So it's this Saturday Night, Primetime 8 PM on ABC. Approximately 5 million+ TV viewers have their eyes on the Epicenter of College Football - Lane Stadium in small town Blacksburg, VA.
The stadium has been nearly full for 45 minutes+ prior to kickoff, similar to Ohio State in 2015.
The airplane flyover is happening during the National Anthem, the parachute jumpers are coming down from the sky, and Metallica is getting off the bus from Roanoke Airport (just kidding about Metallica).
The home team that is dressed in #AllMaroonEverything begins its trek from the Frank Beamer Locker Room in Merryman Athletic Center to the claustrophobic Avery Tunnel. The crowd is a sea of cell phone flashlights during Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down".
The crowd of 65,632 is waiting to erupt when the "Let's Go... Hokies" chant begins - and then lose their minds jumping (while registering on the Richter Scale) as Enter Sandman strikes.
Fireworks are launching, synced with Enter Sandman and as the team runs out of the tunnel.
Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler are talking about what an intimidating venue Lane Stadium is (while also mentioning ODU), just one week after being in Happy Valley for a White Out.
ABC-ESPN are showing many shots of Lane Stadium from the SkyCams and the top of the West, South, and East stands with many cameras in the North.
What do we want it to look like for the 5 million+ at home as we hope for the biggest win in Lane Stadium in over a decade?
This.
Before we start the "this is never going to happen and get off my lawn!!!" talk, please hear me out: Teams across the country have pulled this off before (without giving away shirts/less marketing) and most of them have looked great. The colors were strategically placed so the whole NEZ is orange (and student tickets have their designated color on their Print-At-Home ticket in bold).
It has been blasted at the Spring Game, Student Practice, Freshman Summer Orientation, Fan Appreciation Day, on electronic billboards in SWVA and Roanoke, pocket schedules, all over Athletics and University social media, HokieSports.com, the home game vs. William and Mary, etc. like no other 'Effect' has ever before.
It's not rocket science, it's simply looking at a map to see what color the SGA Hokie Effect team, the Athletics Marketing team, and the football team hope you wear.
"I dOn'T hAvE oRaNgE..." Well you could afford a $125+ ticket and fortunately there are official Hokie Effect - Stripe Lane T-shirts for $8.99. You can get two long sleeves with that too and get get 3 shirts for $24.99 at Official University Bookstores.
I mean surely if schools like...
Penn State
Oklahoma
WVU
Auburn
Iowa
Michigan State
even that annoying asterisk named ODU
and many other schools can pull it off, so can we.
Our other recent primetime Effects have looked amazing before:
Orange Effect 2015 vs. Ohio State
Maroon Effect 2017 vs. Clemson
So let's all Stripe Lane for Hokie Effect as we #BeatND!
Comments
Get on my lawn.
I hope this comment goes striped.
Upvoted!
Sorry, but I refuse to wear orange ever since the 1994 UVA game. I won't even wear orange for Orange Effect games.
They also aren't my tickets -- they're my uncle's, who gifts them to my mother every year as her Christmas present :P
And this bullshit is why its not going to work
It's one person. Settle down. Quit being so negative. Sheesh.
But he's one of numerous that we've seen saying this. Alum is right, stubbornness is why it won't work, that's not negative it's factual
I was not expecting today to be the first time I saw a comment of mine to plaid.
Its gonna be a good weekend
I think my first plaid comment was this:
More downvotes? I think some people have gotten a taste for blood after, ahem, recent events that transpired. This isn't offensive, just one man's opinion on the issue. I'll leg you bro.
...though I probably should. People like you are why we can't do nice things.
Edit: for the record I didn't downvote you I just thought the gif was a funny response.
I haven't downvoted anyone either. Honest.
Body paint is technically not wearing orange.
I... don't think you want to see me body paint, especially as high up as I am and in the west stands >.>
Really? I'm getting down voted for this? Isn't that, you know, against community guidelines?
I don't agree with the downvoting at all. Didn't do it myself, disappointed to see you're close to blurred.
That said, even though its against the CGs, downvoting opinions has apparently evolved to be the norm lately.
Up vote for you, sir, for sticking to principles.
It may not matter that I'm not going to wear orange (and if it's cold, I'm going to be wearing a maroon coat because it's the only color I have) because I've also been sick all week so I'll be lucky if I even get to go to the game. :(
Multiple edits made because post was partially nonsensical and other matters. Man, I hate being sick x.x
I didn't agree with the downvotes and shot you a leg to help even things out, but wholeheartedly agreed with Alum's first response.
