Saw this from Andy Bitter this a.m. Posted b the VT Football Twitter.
Are we to assume this is back for Gameday?
Got excited. Sorry can't embed tweet.
https://twitter.com/HokiesFB/status/1563166074731765761?s=20&t=7MwJ_3x1o...
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would not hate
Oh hell yeah! Love the clips - love that DT did the voiceover!
I love that the voice-over is Darryl Tapp.
I never realized Fuente got rid of it
So dumb to have done that
I'm not one to rush to the defense of Fuente very often, but did he get rid of it or did Hamilton get rid of it?
It was retired in 2020, Foster holds the rights to it and apparently told Fuente and co that they could keep using it, but they declined to keep it as a thing.
I'm not saying it definitely wasn't Fuente's decision. It could have been. But, also, he could have told his new defensive staff after Bud left that they had the option to keep using it or not and the defensive coaches elected to retire it. We just don't know for sure. I love piling on the guy but I don't think we know for sure that going away from the pail was really his decision. And if it was, for all we know, it could have been an attempt at showing Foster some respect. Or not. I can't believe I'm defending the guy.
It was a Hamilton thing to help establish his own identity. I think it was well intended at the time, but then Covid and all that hit.
It's time to bring it back, along with a strong defense.
I remember something about it no longer being emphasized when Hamilton took the reigns from Foster. I know I never saw it at any games after Foster retired.
I don't think Fuente got rid of it as much as Foster didn't let Fuente use it. My understanding is Foster has the trademark on it. The fact that as soon as Fuente is gone, the lunch pail comes back makes me think Foster and Fuente didn't get on as well as most believed.
3 seconds. Three fucking seconds.
Eh, it's Friday so you can just drink now. Just think of it as some day drinking practice for all of the day drinking we are going to do next week.
^championship thinking
It's uncanny that you two posted nearly the same exact comment at the same time. Weird glitch in the matrix.
From the Richmond Times:
I too have heard rumors that the Foster/Fuente relationship wasn't exactly copacetic, but Foster's handpicked disciple wound up getting the job (maybe that was out of necessity/budget, but it still happened). My guess is that if JHam wanted to use the Lunchpail, he/Fuente could have.
Fuente & Co were trying to distance themselves from the previous regime. Pry is doing the opposite. That's why the Lunchpail is back.
Which is why we are all hyped for Pry as the new head man. Embracing the culture and what is great about Hokie Football is important. Pry gets it.
I don't necessarily think it was a bad move for Fuente. If he won, it would have been fine. But he didn't.
No secret on the inside that Scott was the plan all along. Fu wanted Bud to make the D look good for 2 years and give it over to Scott. Bud didn't throw parades over this idea...
accurate
Totally. All jokes aside and not exactly a lunch pail thing, but I think it's no coincidence that when the coach - player relationships starting going downhill was when Scott's situation blew up.
He was the opposite of Fuente and Corn etc. Players liked him and he had the ability to push Fuente in ways others wouldn't (bc he hired too many people that had his same weaknesses).
Once Galen was gone things started breaking down and it was amazing to me that Fu never seemed to recognize he needed to replace that personality.
I think Wiggins too, comments made by Kaleb Smith that Jafar wouldn't challenge Cirn like Wiggins would.
Apparently Wiggins got the offer from Saban and he went to Fu for a counter - asked if he could be co-OC or something. Fu chose Corn over Wiggins, and Wiggins bailed. That should tell you a lot.
I'm not sure about the thing about them not getting along - I distinctly remember one game where they were both super excited and I think it was Foster basically jumped into Fuente's arms. You don't do that if you don't like each other. Granted, that was early and the relationship may have soured, but it didn't start off bad between them at least.
So, apparently the lunch pail is Bud Fosters...like, copyrights and what have ya. When Bud left, he took his property with him. As soon as I saw that it was back, I got to thinking...Bud disliked Fuente so much, he didn't want him to have it. I think he likes Pry and is trusting he won't destroy its lore, if you will. Just seeing Bud and Frank at his introductory press conference said a whole hell of a lot.
