What are your memories of Scott Stadium from games you've attended in the past?
Tafkam Hokie: I’ve been to six games at Scott: the 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995 Virginia Tech games, a Clemson game in I think 2004 (I was offered free tickets), and the 2013 Ball State game (a friend of mine is a Ball State alumni and wanted to go).
From 1989, I have two vivid memories that don’t have much to do with the game. A friend of mine and I were wandering around campus just to see the sights, and we found ourselves on a part of the campus analogous to VT’s upper quad. It was a bit out-of-date, architecturally didn’t really fit in with the rest of the campus, and was quite frankly a bit ugly. We were muttering to ourselves that we just knew there were pretty parts of the UVA campus…we’d seen pictures. But where was it? Clearly, it was somewhere else. We saw a student walking toward us and actually asked them “Excuse me, can you tell us where the pretty part is?” To their credit, they took the question in stride and gave us directions to the Rotunda.
The other thing I recall vividly happened when we stopped in the campus bookstore to look around. At the time, we were young, obnoxious college students, so we thought it would be funny to wear our “The Top 10 Reasons UVA Sucks” t-shirts to the game. Again, the UVA students took the jest in stride and we even got stopped by a group of UVA students in the bookstore who proceeded to read the entire Top 10 list out-loud to the rest of the bookstore.
That was when it dawned on me that compared to some of the more heated rivalries in college sports, ours with UVA is downright civilized.
A few other random memories:
In 1995, I remember seeing Cornell Brown on the sidelines looking like death-warmed-over during the 4th quarter (he had the flu, as I recall). He still played a heck of a game. Obviously, the end of that game was one of the most exciting in VT history. The best way I can describe it is that if you listen to Bill Roth’s famous call of Druck’s touchdown pass, the euphoria in his voice captured the feeling of the VT fans in that stadium perfectly.
The 2004 Clemson game is still the only football game I’ve ever been to where I was asked to sit down by fans behind me. The catch was, I was standing not because the game was all that exciting, but because my seats were in the front row behind the visitors' sideline. Those seats were so low to the ground, I couldn’t see over the Clemson players standing along the sideline without standing up myself.
At the Ball State game this year, I came away with two strong impressions. One is that Mike London has completely lost the respect of the UVA fanbase. The prevailing feel inside that stadium was one of apathy. The other was that their band is good - soooo much better than the disgraceful Stanford-knockoff pep band they used to throw out there.
Make that three strong impressions: listening to Auld Lang Syne still makes me nauseous.
Hokie CPA: I've only been to one game in Scott Stadium. It was 1993 and for the first time in a long time, if ever, both teams were ranked in the Top 25. I was a senior at Tech that season and the prior year we'd been 2-8-1. Coming into this game at 8-3 and ranked in the Top 25 was a pretty big deal. Furthermore, this was back before all the bowls were locked in to inviting the 9th team from the Pac-10 to play the RUTS Belt Conference Champion. Bids to play in lower bowls weren't made official until after the games were played.
So we went to the game in Hooville and sat on the Hill in the End Zone because we liked sitting up there, it was comfortable, and there weren't as many hoos around us. In fact, most of the folks around us were Hokies, so not much has changed in the last 20 years. The teams traded field goals in the first quarter and Tech drove for a TD to open the second quarter and took a 10-3 lead. Then, as was what happened MANY TIMES that season, our opponent coughed it up on the ensuing drive and we scooped it up to add a defensive touchdown. In a span of 26 seconds we'd gone from being tied at 3 to leading 17-3. The hoos were decidedly unhappy about that.
Me? I was thrilled!
At that point, we went typical Beamerball on 'em... playing field position and time of possession. The hoos scored a touchdown just before the half and in the fourth quarter we added a field goal to go up 20-10 and there was this kid, one of the unfortunate brainwashed masses following the hoos... he couldn't have been older than 10... he was so upset, he starts yelling at us from the bottom of the Hill. He wants to know why we are there, in HIS stadium. He started throwing cups at us, well... in our direction. He had a typical hoo arm. Couldn't cover the distance. Anyway, he started crying when he saw us laughing at him. In the end, UVa-C added a touchdown at the end of the game to make the score 20-17, but the game didn't seem to be that close.
We found out later that we were going to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport and, while most Tech fans would scoff at that today, we were beyond excited. Some friends and I jumped in a car after Christmas and drove down to Louisiana for the game and we had an absolute blast. I mean, it had been eight seasons since our last bowl and we were 2-8-1 the year before... who knows when we'll go to another bowl? 20 years later and the bowl streak is still alive.
[Editor's note: After 20 years, Hokie CPA's memory is a bit clouded about this game, understandably. It's been a long time! The Hokies actually accepted their Independence Bowl bid the week before the UVA game after they beat Syracuse 45-24 in Lane Stadium. The November 15, 1993 edition of the Hokie Huddler covers the bowl invitation.]
Baltimore Hokie: I was living in Charlottesville in the fall of 1983 (thank you, VT Co-op Program!). So naturally I was expected to get tickets for my friends to attend the VT-UVA game. I happily complied and we looked forward to a great matchup with huge post-season implications.
