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2007-04-30 posted by vic
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Two weeks later
Well, it's been two weeks since Virginia Tech (click HERE for our thoughts the day after). So I thought perhaps I'd wrap up with my impressions two weeks later.
So... how do I feel? With two weeks of perspective, let me say again how suprised I am by how this all affected me. I'm still suprised how much I felt this, how deeply I felt this. It was difficult processing all of that.
And it's weird having Tech thrust on to the national stage like this. When I first went to there in 1992, not many people had heard of VT. It was well known in engineering circles, and was known as a minor regional football program. But that was it. We had recently moved from a football independent to the Big East conference - not a major football power. Beamer slowly built a football program; we had a few quality wins. Upsetting Miami periodically brought us to attention of the football world. Then a kid named Michael Vick hoisted us up on his shoulders and carried us to the National Championship Game. We had arrived.
I don't want to make too much of the importance of football, but I believe that it's the rise of the VT football program which made us a national name.
But we still weren't famous. Not everyone had heard of Virginia Tech. Until April 16, when a terribly disturbed kid gunned down 32 people. Now EVERYBODY has heard of Virginia Tech. We might not be famous, but we're infamous (insert Three Amigos reference here).
But that's neither here nor there.
One other thing that struck me during all this is that at times like these, I envy the religious and the military. I don't envy the religious faith, but I envy the ceremony. Religious groups and the military -- especially the military -- have a long history of dealing with grief, and they've developed the kind of ceremonies that help people deal with that kind of grief. Atheists don't have good ceremonies. Heck, we don't have any ceremonies (that's just one of the reasons that atheism is not a religion, BTW).
The response from the sports world has been incredible. NASCAR, PGA, Arena football, and the Washington Nationals all sported the VT. White Sox's Mark Buehrle wore a VT cap during the press conference after pitching a no-hitter. During the NFL draft, VT pins were everywhere, from the TV talking heads to the players waiting to be drafted. Kids like JaMarcus Russell, Calvin Johnson, and Brady Quinn. Doing that kind of thing is such a small gesture, but it's big in its way, too. Beamer spoke a little before the draft here.
Here's a couple of good columns, from ESPN's Chris Fowler and Virginia Tech's Bill Roth.
And the support from other Universities... wow. Universities all across the country and around the world held ceremonies. Sent messages of support. UVa shipped VT tens of thousands of candles, just so VT would have one less thing to worry about. Hundreds of schools posted messages of support on their webpages.
And Texas A&M has been great. A&M and Tech are similar in a lot of ways. Both are ag/tech schools, both started as military schools, both retain an optional military program (the only schools -- along with a school in Georgia -- to do this), we're tied for the most Medal of Honor winners among alumni after the acadamies. And they had a big tragedy in 1999, when the bonfire they were building collapsed and killed 12 students. So we join a sad fraternity of tragedy which includes -- along with A&M -- schools like Texas and Kent State.
And since everything ends up having to do with football, let me point out three schools in particular: Penn State, Ohio State, and Kentucky. Penn State fans dressed in orange and maroon for their spring game, their marching band played Tech Triumph. Both TOSU and Kentucky wore VT logos on their helmets during their spring games. So even though VT cancelled their spring game, it's like we had not one, but many games.
Finally, I should spend a few moments mentioning the media.
FUCK YOU That is all.
I've been very disappointed in the news coverage. From the inquisition of President Steger to the constant replays of Cho's video (nice, NBC), I've been constantly mad at my TV. I was glad when the school finally kicked them off campus.They didn't serve our interests.
You'll remember in the last update I mentioned that I turned to Fark for news. Well, I'm not the only one who noticed this trend.
Always a trend setter. Anyway, I promise the next update will be less introspective and more nonsense.
2007-04-17 posted by vic
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Go Hokies
For a while now I’ve been hassled by friends, coworkers, and frequent Cabal visitors about the lack of posts here. I know. It’s winter and I’ve been fat and lazy the past few months. I have some great stuff I’ve been meaning to put up: funny pictures, good links, general nonsense.
However, I find myself having to post now for a completely different reason. A reason I never would have expected. Never in a million years would I have expected this.
As you are no doubt aware, a student at Virginia Tech killed 32 people yesterday before turning his gun on himself. He shot two people in the West AJ dorm, and then later killed 30 more in Norris hall.
I first heard about this fairly early yesterday morning. A coworker IM’ed me a link to a news report of the first initial shooting. At that point, I turned to where I always turn for news: Fark.com. A thread was already open, and students at Tech were reporting from the scene. Throughout the day, it kept getting worse.
And I discovered something uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to feel. I’ve seen lots of school shootings on the news, and they’ve never had much of an emotional impact on me. But this was different. Why? I don’t know any of the students there now. At the time, I didn’t know if any of my professors were involved. There wasn’t a personal connection to any of the people involved.
But it was Tech. And we’re all Hokies, and that makes us family. I love that school. I’m a part of it, and it’s a part of me. By chance I chose one school over another, and yet that simple choice made me part of a community. It’s a community that I will always be a part of for the rest of my life.
Though it may sound trite, a part of me was there yesterday. And a part of every other Hokie was there too. And I grieve for the place I love, and for the families of the dead, and the students who remain, and for all of those in the Hokie Nation who – just like me – lost a little something yesterday.
Weirdly enough, West AJ was my dorm my sophomore year, and I had classes in Norris hall. I can see these places in my mind.
So I write this the evening of the next day, and I’ve gone through feeling shocked, angry, sick, hurt. I've cried. And now I’m just sad.