That makes sense. And at the same time makes me feel so much worse about the last 5 years. I truly wonder if Bud would still be coaching today if we had either promoted him to HC or hired someone who he would actually get along with.
Deleted. Certainly didn't expect that type of reaction. But it's whatever. Good luck to the team this fall. I'm out.
His wife and health would I think dictate otherwise. Almost dying changes a persons priority's.
priorities. FTFY. Sorry... The teacher in me was bugged.
This.
Come the fuck on. Bud left for health reasons. This has been widely published and is well known.
Would Bud have had less stressed (and thus avoided heart problems) if coaching under a more competent regime? Maybe. But P5 college coaching is just a stressful career. You work 80 hour weeks during the season and 50-70 hours during the off season. That catches up with you over time.
Stop making up bullshit.
i do think the tone of the response was a bit harsh, but all signs point towards the main reason for bud's departure being health/"it's time" related
I'm not arguing the point about how things would be different if... but didn't he have some input with Whit before the hite? Bud was on the plane when Whit took off to go have the discussion and given Whit's track record I can't imagine that it was purely to go to Fuente and say "all this can be yours you if you say yes!"
Maybe Bud did have something to say and Whit discounted it. Or maybe Fuente put on a really good interview and it was enough to fool Whit.
As stated from others I think Bud retired for health reasons but I love an opportunity to gripe that we hired Fuente instead of Bud. Everyone knows that Frank didn't win immediately and his first bowl was 1993...the year he hired Bud Foster. Then they go on to beat Texas in the 1995 Sougar Bowl....the year Bud Foster was promoted to DC. Bud Foster built this program as much as Frank did and we didn't give him a chance to lead it.
I think it was just the perfect storm of bad circumstances and timing. Whit wanted to get someone with an offensive background because VT had been so woefully anemic on that side of the ball for so long. Also there was a trend of people trying to find the hot new offensive guru types as their HCs. Unfortunately, I think the AD at the time was convinced that all we needed was a bit more offense to pair with Bud's defense and we would be rolling again. It totally overlooked the resources arms race that had been building for years already, that the program needed a huge infusion of money and was a much bigger job as far as building up the staff numbers and emphasizing recruiting that anyone wanted to admit at that time. And then to top it all off, Fu just wasn't as good as advertised to begin with.
Yep. I remember that being the thought process of most people at the time. However it was a bad thought process as Bud Foster was more than deserving for a shot at a Power 5 job and his home team didn't give him one. I'd argue that he's more deserving than Brent Venables and he got the blue blood Oklahoma job where he didn't coach. But hey, it's water under the bridge now and I hope Pry is the answer. Go Hokies!!!
Venables was the DC at Oklahoma for a dozen seasons before he took over the defense at Clemson. He first played and coached at K-State, so returning to OU was actually a move back "home" of sorts.
Agree with everything else you wrote- Bud didn't get the job because it wasn't trendy in the moment... and we're stuck with a big what-if from that decision.
IMO, Whit just overthought the whole process too much the first time. He tried to get a big, splashy hire with a hot name. Hired a search firm to assist. Everyone thought Fu truly was a QB whisperer and offensive guru, and he probably nailed the interview and came off as a good, ethical guy who was folksy and could fit right into VT culture. But no one really did any deep digging beyond that. In hindsight it was a huge gamble, especially since there were reports that Fu wasn't a candidate for other big openings that year due to not wanting to get involved in SEC recruiting and the like. From his perspective, he probably thought VT could recruit itself and he could give us just enough offense paired with Bud to win 9-10 games a year and keep everyone happy without having to put in true P5 program effort.
And Bud's interview on that podcast the other day was telling. He said Pry has asked his opinion on things far more in eight months than Fu ever did in six years. I truly think John Ballein was way more in Whit's ear this second go around and he really listened to him. We got a much better coach and cultural fit in Pry. But yeah, the Bud what ifs will certainly always be there. Glad he's still involved with the program though.
I think the opposite. He made the obvious choice. And everyone thought it was an amazing hire at the time.
