I don't normally post any new topics or blogs of my own on here but I'd like to address some of the negativity that I've noticed by a very vocal part of our fan base. Just like a lot of you, I grew up playing sports. Anything I could play I wanted to sign up for. Some sports I did okay at, and in others I wasn't very talented at all. But the one thing I can say that I learned from my coaches was the power of a positive mental attitude. Now, that doesn't mean that if you stay positive things are always going to go your way. In fact, the purpose of having a positive mental attitude is so when things are really going wrong, you can gut it out and make it through. I've carried that mentality with me through 15 years in the military as well. Countless challenging schools, and multiple combat deployments and I'm telling you people, it's not just a cliche, it works. But when folks start getting all negative and pointing fingers and blaming this person or that person, it's like a cancer in an organization and it can ruin even the best ones. Nothing good ever comes from negativity. The reason I wanted to write this post is mostly because of what I saw and heard at the Duke game. I coach my son's peewee football team and we had a bye that weekend so we decided that we would make the trip from Fort Campbell to Blacksburg which is about seven hours give or take. Not wanting to drive all night Friday, we left super early on Saturday morning, and drove in. After being on the road all day my son was so excited to finally get inside Lane Stadium and watch the Hokies that he loves with his entire heart. We're from Lynchburg so as you can imagine, Logan Thomas is his favorite player. I don't need to tell you all the rest of the game story. Just like every one of you, we were stunned and extremely disappointed. What made me absolutely sick to my stomach however, was the way the people around us were acting. Some of the things they were saying about Logan would embarrass the guys that I work with and we hear some pretty rough language. It was like we found the most fair weather, negative part of Hokie Nation and sat right in the middle of it. The good news was, half of them left about half way through the 4th Qtr. The ones that remained stayed consistent in their negativity though. "Beamer has to go, this is on him, for letting the offense go so long" Logan Thomas has single handily ruined OUR program" blah blah blah. We finally left after regulation expired but we watched Duke in their victory formation mostly because we had just driven 7 hours and was in no hurry to get back to the car but also because I wanted my son to be able to spend every second he could inside Lane. Afterwards, we walked around campus and I took him to the War Memorial and he wanted a new Hokie Bird so we went to Campus Emporium. While we were in there you couldn't get away from the negativity. It was the worst I've ever seen. And we live in the heart of SEC land so thats saying something! He finally said "daddy, I'm ready to go. These people aren't good Hokies fans" I couldn't help but agree. That was a sad day for me. As much as I love Virginia Tech, and as bad I hate to see them lose, the worst part of that entire trip was that my seven year old had to see that from our own fans. I've told him his entire life that the difference in Hokies and everyone else is that we support our team whether they're 12-0 or 0-12. Well, a lot of people made a liar out of me that night. And then came Boston College. The negative comments reached an all time high. I've actually had to start blocking people on twitter and Facebook. It's gotten that bad. And now I'm seeing it on this site. There's nothing wrong with being frustrated people but at the end of the day, none of you are on the field, none of you are playing or coaching. And it's probably a safe bet that the majority of you have never played or coached on a D-1 football team. And if you have I'm positive none of you were mistake free. So I'm asking you to try to support our team win or lose. Remember that wins and losses are always going to happen, it's how you act during those wins and losses that make the difference. We're setting an example for younger generations on how Virginia Tech fans act. Frank Beamer is our head coach and Logan Thomas is our Quarterback, and that's not going to change. No matter how convinced some of you are that if it did change we'd never lose a game we shouldn't ever again. Go Hokies!
Negativity and the Hokies don't mix
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He shoots.....he scores.
Boom. Couldn't agree more.
This is what being a Hokie is all about...Period! You've said it best, I remember posting on a blog and said the way some of the fans were acting towards LT it sends a bad message to future Hokies, recruits and fans. Those kids see this and they see how our fans treat our players after a bad game. Hokie 681, my son is only 1 year old and when he gets older I'd like to take him to a VT football game one day.
Well said, Hokie 681. I couldnt agree more. Its disheartening and I'm actually ashamed of the way a lot of "Hokie fans" have acted the past few weeks. There is no excuse for that!!!
