this made in O&M and you should be good
It is possible to fan-mock and still dad-love. Mock on.
Please no more UVA style dances in the tailgate...its lame...drink and be rowdy.
Last time I was at a big game 2009 Nebraska game in Blacksburg. Both fans were courteous, VT Respect....
Nebraska fans, in my opinion, are/were the gold standard for polite fans who were a blast to hang around.
Yupp Nebraska fans are great I went to OSU @ Nebraska last year in a Tech shirt (I was given a red jacket to wear). Had a lot of people tell me about their time in Blacksburg (a game I was also at) and their Danny Coale wide open heartbreaks
Apparently that only goes for the ones in the stands. The ones in Big Al's that game were jackasses and I honestly thought I may have to throw a few out.
I think this 'Nebraska fans are nice' thing might be situational. I went to a lot is UW games when I lived in Wisconsin, and Nebraska fans were about the worst behaved visiting fans I saw.
It is, they HATE Texas and Colorado. I've never seen anything like it outside of English soccer.
Good topic, agree all around makes for a better experience.
Just be prepared to be asked to sit down and not be so loud.
Someone told me that at a bar during the Arkansas bowl game "Could you sit down and not be so loud we can't hear the trivia" I did not handle it well.
Also who schedules trivia during football games? Last time I went to that bar.
My Friends and I went up the night before the game 2 years ago in South Bend and we went to a few bars. During one of our stops, we messed up and ordered an extra pint of beer. We casually asked a couple beside of us that the gentleman was low on this beer if he wanted this pint because we ordered an extra by mistake and we had to leave before ordering another round. The guy thanked us and asked if we wanted to head to his tailgate tomorrow because he and his family never miss a game in the past 40 some odd years, we exchanged numbers and didn't expect to hear from him again. (Now if some of you remember getting cold beer in the state of Indiana you have to go to a liquor store, you could buy it in other places but it was warm.) The next day we received a call from the gentleman looking for us to begin tailgating. We met up and proceeded to go 3 different huge tailgates with the last stop they had purchased my friends and I 3 cases of the beer we were drinking the night before and fed our group of 10. I will have to say that going to all different places to watch a game I truly was impressed with the people at ND and I found a new respect for the fanbase. To sum it all up, I still can't wait to beat the dog piss out of them on Saturday.
Stuff like this never happens to me. Sounds awesome. I get beer thrown on my head walking through tailgates.
I must have a very beerable face.
NC State and LSU both got me good.
That is an official fully man. Ya.
I was also at ND and they were great. I was behind the student section instead of in the top corner where most of our fans were centralized, almost got hit by a marshmallow. Hit the ND guy next to me, who was really nice, so I apologized to him because it was clearly meant for me. Good folks out there, 5/7 would go back.
I should also note that ND is my second favorite college football team.
You all convinced me. I'll be nice and polite to the fans.
But can I still hate their @$^!@#@ teams?
I do draw the line at being nice to wvu fans. i hate them all.
You can be courteous to the fans while hating the team they root for. Win graciously, don't rub it in their faces, and if the unthinkable happens and we lose, don't be belligerent and wish them luck the rest of the season. Other than that, yell your heart out towards the field.
It's pretty simple.
Nice thread. I am with you on this. We went to South Bend two years ago and had a very pleasant and enjoyable time on campus, around other fans, and at the game. I won't be in Blacksburg this weekend, but I hope everyone is welcoming.
I'll be nice to their fans, but fuck their murdering coach.
I mean, you do you, but remember to get his consent first.
What are you, the moral behavior police or something? It's kinda coming across like you're directing people how they should & shouldn't act. Just an observation.
I, uh... what? Is this because of the couple posts I made earlier in the thread? I don't know why I feel the need to defend myself here but here goes:
1) The post I made about missing the Hokies Respect program was genuine. I would like for opposing fans to feel safe at a game in Lane, just like I would like to feel safe at our away games, and I felt like the Hokies Respect campaign helped that a lot. Not to mention the fact that I want Blacksburg to be the polar opposite of Morganhole.
2) My post saying "Just don't be a Dick and you should be fine" (notice the capitalization) was a poor attempt at referencing this shirt:
3) The post you just replied to was supposed to be a sex joke poking fun at the wording in the post right above it. And now it's ruined.
EDIT: just realized I forgot about the other one about "win graciously" and "don't be belligerent". Look, if you want to be belligerent after a loss or rub a win in the opponents' faces then me saying that stuff obviously isn't going to stop you. That was just me pointing out that hating a team doesn't have to mean hating that team's fans.
Unless those fans come from the aforementioned town in the state next door. In that case anything goes.
First off, my response wasn't an attack, it was simply calling attention to the tone of your posts (the earlier ones), so no need to get defensive. The explanation, though, certainly helps & provides clarity. Also, you probably should've just led with the shirt (I mean, this is TKP). In terms of the sex joke, easy thing to miss (if it had been phrased "written consent" then I would've definitely got it). And in terms of the reference to being the polar opposite to Morganhole, well, I think most folks aware that has been made permanently evident. I mean there's literally nothing we could do (short of tossing batteries & burning upholstery) to show any kind of similarity to that place.