I've said many times here (post 2019 - I thought Fuente was an amazing hire in 2015, just like everyone else) that if anyone had dug into the 'advanced analytics' (such as SP+) they would have seen that Fuente's teams all won with defense. This was the big miss IMO. But advanced analytics were still very niche in 2015.
What are you talking about? Go back and look at the 2015 coaching carousel - VT was arguably the third best job available in 2015/2016. The only better jobs were UGA (laser focused on Kirby) and USC (they're not hiring someone who never coached on the west coast). Miami was focused on Mark Richt (alum who had coached in and/or recruited Florida for decades). We were a top 3/4 job available, and Fuente was a top 3/4 candidate. That's why he wasn't a candidate for 'better' jobs. Pry wasn't a candidate in any of the 'better' jobs either (reportedly, only Georgia Southern and Louisiana Lafayette had expressed interested in him), but no one seems to be upset about that.
That's not to mention that Fuente was given a contract extension, in part due to FSU reportedly showing interest in 2017/early 2018 (LSU also rumored to have interest), which led to his extension.
Sure, you could argue that it was a 'red flag' that Fuente wasn't interested in FSU and LSU, but that's a silly argument. We would've all been bummed if our head coach who just had the winningest two season period in 7 years left for a blueblood.
That's false - source from CBS:
Wow, ok sorry to offend the Fu police.
South Carolina was also open in 2015 and his name was thrown around for that opening as well. Also it's highly probable FSU and LSU's interest was his agent throwing his name around to get an extension.
I distinctly remember reading about a search firm being used in 2015, but apparently I was wrong on that.
I think part of the problem is that our defenses were always good, but there was the thought that we needed some solid offense to push us into competition for Natty's. So we went and got who SEEMED to be a very good offensive coach and kept one of the best ever defensive coaches. Had Fuente been able to keep up performance after 2016, who knows where we'd be right now.
I think it was a solid plan, and I seem to recall that, although players like Bud, there were things that they wanted different, someone who was more engaging. Sadly, I don't know if Fuente just interviewed well, but he clearly wasn't the engaging sort that I seem to recall them wanting.
Fu did something dumb?
Those hits though... Gimme all the LPD.
Would almost all be targeting today
I went through the video, and the Flowers hit on the Kent State player may be close, but they are all legal hits.
The Darryl Tapp tackle at the 23 second mark is a horse collar tackle today.
They're all drawing penalties today, especially Kam coming in high on the Nebraska receiver. The first hit gets a flag, Macho escapes likely, but the rest ehhh. If the hit is high and ref see's a head whip flag is coming out. Thankfully they get reviewed now
Nothing quite like that Kyshon Jarrett hit down the sideline
Kyshon hit hurt me just as the Lorenzo ward to wvu guy did. I can watch them both and remember past concussions
Official email from VT Football hit about 10am. You can even enter to win one!
I got my own years ago. Just found an old lunchpail on ebay, same brand and all. It was already all banged up, so when it arrived, I just had to paint it up
That's the way to do it, IMO. Use it, abuse it, make it yours.
I like this idea! Would be great to have on display - I want to build a "display wall" around my TV at some point, like distressed wood surrounding with painted "Virginia Tech" above, maybe shelves to display stuff like the lunch pail.
Do you remember the brand?
I've got 2 that I tote my cornhole bags around in. Another fun fact is that I've taken them in to games before and to this point security has viewed them as props and never asked me to open them. Do you know how many airplane bottles fit in a lunchbox?
(More than enough)
I don't know the brand name, and haven't found it printed on it, just compared images from THE lunch pail to what I found on ebay. I think I paid maybe $5 for it
We did this also. Found one at a garage sale, painted it, got Bud to sign it. It stays w us forever, ill pass it down to our kids.
You got me beat, no Bud signature on mine
That's awesome - such a great idea to get Bud to sign it!
Still probably the greatest Hokie GIF of all time. Never gets old.
I like this! Getting back to who we are. The lunch pail represents the essence of Hokie football.
