A Big Hokie Welcome by a Fan For Fans

    Next week this time, as we groggily awaken from the haze and discomfort made by the actions of the night before, a slight comfort remains. The comforts of knowing that each weekend for the next four months not need any confusion as to purpose or planning; for football has arrived. Neatly packaged on our doorsteps is a product that has yet to reveal itself as a new layer sheds each week. And, like kids on Christmas morning we will giddily feign patience as we hope what’s held within is in congruence with our ultimate hopes, that crystal ball.
    I digress as this is not a speculation piece regarding our fortunes come January. Rather, a welcoming to a new season of college football. More importantly it is another season enjoying our beloved Hokies. Many outside of major college football programs and the regions that contain them have little knowledge as to what college football brings to the rest of us. Thinking it more than an excuse to watch TV all weekend and drink is all but lost upon them. Sure, getting housed and yelling at little men on a High Definition screen is a part of it. More than that though, is a sense of community that comes with being a fan. Especially this day in age as technology can bring us closer than ever. No longer do we have to collect others like us on a Saturday to benefit from a sense of camaraderie and familial ties that come with being a Hokie fan. We merely have to press power to any device nearest and fire away at any social media outlet, website, or otherwise that lets us do so.
    For that reason I so eagerly tell people about this site and about those who most contribute to its success. Outside being an outlet for Hokie news and not so news, The Key Play has become a water cooler of sorts for a great many of us to get acquainted and share insights. Without it and its contributors I would not received a ticket to the UVA game (Thanks Vince!) or had reason to so boldly venture to New Orleans by myself for the Sugar Bowl.
     Being a Hokie is an invariably unique and amazing experience and whether we become so by alumni status, relation, interest, or otherwise we are an infectious breed of people. We love colors that only we think match, gobble at people in public expecting the same in return, drink bourbon just because it has Wild Turkey on it, and above all else are eager to welcome another to our family. Therefore, anyone coming for the first time or just starting to, welcome. Come share your thoughts, ideas, and most importantly meet some of the best new friends you’ll soon gain.