I sat in front of a man at the Duke game who complained about almost every play. LT sucks, Loeffler sucks, these kids don't want to win, Beamer needs to go. It was truly extremely frustrating. However, I kept my rage inside, and even went to high five him when we scored the TD. But he didn't applaud. He didn't cheer. He didn't even smile. His want to be right (the Hokies are on a downward spiral) led him to miss out on a moment of Hokie celebration - and led him to become a Hokie Grinch.
Now, I do not want to bash this man for becoming the Grinch. What I do want to say is that we all might have a little bit of Grinch inside us - but we need to let it go.
I believe our problem is that many members of our fan base get in a pissing match before the season ever begins and the QB battle is decided (myself included; I was all for Glennon for a long time) and then have to stick to it in order to not have to eat crow. Think back to before the Miami game in 2011 - all I ever heard was "LT is a TE, not a QB!" Some people got to say they were right throughout 2011, and then the tide changed. It changed again for a 3 game stretch in 2013. But every week - someone has to say they were right. Someone has to defend the fact that they were right. Thus the multiple threads each week about our QBs play, and who was really right.
Truth be told, we all want to say we are right. Our wives/gfs/significant others take our ability away to be right at home (and on vacation) so we stick to our guns. Hard. We NEED to be right. I am embarrassed to admit that I at times hoped Tyrod would fail. I was committed to Glennon. What kind of fan was I? A Grinch.
In the story of The Grinch, we see a ?person? learn that life is all about friends, family, and life experiences. Not about materialistic/individualistic things such as who was right. Ask the Grinch, (or the Hokie Grinch if really want to ask a real person) if they are enjoying Hokie Football. Chances are they know they really aren't.
So let's put our need to be right aside. Cheer for the team when they are winning, help pick them back up when they are down. No matter if it is LT, Leal, or Skip taking snaps. That is what real fans do. That is what we should do. Let's enjoy the top defense in the nation and a run that could lead us to be Coastal Division Champions!
Go Hokies!
Comments
I hope this post doesn't come across as condescending. I love Hokie football and it is what lead me to love and attend VT. I used to be a grinch, and now that I find myself cheering for the Hokies 100%, I find that I enjoy the games 100x more. My favorite Hokie tradition is bringing people to their first VT game (6 in the past year) and seeing their enjoyment from the games and our proud fan base. I hope this post rallies the troops a little bit and everyone enjoys the last three games a little more!
Best post I've seen in 2 weeks!
Bravo!
#MANBEARPIG4QB
In my opinion the only problem I have so far this season is that I allowed myself to be lulled into the sense that we were going to be better than what I initially anticipated. I had no expectations at the beginning of the season other then hoping for an 8 win season. Did I think we were going to beat Alabama, no, but I sure hoped so and rooted like a mad man during the game. Was I excited the next few games when we won, hell yeah! And because of that I allowed myself to start believing that we could win out and thumb our noses at the haters. I was disappointed with the Duke loss but, having been a very long time follower of the team, chalked it up to the phenomena of the Hokies always seeming to have to lose one game they should have won. BC hurt because I really thought they would rebound and win. Did we beat ourselves or did BC beat us? I think we beat ourselves, as with the Duke game, I thought we were the better team but managed to give the games away.
Who is at fault? I don't know, French does a great job of breaking the game down and showing the break downs in the game and I learn more each time I come on this site. Unlike the previous offensive coaching staff where I would have said it was time for a change, at this point I don't think there is any one problem you can point too and say fix this and everything will get better. This is the first year for the whole offensive side (and I say this not only because of the coaches but also the players that have to learn a new way of playing).
Watching other games after the VT game I see how much better receivers look creating separation or backs look cutting between the tackles while running the ball. I don't see the quarterback having to do half as much as Logan does while executing plays. I hope that is what we are going to look like in the next couple of years.
So I will continue rooting for the team, I will continue looking for improvement, I will continue supporting our coaches until they have had a chance to implement their system, and I will continue to support the players the coaches feel should be in the game, since they play their heart out for me while I suck down beer and eat pizza rolls (yeah, kind of weird but it has become somewhat of a tradition around here).
Go Hokies!
Edited for readability.