However, I’m heartened and amazed by the reactions of other colleges and their fans. Football and basketball make easy rivals out of us all. Tradition and history can make people “enemies” merely by the color of their sweatshirt. Games won and lost can lead to some good, old-fashioned hates. And yet, all of that gets pushed aside in an instant when something like this happens.
The support from other schools has been, and continues to be, amazing. Events at schools around the country are planned.
The internet has been adopted by college sports fans quickly. College grads quickly spread out around the country and the world soon after graduation. Not only does the internet allow these fans to connect and obsess over their shared love, it allows them to hassle their arch-rivals in ways a thousand barroom arguments couldn’t.
So naturally, the internet is the forum where things like this are shared too. Some of that I’d like to share with you. First, there’s the Beta Bridge at in-state rival UVA. On Rugby Road, the Beta Bridge is continually repainted with announcements, art, and other stuff almost daily. Here’s what it looked like today (via here.):
I was particularly touched by board opened up on Rivals. Fans checking in from Iowa, FSU, Miami, Florida, OK State, NC State, Kansas Notre Dame, UNC, Southern Miss, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas Tech, Tennesse, Temple, Texas, Alabama, Purdue, UVA, K-State, Kentucky, Louisville, WVU, Boston College, Penn State, UTEP, Oklahoma, Washington, Ohio State, LSU, USC, Clemson, Michigan, San Diego State Auburn, Indiana, Nevada, Arkansas, East Carolina, Georgia Tech, UCF, Marshall, Pitt, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Baylor… and that’s just the first couple of pages.
Soon, this will fall off the front page and life will go back to normal. We’ll have lost a part of us forever, but we’ll go on. We’ll pick up rivalries where we left off. So I’ll want everyone to know how much I appreciate what you’ve done. And though next season I’ll be booing you and talking smack, know that I won’t forget what you’ve done today.
Finally, here’s some random stuff grabbed of the internet. Despite the Avril Lavigne song, this video doesn’t suck. Here’s a couple of images:
2007-02-19 posted by vic
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Well, sorry
I took a little longer than I promised, but here is the cool picture from the Chick-Fil-A bowl I promised you:
We ended up penned up in the tunnels under the stadium waiting for the half to end. It was the Tech side, so I got to see the team come running down the tunnel towards the locker room. After they passed, we scooted up the tunnel and out on to the field. That's when the Hokie bird happened by. It was a lot of fun. We tried to stay out there as long as we could, but security eventually shooed us out. Still, I got this great pic. And Tech was still winning at this point, so I was pretty stoked.
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Basketball
Speaking of Tech, I should mention how well the basketball team is doing. But first, a confession. Historically, I haven't followed VT basketball that closely. Sure, I went to games while I was in school. I went to even more women's games, and they were a great time. But since then, I've mostly been a football fan. I'm not a huge basketball fan anyway, and when the team hasn't been that good, I haven't paid attention.
But this season, they've been really good. A top 25 team, beating top 5 opponents, etc. So I've been really into it. Watching games on TV when I can, listening to them on XM or streaming when I can't. Following college ball as a whole. Which leads me to a question: Does this make me a bandwagoner?
Seriously, am I? On the one hand, it's Tech. My team. That should give me the right to follow and cheer any Tech athletic team at any time. On the other hand, there's something unsavory about jumping on a team when it's good.
I paid my dues in football, I was in the stands during the 1992 season when they went 2-8-1. I've seen loses to Cincy and Miami-OH. I've endured abuse for losing a Homecoming game to Temple. TEMPLE!!! I've earned the right to be a complete and utter retard when it comes to cheering for the football team. But have I earned that right in baskeball? I don't know. What do you think?
Anyway, the basketball team is doing pretty well. They're currently 18-8 (8-4) and just dropped out of the top 25 today after a loss to NC State. Interesting fact, VT is 7-2 against the state of North Carolina. Besides losing to NC State (twice), they've beaten UNC (twice), Duke, App St, Wake Forest, Campbell, and UNC-Greensboro. I'll take the two L's to the Wolfpack if it comes with wins over Duke and UNC.
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Coke Commercial
Finally, let me point out this cool Coke commerical. Hokiesports.com has the story along with the commercial you can watch.
2007-01-11 posted by vic
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Oops
Tried to update last night and pooched the ftp transfer. CJ and Privateer454 pointed it out to me this morning. Stupid in-browser ftp, should have used the ftp client. Anyway, I have a cool story and some pictures from the Chick-Fil-A bowl, that I'll get up in a couple of days.
2007-01-10 posted by vic
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100000
First things first. I took this picture this morning while on the side of I-675 during my morning drive to work. Rolled 100,000 miles on my car. 02 Avalanche, to be exact. A little quick math estimates an average yearly miles traveled of just over 19,000. All in an ugly-ass, full-sized, gas-guzzling SUV. I wonder if this means I have to turn in my liberal credentials? Nah.
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Chicken Bowl
Well, the first half of the bowl game was great, and the second hand sucked. I might be going out on a limb here, but when you turn the ball over four times in the second half, there's a good chance you're going to lose. Still, it was only by a touchdown, and it could have been worse... like, say by 41-14.
2006-12-30
24
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Helmet images courtesy of The Helmet Project.
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Classy WVU fans
Well, the football season is over for another year, but there's still time to sneak in another story. Especially if it's about West Virginia fans. From my good friend and Tosu fan, Jim, here's a story about a WVU fan getting arrested for defecating in the Georgia Tech Band's seats. Classy.