Props to your boy for the head's up call and could not agree more. Fair weather fans are terrible to listen to and as Beamer says "Not the type of Hokies I know and respect". It's a shame that so many are finding their way onto TKP and plaguing the game day experience for everyone else.
We all have bad days and nobody's perfect. Everybody takes losing differently and sees things from a different perspective. By saying that "it's a shame they are finding their way onto TKP" and in effect ruining the experience for others, you are making it sound as though they are not welcome. The site is a place for ALL Hokie fans to come and talk Hokie football, not just people that all agree on everything. Regardless of an opinion, we all discuss it here so that we can become more knowledgeable about our team, whether we agree with them or not. While the Internet is not known as being the kindest of places to share opinions, I feel that TKP community generally does a good job of having constructive conversations and discussions of opinions and facts.
Yeah, didn't mean to say any Hokie was unwelcome but I don't jive with people calling each other names for disagreeing with each others opinions.
I understand what you were saying.
I sat in front of the worse fan ever in Atlanta. He was calling the Tide cheaters and cussing fans. I was worried that would reflect on all of us until we all dealt with him ourselves. But couldn't agree more!
Totally agree here and it is a shame that your family had to experience that during your time on campus. VT fans should know better. However, one thing that is tough to accept is the length of time it took Beamer to make changes, which directly influenced a recruiting drought (at some significant positions) that happened from around 2010-2011/12. Now, regardless, that is in the past and all we can do is hope things change for the better over time. I think we have already seen an upswing in (paper) recruiting. Still, It is no coincidence, based on past inconsistencies in recruiting and coaching, that we are seeing some of the struggles unfold in game situations with VT's offensive and special teams play. We can no longer suprise people on ST as others in the game have caught on, and we lack elite depth to perform well on special teams. Furthermore, Logan may not be anywhere close to a consistent, developed quarterback (yet), but he has shown flashes/progress and the casual fan should recognize that he, as a collegiate athlete, should not be publicly shamed. Furthermore, it would be nice if Hokie nation understood these things and that there are a host of other factors influencing the poor offensive execution/turnovers. How we handle ourselves moving forward will say a lot about who we are as fans.
That's a great observation Hokie681 and well said indeed!
Thank you - I agree 110%.
On another board, I'm currently blocking at least 1/3 of the posters for the negative and downright hateful comments they've made about Tech players, coaches, recruiting, the empty trophy case, and the program in general. This very vocal minority of posters are at their worst when Tech loses, and they've certainly been in their element the last couple of years. It seems they almost try to outdo each other for who can make the most negative post - fire this coach, bench that player, we'll never be competitive again, and so on. If you actually have the nerve to post a positive, supporting comment about any player or coach - look out! You're now an O&M "homer" of the worst magnitude!
I've been a fan of Tech football since 1967 (attended Tech from 1969-1976), and this is the absolute worst, me-first, instant gratification, juvenile, whiny bunch of Tech "fans" to whom I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. I have no doubt I'll find this post downvoted by at least one of a certain small group of posters on THIS board infected by the growing negativism on other boards.
You know what, for the most part I agree with what you post and generally stay out of 'controversial' posts but I have to comment on this. When I first started reading this topic I took it as a 'feel good' topic and was happy with it. Your post was great until the last sentence, IMHO that just regulated it to the 'oh not again' category. I'm not down voting you for it but just wanted to state my personal feelings on why I think some of the topics on this board start going downhill. Just let it go, every new topic does not need to be a personal thing between individuals.
Just an observation, but you could have simply followed your own advice and just let it go.
You are correct.
Upvote in case anyone DOES downvote inappropriately.
I believe this is a part of the new America in which we live, and we've been spoiled as fans over the past decade of 10 win seasons and 20+ years of bowl appearances.
I think what takes it too far is not seeing the difference between being disappointed (as in "Why the hell did he make that throw? Who makes that throw?") and the fanaticism that takes it too far (such as the death threats on Journell). We, as Hokies should be able to be disappointed, particularly in the moment, but should remember to be level headed, and we see it on TKP.