I have been on this site for a while and I remember how demoralized the members on this site were after the Sugar Bowl loss. I remember coming on to the site the next day ready to vent, when was the curse of being a Hokie fan ever going to change? However one post in the midst of our whinning and complaining about "the catch" (which it was) stood out to me and changed me as a Virginia Tech fan forever.
I read this post before every season and many times after a loss to remind me what being a fan is about, at least to me. The last two lines have resonated with me ever since. We knew what we were getting into once this season started. A few bounces going the other way and we lose to Marshall, ECU, and Pitt. While you might not agree with who the qb should be, there is a whole team that sure as hell deserves your support as they lay it on the line to try to get to Charlotte.
great find
Kids have that special way of giving us perspective. Win or lose they are just happy to be dressed "like daddy" and run around with minimal supervision as we watch the game. They love trying to do the touchdown sign and yelling at the tv with (now PG gems like) "come on, are you blind!"
I had a feeling these boards would light up after the game and found it WAY more fun and entertaining to not worry about LT and the direction of the team but run around in the leaves with my kids. Perhaps everyone should just take a step back, take a deep breath, and just enjoy life for a bit instead of jumping on the internet and ranting about a kid that most (if not all) of us actually know very little about.
I love this post and love the perspective that it provides.
Is there a section on this site for hall of fame posts? longlosthokie deserves a spot.
I've never seen or heard of that poster, though, so the name fits.
I had a similar revelatory experience a few weeks ago. I was glued to the Duke game with that hopeless feeling that it was going to turn out exactly the way it did. All the while thinking back to the hype I had read, absorbed, and perpetuated during the week leading up to the game.
Still, I was just crushed as Duke converted on 4th down at the end. Then it happened. My wife looks at me, walks over and picks up our daughter (6 months old) and places her in my lap, just says, "I think dad needs his baby girl right now." I went from crushed to straightened out in about 2 seconds. The thing is, though, this didn't just fix the Duke game, but the Boise St. game, the Michigan game, and all the losses that have come and gone as well as those that are inevitably in our collective future. I will continue to live, eat, and breathe Hokies, but in a slightly different, better way than before.
Daughters. :)
For that matter, sons too. :)
I like this post and I think its probably true about all of us to differing degrees. As much as I enjoy being right, I prefer to win. I have become the Hokie ambassador to NYC. My goons can't even comprehend my infatuation with a school I went to for 4 yrs. Some of them didn't even go to college and I have them sitting around my crib on saturday afternoons cheering Hokie football cuz they know that's the only way they're going to see me for those 2 1/2 hrs. I see a kid that likes engineering or a lil dude on the football field playing catch and I'm pitching him/her VT all the way from NY. I'm proud of my school like none other and nothing will change that. But will I still have an opinion about how certain things are done? ABSOLUTELY!
At the end of the day if we win and Logan throws 10 TDs, I'm happier for him than anyone else. I'll be more than happy to be wrong about Logan if it means we're winning. On the other hand I'm not the type of guy to just sit there and "hope for the best". If it were up to me, I would make his seat hot a little and throw another guy in there for a series or so. I have no impact on decisions made so all I can do here is express my opinion.
Excellent stuff, Beaver. I've definitely been the Hokie Grinch at times, even this season. It's why I stay off the site during the games and chill at home watching the game on my own.
I tend to not log on the entire weekend...this weekend especially when some were trashing LT.
I won't take part in that shit. Nor will I waste my time reading it.
But... but... as a Hokie Grinch, I can take away the happiness of all the hoos down in hooville.
I don't think there is much happiness going on in hooville right now. LOL
haha, I'll take what I can get. I am a heartless Grinch after all.
This is just... perfect.
All I know, is that before and during the game, I enjoy eating some effin ROAST BEAST. Hells yeah.
The 'bama game is a great example of this... I feel it is the best performance
by the HOKIES all year next to the GaTech game...
The final score told little more than who got the W.
I know deep down alot of HOKIE fans were happy or at least satisfied with
what the HOKIES did on the whole that night. An underestimated D dominated
the #1 team in the country. All fans want is to see their team
giving their best. Its then (and ONLY then) where fans can get behind them
and route their team on, rather than cheering at them, simply hoping they'll play better!
GO HOKIES!