“Throwback Thursday”
1999, in New Orleans for New Year’s and then the Sugar Bowl when Virginia Tech’s football team was damn near perfect.
#NoteHair
It was inevitable.
The resident Clemson fan at work just walked by my desk, stopped out view, leaned into view from behind the bookshelf in front of me and gave a head nod.
“Gonna be a good game this weekend.” he says.
“For one of us.” as I fully depress the “ON” button.
Oooh, the bitter memories of 2 of our 3 losses from last year came from Clemson: once during the regular season and the other the coveted ACC Championship which launched them to the Orange Bowl. Right now, I can’t even mention the third loss.
A victory will be sweet. And even sweeter as Clemson’s ranking increases a few increments in next week’s polls.
I take no credit for these photos (I wasn’t alive!) but they’re awesome and worth sharing.
Cool! Blacksburg back then.
(via 30casterlyrock)
On a positive note, I completed a sunrise hike to McAfee Knob this morning.
Got an hour of sleep, picked up a guy at The Village, met up at 4 am, tried to rally all the idiots who got completely hammered knowing there was a morning hike they wanted to be a part of early in the morning. We originally had 12 people, but with all the ones who backed out or were unfit to go because they got trashed, we ended up with 6 — two of them drunk but functioning.
I should have expected this from McAfee, but there were a ton of other people. We ran into others on the trail around 6 am, and we all hiked together until we reached the top around 6:35.
I enjoyed some homemade pumpkin bread, water, and an apple while looking at the gorgeous view. I like Dragon’s Tooth much better; I’m always the only one (unless I bring someone) at sunrise, and there’s no big city (Roanoke) in view — only a few houses and a road. Still, it was gorgeous. Evan snapped this photo of me on the rock.
Joe Saunders went 27-7 while pitching for Virginia Tech, but many of you may remember him for the six innings of shutout ball he threw as a member of the Los Angeles Angels on April 20, 2007, days after the tragedy. Given special dispensation by Major League Baseball to wear a Tech cap that day (you can see him in the above photo), I will never forget him going behind the mound before the game and drawing a VT on the back of mound. His performance that night was one small moment of happiness in an otherwise horrific week.
From the Angles website about that game:
“I was really nervous before the game and right when the game started for the sheer fact of what this game meant to me,” said Saunders. “I spent the best three years of my life at Virginia Tech. This was the first time I’ve ever had to do something like this, and hopefully it will be the last.”“He really battled out there,” said Angels manager Mike Scioscia. “It was a tough week for Joe. He has a lot of connections to Virginia Tech, and he showed his sentiment tonight. He is just a classy guy.”
Kind of says it all, right?
Saunders will start today for the Baltimore Orioles in their one-off Wild Card game against the Texas Rangers (TBS, 8:37 p.m.) as the Birds try to extend a pretty magical season. I know many of you are O’s fans (Yes, we hear you yelling O during the National Anthem, an issue for another day), so you should have extra incentive to root for the team with former Hokie Saunders on the mound.
(via goodgolly-missmolly11)
This picture is the reason I wanted Instagram. (Taken with Instagram)
I know this wasn’t taken in Blacksburg but will always remind me of Virginia Tech.
#HokieColorsFTW
I don’t think Logan Thomas is ever going to have the same amount of respect, love, and loyalty that Tyrod Taylor has from the Hokie Nation.
There was just something special about Tyrod.
Totally agree! Primarily because he had the spirit of Michael Vick who helped lead us to our most successful season ever, where we finished 11-0.
Both Taylor and Vick were phenomenal in the pocket with their accuracy and also represented a dynamic running threat when that option presented itself.
Logan Thomas, however, is entirely different. Where Taylor and Vick were like sports cars, Thomas, is an SUV. What also helped to make the quarterbacks great is the rest of the offense and, this year at least, is still loaded with freshman. From my count there are 125 people on the roster and 63 of them are freshman, 30 are juniors and 15 are juniors, and 17 are seniors. So we are definitely a bit lacking in the experience department.
Last year was easily Logan’s best year and I think, like in The Matrix, once he starts to believe he’s the one, great things will happen to energize our team.
He has the gift, but right now it just seems like he’s waiting for something.
Holy crap. It’s October.
The months of the year have officially hit the double digits and 2012 will be drawing to a close literally in a few weeks. Yikes!
On the football front, I’m not very pleased about how our Hokies are doing. Our offense is still struggling and the rest of our games are all in-conference. So far, the National Championship is practically out of the question now that we’ve lost to Cincinnati thanks to their late scoring touchdown which left us with 4 seconds to play. Yeah, if we couldn’t score until the final minutes of the second quarter, it was very unlikely we would’ve scored in the final seconds.
With Clemson (ranked #15), Miami, and FSU (ranked #3!) we have yet to play, VT winning the ACC Championship is starting to look doubtful but I’m hoping things will tighten up for all our remaining games starting with UNC.
And lastly, at the very least, is the Commonwealth Cup which we will have to defend against UVA on Thanksgiving day.
Otherwise, living in Florida this time of year is awesome! ^_^
We now have 460 followers on VTHokieFans.
Would be more fitting for a home game, don’t you think?(Photo by mlanza)
I miss seeing this exit sign!
I’d sometimes drive home to Ft. Washington, Md. on the weekends to visit my parents (i.e. do laundry and not really hang out with them) but then have to make the trek back to school on Sunday afternoon. After 3 hours in the car, seeing this sign was like drinking copious amounts of Red Bull with a glass made out of a funnel and a long, clear vinyl tube.
WHO LIKES CHOCOLATE?
Now that we have your attention - this young Cub Scout from Blacksburg is a die hard Virginia Tech Hokie fan. In fact, he’s The Go Hokies Kid.
Not only does he love the Hokies, he also loves scouting and he’s hoping the Hokie Nation will help him out by buying some popcorn during their annual popcorn fundraiser!
Do you have friends or family serving abroad? You can buy popcorn and have it shipped directly to them. Or, buy some for yourself and munch away. Oh, and you can get more than just popcorn!
- White Chocolatey Pretzel
- Chocolaty Tripe Delight
- Caramel Corn with Almonds & Pecans
- Caramel Corn
- Kettle Corn
- Unbelievable Butter
- Better Light
- Chocolate Lover’s Collection
- Sweet & Savory Collection
- Cheese Lover’s Collection
All you have to do is visit his profile page from trails-end.com. You enter your order and have it shipped directly to you, or to your friends and family.
And more than 70 percent of the sales go to local scouting, so it’s a win win. You get yummy snacks and help the scouts at the same time.
Let’s help this little guy stay in scouting and show him how supportive the Hokie Nation can be!
(via gofightwinvt)
Conflict of interests
We’ll be having a birthday party at 11 am (CST) for my oldest son, who’s turning 5.
It’s also the same time kick-off will be for the Hokie football game.
#HeBetterPutMeInAgoodNursingHome
#CollegeFootballProblems
The Monday following a loss is like this…
ESPECIALLY living in Florida with all the FSU and Miami fans I work with.
Overhearing their chatter about their games is the worst.
That is until they lose to Virginia Tech and it’s surprisingly quiet.
#iLikeQuiet ^_^
Just a reminder of what happened when we last visited Heinz Field, nine years ago.
One of the worst no-calls I’ve ever had the agony to witness in person.
#RevengeIsBestServedColdOrAt72degreesWithA20PercentChanceOfRain
I LOVE HIM
Tyrod Taylor got some playing time last night, albeit in garbage time, but it was still good to see T-mobile out there! He went 2-for-3 for 30 yards in the Ravens’ 44-13 beatdown of the Cincinnati Bengals.
