by accident that I ran head-on into the wonderfully written series of articles written by no other than our now grey-haired fearless leader Mr. William Stewart, under the title of "The Year of Our Discontent". W_O_W_W_W_W!!! Just wow! I either missed it back in the day when he wrote it or somehow otherwise missed it but, what a great explanation of a period of time that I remember with much less detail than he provided but, generally I remember as just a down-trodden period of time about 7-10 years after I had attended Tech. It does bring my thoughts back to that time, when I was far enough removed from my wonderful student years at Tech to being in the working world and observing Tech primarily through it's sports teams as just an interested alumni fan. Because media wasn't what it is today of course, your ability to keep up with Tech sports and Virginia Tech in general was relegated to newspaper sports pages, alumni newsletters and only very occasionally a telecast of the football or basketball teams. Living in Northern Virginia at that time (and still do), I think; no, I know I wasn't as avid a Tech fan back then probably for those exact reasons, poor sports coverage, the university's teams lacking an identity other than to us alumni (who else cared about my Hokies back then!) and of course the annual Virginia Tech - UVA clashes in football and basketball. What I will add, is I married into a very Hokie dominate family, and my FIL had season tickets to the football seasons which continually drew me back into that wonderful world of Hokie sports, particularly for the Tech - UVA annual clash. From 1985 to present day I probably went to just about evry one of those games but in those early years coming through and out of the "Year of Our Discontent" ('86-'87) was almost exactly when I really became the Hokie fan that I am today. As time and technology advanced, the ability to keep up with "my Hokies" became easier and easier. And, the best of all best things that really made me a Hokie junkie was when I discovered Hokie Central! How wonderful was that day! The internet was just beyond the infancy stage and was more generally available but, still not exactly a part of everyone's everyday life at that point. But, for those of us that yearned for some way to get more Hokie sports into our veins, it was a lifeline and a great one at that. I know, tl;dr but, if you've gotten this far please tip your hat to our fearless leader, Mr. Will; "To you Sir, you don't know what you don't know but your small little personal endeavor, that you probably never knew whether it would live another day at certain points in it's and your life, was a lifeline for many of us who just wanted to be a part of that wonderful culture that has become to be known as Hokie Nation, before it had a "name" and that was Hokie Central back in the day and now is a more than robust "Tech Sideline". That great piece of writing that I came upon tonight, took me back to a time and place that seems so authentic and filled with the cast of characters that were relevant and real. (Being an architecture student ('75-'80), Dr. Bill Lavery was our Dean when I first set foot on campus and used to see him up close and in person on many occasions there in the bowels of Cowgill). Thanks Will, great job (then) and an even greater job well done now. You created a vehicle that some of us have aged with over the years but has still to this day done a wonderful job of keeping us connected to our "Hokies" and the entire universe within which they exist and also permeate the outer universe that thousands of alumna such as myself rely on to still feel a part what makes us all Hokies in spirit. Thanks again. John Irish, B.Arch '80