I for one will never call into question the ability of LT to play great at QB, we've seen him do it. I will never call into question the ability of the coaches to do their jobs as the positive is overwhelming, and every team has ups and downs. For me, I'm not disappointed that we're losing because it really affects me, I'm disappointed because I know our team can do better, and when they don't live up to it, we get a lot of flack from others. When we lose, Beamer doesn't have the opportunity to get that NC that he deserves and what would top off his stellar career. That makes me upset and disappointed more than anything about losing. Any true Hokie should feel the same.
I would just like to say that I agree with you and the OP. And because I am still a current student and a member of the generation you speak of, I see your description carried out everyday. It's an evident truth that can be applied to much more than just football. That being said, we clearly have a lot to work on and the coaches and players are not blameless, but the manner in which we conduct ourselves will always be most important. I get frustrated sometimes like everybody else, but I will never turn my back on this team.
I hope the next game your son gets to attend goes much better!
For one thing I hope they actually WIN the damn game. Best way to shut all the haters and whiners up...JUST F-KING WIN BABY!
Here's what I don't get...we're the same fans who are convinced that we impact games by being loud and supportive when our defense is on the field. How can we turn around and think that booing and cussing our own offense doesn't somehow impact what happens on the field?
Sh'yaaa!
That logic is some powerful stuff, right there.
I totally agree with this. If you are willing to say that your team sucks, how do you defend them when other people trash talk you? Bring up other sports? Talk about your great academics? That is entering LOLUVA territory right there
No you talk about teams and programs that suck WORSE than yours. For example, a guy at my work is a Mountainqueer fan. They happen to be 4-5. Then of course there's always LOLUVA.
Opinion Question: What's the minimum appropriate age to bring your child to a VT game (including a long day of tailgating as well)?
My 17month old son certainly wouldn't have a clue what's going on, but my wife would be a bit more at ease if he was with us. I'm just curious to see how old TKPers' children have been for their first VT game?
ours is two. we figure when she's five or six we'll start to bring her.
We took our son to his first game when he was five and it was fine. For the most part, I saw people going out of their way to keep the language PG-13 which certainly wasn't an expectation but we all had a great time. Didn't tail gate too long because we didn't want to wear him out before the game started. It's an awesome experience to share with your children IMO.
Another question would be of the TKPers that have brought their young hokies to a game, which have been Ws and which were Ls?
A win every time they attend.
I have season tickets, my 4 and 8 year old regularly attend.
One thing that seems to be consistent is Logan Thomas tries really hard to win us these games. He definitely gives it his all. This is the reason he keeps the ball so much on the read. He knows he is going to get the blame for the loss so he puts the whole weight of the game on his shoulders.
This is exactly why Logan Thomas makes bad decisions. He feels like he has to make a play. He's super stressed that he's going to end up going out like Glennon. If you think Logan Thomas doesn't read this stuff, you're wrong. The negative comments on sites like these are really only hurting ourselves by putting more and more stress on LT3.
When he is in a groove and not super focused on trying to win the game with every single play, he plays amazing (see GT game). Let's be supportive and have some faith in him.
We are taking our oldest daughter who is 7 to her first game this year, against Maryland. I hope it is a great experience win or lose for her. Honestly more then anything she can't wait for Enter Sandman because doing it at home here in SC, "is getting old dad," as she puts it.
In reference to Logan, outside of Bryan Randall and Tyrod Taylor it has been a while since a player with such potential at Tech has had to face such harsh criticism and has been able to maintain such a great attitude about it. Say what you want about our record but when I see guys like LT3 coming out of our program it makes me proud to be a Hokie. Name a player from Alabama, LSU, or most other top programs to deal with what he does and still shows poise and determination like LT3.
Somebody get this man an 'Enter' key!
haha..I chuckled!
Leg!
Honestly though, I enjoyed the post once I brought myself to tackle that monstrous block of text. You see a lot of negativity in all facets of life and it's certainly difficult not to get upset after a loss, especially in the fashion we've had the last two weeks. When I was younger I would completely lose it over football games and let a loss ruin my day. Finally I realized it's just not worth letting a football game which I had no control over affect my life and well-being.
Your correction is spot on and well received. The wife's an education major and is constantly busting my chops about my lazy and uneducated writing style. Some day I'll fix that, but in my current line of work, grammar and formatting isn't really a priority.
When did our fan base become so fickle? Geez, sorry your kid (and you) had to suffer through an experience with insufferable fans.