In case you were wondering where it's been the last couple days, the NCAA has banned it from the field. Apparently, someone complained it was too intimidating.
Statement from the NCAA on Virginia Tech not being able to use the hammer. https://t.co/b9dKLTxCrT pic.twitter.com/68bIHjzbru— Doug Bowman (@DougBowman247) June 11, 2022
NCAA taking away Virginia Tech's homer hammer is some of the lamest shit of all-time. Prioritizing sportsmanship over fun ain't it. This is real life. Real life situations don't always end in handshakes. Sometimes life hits you with a hammer. Let these young men prepare for that.— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 11, 2022
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Comments
I think this is a dumb call by the NCAA, but I love how the guys are just miming it anyway. We'll photoshop in the hammer later...
I guess football
Just has different standards.
On the sideline? Totally fine! As long as it's on TV and not on the actual field!
GFYS NCAA
For an organization that desperately needs ratings, probably not a great idea to take away things that drive those ratings. You know, fun stuff.
They scurred
We should do it anyway. If they try to fine or sanction us, just say we'll stop when Bama stops cheating.
Can't have nice things.
Do you think they'd be ok with a rake?
Submitted for your approval:
Roll Skipper over and park it in the closest lot. Run scores, cannon fires.
I know we won't do it, but it would be the NCAA troll job of the century to replace a big scary hammer with a cannon.
We're gonna party like it's 1999
I guess with the cadets not in town, we can't do it?
I think if we asked very nicely, the crew would show up before nightfall to get Skipper prepped for tomorrow
I'm pretty sure for the chance to troll ESPN, enough of Skipper Crew would drive themselves back to campus on their own dime.
I was never Skipper Crew, but I know that college-aged me would have done it in a heartbeat.
Now if they can just time the cannon going off to the miming of the hammer.
You're onto something. Set up Skipper like a football game and fire her off for every VT homerun. The crowd will go berserk, the team will get WAY fired up, and the NCAA cant do anything about it.
Man, NCAA is so out of touch they'd try to rescind 2A just to take Skipper away.
This should be the post with 60 up votes. 2A opinions aside, this comment encapsulates how stupid the NCAA has become.
What if TKP provides the team with a hammer and aome cash as part of an NIL deal, NCAA has proven to stay away from those.
What if we put a Nike swoosh on it? Think NCAA would go after Nike marketing execs?
And yet the turnover chain and all the other traditions are allowed. This stinks like the establishment doesn't like the new kid on the block.
What a lame piece of shit this guy is
If we bring in Skipper to just outside the outfield, don't tell anybody we're doing it, and when the first homerun is hit....right as the air hammer drops, Skipper sounds off.....this guy's gonna need new superhero underwear.
You know he's a tighty whiteys kinda guy
Team is pissed the NCAA did this.
Ride that hate to a national title!
Yes! I wanna see the hammer next to the Natty in the trophy case.
I love this guys perspective.
I'm 800% on onboard.
The NCAA can eat my shorts.
I long for the day when FBS just breaks away from the racket that is the NCAA and does their own thing. VT will have a seat at the big boy table, but do we go super SEC or BIG/Pac/ND alliance? Everything we have been doing as a university signals prepping for a move to the BIG sooner rather than later.
He looked pissed.
Team channels that energy again today and we play in Nebraska next week.
Get it done, boys.
Stick it in NCAA!
Serious question: What is the actual penalty for continuing to do it? Are they going to get a strongly worded letter? Report us to Rules Jail? Forfeit games? Fines?
I cannot image the black eye the NCAA would take for on-field penalties for something like this. I mean, if you read the ruling a high-five line is against the rule.
Not allowed. That suggests violence/s
That blue shirt smuck would do exactly that.
Sorry, sir. The Cadets needed artillery practice to be effective soldiers for America.
Don't you want them to be well trained?
I have read somewhere it's necessary for the existence of a free state.
I'm starting to see on social media where people are trying to start a BYOH for everyone coming to the game today. (Bring your own hammer)
Should be a bunch of blowup or toy hammers with NCAA on the side.
FREE THE HAMMER chant was nice
Would have been nicer to have more opportunities to swing it today :-(
One of our Key Play graphic designers needs to come up with a black, maroon, or some color baseball bat with the phrase "Hammerin' Hokies", "The Hammer" or something similar to replace the actual sledge hammer. Surely the NCAA won't ban a baseball bat from the baseball team!
Honestly, we just need to force the issue with the NCAA early next year. Call their bluff and force an ump to eject a player and Szefc for celebrating in an early season game and let the backlash across the sport cause the change.
You already has some national personalities speaking out against it yesterday, if the NCAA actually starts ejecting people over it, the amount of people against it will swell quickly.
I don't have a problem with doing this. I like the gamesmanship. Call their bluff.
I also like the idea of Skipper firing a shot after every home run.
But let's not forget, the directive was "In the interest of promoting good sportsmanship, participants at all locations were asked to restrict any activities that use props of any kind to within the dugout." So you can use the sledgehammer in the dugout.
However, I think a "HAMMER" bat in, or around the on deck circle would be hard to enforce being removed when there are other things (weighted bats, bat weights, pine tar rags, rosin bags, etc.) laying around the on deck circle. Heck, toss the homerun hitter his own bat to simulate the slamming of the hammer.
They're not banning Texas' helmet or Tennessee's fur coat... They are making a very direct singling out of the Hokie Hammer, so force the issue on them. Do it early in the year where there is still plenty of time to recover from an ejection and possible suspension and make the NCAA go on record on why they are specifically targeting the Hammer and why it justifies ejecting players and coaches.
And then sit back and watch the strong backlash against the NCAA commence throughout the entire baseball and collegiate community. And if you don't think the backlash would come, just not that Jared Carrabis was already outspoken against the NCAA for this over the weekend. And even though he's not still officially with Barstool, they would very much pile on if the NCAA went this path, and that's a community that would be problematic for the NCAA, because they will very much dig in and not let it go.
I 100% agree with this.
Insert gif of sitting back eating popcorn!
And I'd go an extra step with this and just flaunt the use of the Hokie Hammer. Market the shit out of it this summer, fall, and winter. Make graphics about it on social media and do some kind of 'Hammer Cam' on the scoreboard whenever we hit a dinger at home. Flaunt that shit and just dare the NCAA to act.
NCAA is #LAME
Yet somehow Mississippi State is allowed to have a cowbell, Miami has a turnover chain, and Florida State has a tomahawk chop.
WTF?
So this is just me pipe dreaming but can we corner the market on the hammering Hokies? Get a sack, break out the Sack Hammer. Score a touch down, keep hammering them. Score a basket, he Hammered that ball home! Blacksburg home of the Hammering Hokies!!
My only concern with going that route is that LOLUVa kind of already pissed in that waterhole with their whole "BEAT TECH" paver hammering.
Counterpoint:
Fuck em, who cares.
"Score a basket (on a slam dunk), he Hammered that ball home!"
I approve this message!
Not sure I like where Sack Hammer could be heading
I need this tshirt. only to watch my wife's eyes roll every time I wear it
I guess a bat is not intimidating? Or a ball thrown at 90 mph at someones head?