When Dadi Nicolas engulfed Tulsa’s quarterback with a monster sack on 4th down and the game on the line, to effectively seal the game, I threw my head back and let out the mother of exhaling sighs.  Absolutely nothing would have been more disheartening than seeing Frank Beamer go out on a loss, especially to a school that I had to check Wikipedia to verify whether it was a Division I or II program (D-I).

But a win is a win, and much to mine, and every Virginia Tech fan’s relief, Frank Beamer ends his legendary career, with a victory.  And just like that, the most illustrious chapter of Virginia Tech football comes to a close.

It was interesting watching Beamer on the sidelines throughout the fourth quarter of the Independence Bowl; at first, with the Hokies up fairly comfortably, there was a man watching with a deadpan look on his face, almost as if he were watching the clock tick down not just the seconds of the game, but his career.  When Tulsa scored a billion unanswered points to close the gap, the only change on Beamer’s face looked like an expression of “oh shit, here we go again,” with a small mix of “am I really going to go out like this?”  But even after Nicolas’ sack put the nail in the coffin, and the game all but sealed, was a man who was not excited, but more melancholy and almost even a little scared at the sinking reality that the ride was coming to an end.

Continue reading “Happy trails, Frank” →

One more time, for Sting Coach!

After an agonizingly painful game which saw the Hokies best UVA for the 12th consecutive time, Virginia Tech finishes the regular season at a sparkling 6-6, meaning that Virginia Tech has all but secured their place in one of the 40 Bowl games to be played around New Years.  This means Frank Beamer’s retirement is prolonged yet one more game, even after it’s already been announced that following Frank begins the audition* for Justin Fuente, now formerly of Memphis.

*I say “audition” due to the fact that in modern sports, contracts are irrelevant, and barring immediate and sustained success will henceforth be rephrased as “an era,” otherwise the coaches are vilified after their first negative season and immediately fired.

Continue reading “One more time!” →

Honestly?  I thought Virginia Tech could’ve beaten North Carolina.  I know that North Carolina was ranked #17 going into the game and Tech was ranked somewhere between Pop Warner and Grambling State, but come on, it’s North Carolina; this wasn’t a basketball game, it was a football game.  And sure, UNC is known as the standard-bearer in bullshit student athlete ringers to field a football team, but still.

Either way, more often than naught I’m usually pretty plain when it comes to facing defeat in sports, but over the last few years, Tech games have climbed my ranks of “sports ball games that matter,” especially compared to my dwindling care of the Braves and my general lack of an NFL team to support.

The fact is, I was pretty disappointed in Tech’s overtime loss to North Carolina, mostly because of the magic comeback they put together to set up overtime in the first place, but naturally the main reason being that it was Frank Beamer’s last game in Blacksburg.

Continue reading “According to wrestling logic, this is going to be an ugly finish” →