*Shotguns Natty Light and punches fist through wall*
Natty Ice is better
Natty Daddy > Natty Ice
When I was at Tech (late 90's) was during the Ice beer craze. Most of the kegs you would find at parties in that era were Beast Ice.
Class of '99. I wholeheartedly agree with this. That's what we would get a lot of times when we threw our parties.
'07...Beast was everywhere
There's was a party I attended (have NO idea how I got invited...maybe the entire BT bus did?) where someone who worked at Hokie Spokes had accepted a keg of Sam Adams Octoberfest at payment for some repairs they had done. It was so delicious compared to the Beast and Natty kegs I was used to. I think that's the highest-end beer I had my entire time in Blacksburg.
Were you on the bus or was it all BT drivers?
That's just it, I can't remember who all was there (odd, I know). It could have been anyone on the bus was invited, but it also could have been a Hokie Ambassadors party now that I think more about it.
Its all very fuzzy. Must have been a good party.
When I was a freshman in 95 you would just get on the bus to either Pheasants Run or Foxridge and then just follow whoever else was there and just find a party. Most of them you did not need an invite or anything, just pay your 2 or 3 bucks and get your SOLO cup and you were in. That was pretty much every Thurs/Fri/Sat night, you could always just roll out and find a party at one of those complexes
It was the same for my freshman year in 2000, but solo cup costs skyrocketed to $5.
Did you guys not bring your own solo cups? you bring 1 red and 1 blue and put the wrong color into the right color cup so it looks like you bought yours. Now those parties that knew to buy yellow or green were the smart ones but were rare.
Or you just take your own 56 oz (essentially 1/2 a gallon) cup with a straw filled with 4 cans of Coke and enough Captain to make it good/full.
I don't know who would do such a thing.
discretely walks away...
Riiiiight......
Considering the cup is in our pantry right now and I have pictures of you using it.......
I never thought of that but most of the time it was 2 bucks at the door so I think it was whatever (pretty sure the Kegs at that convenience store going into Foxridge were like 40 bucks for Beast Light or Beast Ice IIRC)
I also remember going to a few frat parties in Radford my freshman year with a couple of my buddies that were going there, and for whatever reason they seems to by cases of Beast, and not Kegs. It was still usually 2 or 3 bucks but it was all you could drink cans of Beast. Some of those parties in Radford I went to were pretty much off the rails crazy.
'12. I was all about some beast. Or I'd buy Southpaw if no keg would be there so I could tell my cans.
I've watched this video 6 times already, 7 more days....LFG!!!
Tech is doing its best to showcase our traditions. Enter Sandman, the Corps, Skipper. These traditions are some of the things that make Tech football what it is and bringing the Lunch Pail back is one more way to let the world see what a Hokie is.
And as far as I'm concerned, the only thing Fu contributed to Tech is awarding Beamer's 25 jersey each week to a special teams player as a way to honor his hard work. I'm glad CBP is keeping that tradition going.
That was a truly great tradition that Fuente started. I hope it stays for ever.
I think that's the only good thing, in any area, that he did for VT football tbh....
I was teaching my daughter Tech Triumph today and came across a video of the team signing along with the Marching Virginians after a game. Was that a Fu tradition, because I think it is a nice touch and hopefully continues?
I seem to remember a video clip somewhere of one of the Beamer-era players singing it after a game. I may be mistaken, or it may be a Beamer player in Fuente's tenure. Not 100% sure either way.
Goosebumps. Shivers down the spine. Oh man I miss the days of VT defensive intimidation. In Pry we must trust.
Three guesses how I feel about this. My license plate provides a clue:
Let's go!
This feels right....
Let's fucking go!
HOKIES!!!!
I effing love it! Man, watching all the clips in this and earlier, reminding me how freaking good our defense used to be. It's early, but I'd love for Pry and Marve to decide as a goal to have the number 1 defense in the country!
Not sure if it's been said, but I'm so glad this one has a new paint scheme on it. No one went with a fresh modern color font. It's an ugly VT logo, stresses the hard hat, blue collar attitude. And it's for a new era, not the old Foster era.
Agreed.
More of the same, but something a little different.