I upvoted to counter some of those downs. You expressed an opinion with your reasons.
Then go sit in a maroon section.
It only takes a few assholes to ruin the fun for everyone else. Please don't be that asshole. It's not hard to wear the correct shirt color.
... or sit in the section that matches your clothing choice.
jmecca at the game:
I'm not downvoting you, but please reconsider and find an orange shirt.
The athletics department has done a great job of selling this Hokie Effect game. It just seems disrespectful considering the effort required on your end.
Even I don't agree with this level of Orange hate. It is still one of our colors. It just should not be our primary jersey color EVER.
When fernley doesn't agree with your orange hate you know you've crossed the line.
made me laugh and yet, so true.
Wear orange.
Come'on Tai. I was also at that 1994 debacle of a game, but it's a new century, man. Time to reset the clock and give the Hokies a chance to redeem themselves.
Hell, I still have the orange foam cooley can holder that they gave out upon entry to the stadium.
All Orange had a chance to redeem itself: 2013 Duke. And I don't remember if the MVs got one of those or not. I just remember marching at halftime, facing the students' section while we're dancing to a Village People medley and thinking "we're going to lose this game".
Worst part of it is I had a dream about that exact thing three months earlier during band camp as an incoming freshman >.>
BeatUVA right now:
Iowa's striped stadium has always been my favorite. The colors in the stands and the field for their night games seem to always "pop" on the tv. The same thing can happen with the contrast of Maroon&Orange!
Iowa is a very united fanbase. Something about corn and the midwesten mindset really bonds them to the team and they buy in.
Also, if you want to get a good cry on, see the ESPN piece about the wave towards the children's hospital. Right in the feels.
"Something about corn and the midwest"
It's literally all they have. Football and corn.
Pretty good wrestling too.
I know from experience this is how every argument/discussion with an Iowa fan ends up..."but our wrestling team...."
Kinda how Uva fans deflect to any other sport when talking about football.
Too bad they can't use soccer anymore, haha!!
I need to buy my Iowa bride one of these.
Iowa, like VT, is bucket list game experience for any college football fan. have been to 3 games there and the game day experience is fantastic. fans are extremely nice and they just love college football. I highly recommend to everyone.
Great post! I'm excited to see how it'll look on TV!
Dang....All I've got is a bunch of old Orange T-Shirts. Most of the Maroon gear I own is all winter. Guess I gotta stop by the store.
#TeamPlayer
Why don't you just trade seats with Tal?
,#problemsolver
Just say fuck it, join the key players club, and get the discount at campus emporium.
All my orange apparel is cold weather gear. Not gonna complain about 70 degrees though! I'll be buying a t-shirt when I get to town Saturday morning. Go Hokies!
I'm buying $150+ in short sleeve and long sleeve orange Dri Fit shirts just to make sure I'm appropriately clothed for the possible chill and fall-like temperatures after the sun sets on the Fighting Irish's hopes of a National Title.
Hell yes.
That's the spirit. Share it with your friends.
It's not like you aren't going to be watching a lot of VT football in the future, and any of the three colors come up often enough to wear them.
I understand some people have religious/superstitious/conscientious objections, and I'll allow for that. Anyone else, though, get with the program.
I'm superstitious about wearing orange jerseys to games and therefore, I will never wear one of those.
I am also turning 32 in 3 weeks. Even though I have 4 years of college eligibility left, I think it is safe to say I am too old to conceivably compete at a collegiate level in just about anything besides drinking.
Orange shirts =
I'm just going based off of the fact that Chris Weinke was seemingly a grandfather when he beat us in the 99 Championship.
Your 5-year clock started ticking the day you enrolled.
Weinke was halfway to collecting Social Security because he was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1990 MLB draft and elected to play minor-league baseball for 7 seasons before finally enrolling at FSU.
no orange jersey I'll give ya, but an orange t-shirt shirt is a completely different item of clothing
one that costs $9, not $75
Nike Dri Fit aint cheap....
Nope, just bought some this week $50 per long sleeve and don't get me started on their dri-fit polo prices.
That maroon effect looks sexy from last year... EXIT LIGHT
Yeah, I'd like to see that work. Would look great, even if 90% of people do it.
I see one issue with your picture of Lane all striped out, and that is you forgot the navy, gold, and green that will be mixed in.
I will say right now, this has a chance because the weather is looking mild and people don't have to wear whatever color rain suit they have.
About that.... The majority of Stubhub tickets I'm seeing right now are for the visitor section...