EDIT: I assume Charlottesville fits into this description as well. Rubbing in the win is part of sports & fandom, as is trash talk. Some folks get excessively carried away. It's going to happen.
I don't know that I'd include Charlottesville, but I'm not sure if that's because they really aren't terrible people (just misguided) or because UVA doesn't actually have any fans anyway.
Also I made a slight change that hopefully makes my intent a bit clearer.
I have the great misfortune of residing here (C'ville) & can vouch that the two are not always mutually exclusive.
EDIT: Also, btw, I never downvoted you in case you were wondering.
? Wut?
I'm just picturing you bringing a nice lady-friend home after a nice dinner and movie and then having her read and sign a consent form prior to entering your bedroom. And it's weird. Sounds like a scene from a really weird romcom or something
Yeah, it was actually from an episode of the Chapelle show.
So basically you don't get basic jokes, only layered ones? Interesting
Depends. If we were in a bar & someone said it, then I'd probably get it. Can be a little bit more challenging behind a keyboard & screen at times.
Yeah, I get that. Carry on.
hahaha, good thing he didn't accidentally add the second "t" to but
15 years ago, I started dating my wife to be, and just weeks after we stated dating, I met her grandmother and her grandmother's life partner, a fiery Catholic and lifelong Notre Dame fan. I told him wayyyyy back then that if ND ever game to Lane, that I would take him to the game.
He's now 82, and I fulfilled my promise, and he's just as stoked about the game as I. I hope all fans are respectful to him, but I've got a feeling that he hasn't a clue what he's about to experience on Saturday.
(FWIW he's seen Notre Dame play at home three times, and seen them play away at USC, Nebraska, and Michigan).
Well said. I was blown away by the hospitality shown in South Bend 2 years ago. Let's reciprocate.
100% agree- I typically will go out of my way to welcome visiting fans to Blacksburg, and offer up a drink or food, and to just hang out at our tailgate. I think this gesture is something that all Hokies try to do, but it is always a good thing to make it a PSA.
My friend and I always make a point of saying "Welcome to Blacksburg" to ANY visiting fans we encounter in the lots or on the way to the game. The ONLY thing I dislike about how we treat visiting teams is when (a small minority) of Hokie fans BOOs the opposing team when they run onto the field at the beginning of the game. I GET that if they walk or saunter on or if they are taunting the crowd, but otherwise polite "golf claps" for the opposing team are the appropriate response for our fans in my opinion. Of course once the game starts, I'm standing and screaming my head off like any good fan does!
Booing the other team, simply for being the other team, is childish.
Booing someone for acting like an ass, breaking rules, or other offense is fair game.
Three things I dislike in our stadium:
Music being played louder than the speakers are capable of handling. THe cracking and popping is obnoxious. They haven't been doing that so much this year. I'll consider this temporarily fixed.
Booing other team as they come on the field.
Idiots (I'm looking at you non-orioles fans) who yell "ohhh" during the anthem.
I hate that the Orioles do the "ohhhhhhh" thing too. They're taking the National Anthem and turning it into an inside joke. And I'll refrain from the rest of my thoughts on the matter lest I bump up against the Community Guidelines.
Many sports team yell something during the anthem. Caps say "Red." Vegas Knights yell "night". Let's not single out one team about this matter.
Then I hate that the Caps and Knights do it too. I only said Orioles because they were the only ones I knew of, probably because of the overlap between Orioles fans and Hokies and the resulting spillover into Lane.
Honestly, my ideal situation for the teams running onto the field is "loud as hell" for when the Hokies come out of their tunnel, and then complete silence when the opponent does.
Obviously that'll never actually happen because there's always at least a few opposing fans, but a man can dream, right?
There is little in the world more obnoxious than overloaded speakers. There truly is no excuse for that.
I agree with the tone and concept of this thread.
When we were in Tallahassee for the Florida State game, the fans all treated us really well. Several said before the game "I hope you enjoy tonight!" Now I think they may have been being a bit sarcastic, but I really did enjoy that night....
As I was approaching the gate with my stubhub-purchased tickets on my phone, I was almost at the entrance when I realized my tickets weren't showing up on my phone, and I didn't have an internet connection. As I walked back out past the line to establish an internet connection , several said "Hey, Don't Go! It'll be alright!" They had a good laugh at my expense, but it was all friendly. And you know what? It was alright.
I thought the fans handled themselves really well, and I really enjoyed the game. Probably wasn't so bad that a lot of them left before the very end...
I said all that to say this: We should treat the fans of other teams as guests when they come to visit our house. We should treat them the way we want them to treat us.
We're all fans of the same sport.
I don't hate ND because they're good (we've been a better program for the last 20 years), and I don't hate their alums. I hate them because 90% of their fans are from Jersey and happen to also be Duke basketball fans.