Correct. This isn't Wake or UNC. Notre Dame fans will be there in full force. They travel well, have money, and there are millions that aren't alumni. There will be plenty of domers there for sure.
It wouldn't be any fun if they weren't trying. Every seat should be filled.
Unfortunately, I know of one that'll be empty even if I'm well enough to go. :(
My mom's the general manager of the old St. Albans sanatorium building in Radford and they run a haunted house every year from the last weekend of September to the first weekend of November. Any kickoff after 2:30 is too late for her to attend because the haunted house runs from 7-midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Most of my friends that would be interested in going have to work, the ones that don't aren't interested in football.
I'm sure you could find a volunteer somewhere on here to fill that seat in a matter of minutes.
I am still looking for a ticket. I will buy it if you don't want it to go to waste.
Let me make sure my mom hasn't given it away first; she usually has people begging her for tickets every game.
She gave it to one of my cousins who managed to get off work for the game.
Sorry :(
I've had season tickets at VT since 1998. They could literally hand out the correct color shirt to every fan and there will still be a significant number of high school jerseys, green jackets, gray 1988 VT sweatshirts with cursive writing, Black north face jackets, etc etc etc. That said, the stadium will look "mostly" striped properly on Sat. night.
I'm good with that.
Hey, I missed when you officially got out of the penalty box. welcome back.
I agree here. there are always gonna be some that just don't go along, or don't know, forget or whatever. Lets shoot for "mostly" striped and be pleased with ourselves.
People are either going to do it or they won't. Hopefully they do and it looks sweet. Worst case scenario, it doesn't, and the stands are still filled with maroon and orange. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Why are they doing an airplane flyover for a night game?
Because this is America! Brother
"that flyover sounded pretty cool!"
I remember when they flew a B-12 over for a night game. You could definitely see that thing as it was going over. I thought it was pretty cool.
They flew vitamins over the stadium? Sure would help the hangovers.
Haha. Touche sir. B-2 for the win
via GIPHY
I heard this year it's the B-52s flying over and parachuting in
Well they could bring in a pair of F15s to do vertical climbs right over the stadium. You wouldn't see much besides the glow of the afterburners, but it WOULD sound awesome. :-)
Alternatively, they could have a spooky make a flare run:
This would be AWESOME!
This please.
This is not an A-10
You changed your comment
I have seen plenty of nighttime flyovers. Believe me it is still awesome. Them planes got lights and shit.
They're doing one of these....
I was thinking how funny a B-2 would be.
The one in 03 seemed like it was going to touch the upper reaches of the east and west stands; it also shook you to the core.
Too bad they don't go that low anymore.
The pair of Apaches were memorable too.
What I thought was fascinating was how quiet it was, at least as it was approaching.
I was still walking towards the stadium in Lot 1 when I first heard it, and by that point it was already past Dietrich. Didn't hear a damn thing until then. Good noise emissions design; you don't want to have all that money spent evading radars and IR detection methods to be wasted when they hear you coming from miles away.
Those two were my favorites. The B2 was insane. Silent until it was already past you, then it just rocked you. And the Apaches popping up over the tree line was awesome too.
Yes, please make this work! Please spread the information on Facebook and Twitter and send a reminder text to your friends who are going! I want this to look awesome, as much as I hate wearing orange.
The GoPro perspective of the skydivers coming down on a striped stadium is going to be
I was scrolling through those pictures waiting for one of UVA to really drive the point home, then I realized stripping isn't effective with only two people wearing matching pink polos.
Actually, I'll bet good money both those fellas wearing pink polos think they're good enough to strip. Hell, they probably practice stripping
My thoughts:
Nice photoshop job. This is going to look awesome.
And godddammit, if WVU can do this, than we sure as hell can!
you can still see some yellow and blue randomly in the wrong sections. It will look awesome as long as most people are onboard. Not a killer if there are a few outliers.
This really is about the fans: it takes almost nothing to pull off (any real VT fan has an Orange or Maroon shirt, and many true fans probably have orange and maroon jackets too). Suck it up and play along.
If we can't pull this off, it is another reason that we can't have nice things.
Let's go Hokies. Have a little fun for a change.
Please don't be the guy that doesn't wear the right color. You will really stand out, here is an example of "Alum Out" night at Lane North. The non-aluminum shirt people stick out like a sore loser.
.
I feel like I should be insulted here
I misread it too. And was thinking along the same lines.
So many of you and all probably using the same TKP login. No wonder you're the leg leader.
Lane North has a lot of those.
They do a phenomenal card stunt, though
Wtf is this?
You didnt see that game??
Obviously a photoshop....way too many fans in the stands, and it obviously isn't our bi-annual game in Lane North.
I love your spirit. Ultimately I hope it works and looks great. But I can promise you one thing. My father-in-law will be in section 18 (Orange) wearing maroon. It's what he does and there's no stopping him.
Buy him a shirt. He may just surprise you.
It's astounding how some people respond to this fantastic idea with things like:
"I pay a lot of money to sit in alumni seats, we don't play by these stupid t-shirt color rules."
While i understand the superstition sentiment, the home record against ranked teams stat that keeps getting tossed around might show that some superstitions might not work! Maybe this could start the "Virginia Tech is undefeated in games where they stripe the stadium" trend for years to come!
You know what else shows that superstitions don't work?
Tbh I would be perfectly happy if we got rid of the orange effect game and replaced it with this one moving forward.
FIFY: Tbh I would be perfectly happy if we got rid of the white effect game and replaced it with this one moving forward.
This would be wasted on the types of games we use for White Effect (generally either ECU or similar or the FCS game).
I would be happy if we kept the white game, for them to call it the White Out again. White Effect just sounds stupid.
Completely forgot about White Effect... I agree completely. I love our stormtrooper getup but not for home games.
I stole your 'shop job to post a PSA on the book of faces. I hope the stadium looks half as good as it does in that picture
I dunno if anyone else brought this up, but your link to the Bookstore is just a picture.
Here's a link for the page selling the shirts. I won't be at the game, but I'm planning on getting a maroon of the shirts with the maroon/orange effect shirts, since the "Hokie Effect" shirt looks generic enough to use as a regular gameday shirt going forward (and my old generic one has a hole in it...)
Ok - so I am in the last seat of a section (the guy/gal beside me should be in maroon, I should be in orange). Can I wear maroon or orange or is this breaking the rules?
I'll wear orange if it makes a difference but I have better swag for a warm day in maroon.
Decisions, decisions.
Just wear the color you're supposed to wear.
Why is this so difficult. The shirt costs $9 in the bookstore.
So sorry to ruffle your feathers. I have 20 orange effect shirts, I just think that it won't matter for my situation because we will lack sharp lines separating the colors.
VT made a mistake on how they organized it. Go look at the most impressive striped stadiums in the images above - each stripe is separated by stairs: WVU, Oklahoma, Auburn, Iowa.
Did they not do it by stair sections?
No because Lane stadium sections aren't divided by the stairs. It's caused a lot of confusion over the years.
In reality once you realize how the sections work its actually a design that makes sense. I have a friend visiting Lane for the first time he was asking about his seats and was ultra confused on the sections, once I explained it he really liked the idea. It's straight forward, go exactly to the numbered entrance that matches your section, find the row letter, determine even vs odd, plop yourself in your seat.
Are you the last seat of a section or the last seat of a row? Lane is a little weird when it comes to seat numbering IMO - the sections break/switch in the middle of the block of seats. From looking at the map. If your seats are in the middle of the row you will be near/at the edge of a section.
It would probably be easiest to just wear the assigned color
Section. Like I said, the person beside me will be wearing the opposite color (i.e I'm the last even, the next seat is odd for the next section).
I have no problem wearing orange, and it blows my mind I got down votes for suggesting that since I am on the border it won't matter what color I wear. Unlike other striped stadiums, there are no aisles between the blocks of color.
The lucky shirt (that I wore to tOSU and ND) will stay in the closet I guess.
My group has a similar situation. We have 3 tickets in the middle of a row so two of us will be wearing maroon and one will be in orange. In the long run it probably doesn't matter all that much, but if you know what color to wear, why not do it?
I legged you though, btw.
The college version of me from 10 years ago gave no shits about this. The alumni today would wear the assigned color.
Just stripe it. I used to buy into those superstitions but pretty sure I've worn all of my tech shirts to home and away losses at this point. It's not real
But the lucky shirt changes season to season and you never know which it is!
You never know - this is (hopefully) a new superstition in the making! When we go out and crush ND after striping the stadium - we will have won 100% of our games when we stripe the stadium!
New Hype Train Dork Magic Superstition Confirmed!
We will never know unless we try it!
I know what I'm wearing!
ohherro is so ahead of the curve that he's going to a game in 3018.
If it works out well tonight, can we stripe Kenan next Saturday?
Looked great in person and on TV!
It did. Even the UGA fans at the bar made a comment about how well the stripe stadium worked.
It looked great in Lane last night. Proud to see all the Hokies working together to pull it off.
Heck yeah looked great on TV. Well done everyone