Keep in mind, at the time our bowl hopes were 'on the line.' Younger alums probably don't recall the days when bowl bids were actually scarce and had to be earned. Even with an 8-2 record, VT wasn't guaranteed a bowl bid without a ninth win. We had a great shot at the Peach Bowl with a victory over UVA.
So the outcome of that game is part of Hokie legend. But I got to watch it unfold before my eyes. No recount will ever do justice to the total dominance and devastation I witnessed that day. It wasn't just the Bruce Smith-led defense holding UVA to a shutout. Dooley's ground-based offense - not known for its scoring ability - looked stellar against UVA, as FIVE tailbacks got significant PT and ate up yardage in huge chunks, repeatedly, on Dooley's trademark 'sweep-style plays.' UVA's biggest weakness was lack of speed and it showed as they simply could not pursue when the Hokies rushed outside. By the second half it was ridiculous. As I recall, one tailback had just under 100 yards on three carries.
Sometime during the second half, our section passed the Hokie Bird up the stands to the top. On his way back down, he stopped by my aisle seat to check me out. He motioned for me to stand up. (At the time, mind you, I was quite the studly weightlifter.) He took my arm and flexed it for the crowd, but gave it the ol' 'pretty so-so' hand wave. Then, he flexed his own 'muscle' and the crowd cheered wildly. All this happened in front of my girlfriend, who enjoyed it juuuuuuust a bit too much. Thus humbled, I was consoled by the fact the crowd got such enjoyment at my expense. I felt like I took one for the team.
After the final gun sounded and the scoreboard read 48-0 VT, UVA discovered their worst tactical mistake was made days BEFORE the game. They had announced they had installed 'knock down goalposts' in anticipation of a Hoo victory. Yup - they were encouraging their fans to storm the field and tear down the goalposts. I have never heard that happen before and I have never heard of it since - maybe due to what happened next. Since those goalposts were just sitting there in a particularly 'come hither' fashion, I along with several hundred other VT fans stormed the field and took them down. I think they might have salvaged one of them, but the other came down quick, before security could react. Pieces of the goalpost were carried off the field like spoils of war.
After the on-field celebration we went to a post-game party and watched the UNC-Duke game. We were hoping for a UNC loss, but UNC pulled it out late with a TD. That win eventually sealed our post-season fate, as UNC got the Peach Bowl bid and reportedly refused to play us. Keep in mind UNC had just lost to UVA the week prior so it was all too self-serving of them to avoid us. FSU was eventually selected as their opponent (UNC lost big). We finished the season 9-2 with no bowl to reward our efforts. But the win over UVA was perhaps Dooley's most dominating display of offense and defense ever.
Nova Hokie 95: My only Tech-UVA game at Scott Stadium was the 2001 game, won by the Hokies 31-17 behind a 31-0 first-half blitz. The TSL writeup mentions four turnovers that led to those 31 points, and a strong second half by freshman running back Kevin Jones that salted away the victory.
Truth be told, I remember very little about the game itself (and no, not because of impaired memory due to overindulgence). It just ... wasn't a very memorable game. It was a battle between quarterbacks Grant Noel and Bryson Spinner, hardly a stellar matchup. We were ranked, but already out of the Big East race ahead of our final game against Miami (the "almost beat 'em when they were #1" game). And I'd already travelled to Pittsburgh that year to watch the total collapse of a 38-7 loss.
What I remember more, though was enjoying the day with friends. Hitting a half-dozen different tailgates before the game -- seeing Russian Hokie, F4EHokie, GFallsFan, and others. Sitting back with a drink or three (I never said there wasn't indulgence; just not overindulgence) and enjoying the day. And checking out UVA's then-new-and-improved stadium.
It's that last aspect that provided me the longest-lasting memory of my first (and so far only) trip to Scott Stadium. The Hoos were quite proud of all the changes to Scott Stadium -- especially the pergolas. Their bragging about their stadium was second only to their bragging about how Al Groh was going to turn the tide in the state.
The game was a 3:30 PM kick, and as I said it was 31-0 at halftime and essentially over. And since it was November, it was getting dark around halftime. As my friends and I were talking, one looked around and said with a bit of a dismissive sneer, "I don't see what's so great about this stadium. Heck, the lighting is horrible!" In unison, the other two of us looked at him and said "That's because you have your sunglasses on still." He checked and -- sure enough -- shades were still over his eyes. Upon removing them he looked around and remarked, "Oh, okay -- the lights are pretty good, actually." He has yet to live that down.
And yes, he had overindulged just a little bit.
There's a saying I made up years ago and like to repeat: "The purpose of life is to give us stories to tell our friends." I treasure the stories Hokie football has brought me throughout the years and sharing those stories with friends -- those who were there and those who weren't.
Chris Coleman: By my count, I've been to eight games in Scott Stadium. I have different memories of each.
1997 Wake Forest: I remember nothing about this game, other than the fact that UVA won. I was 14, and I got invited by a big-win Hoo fan lawyer from back home. Sadly, it was the same day Tech lost to Miami of Ohio, and I had to listen to the end of that game on the radio with a bunch of UVA fans. After the game, we all went to dinner at a very classy restaurant where everybody wore suits and I couldn't pronounce the name of the wines they were drinking.
2001 Virginia Tech: I was a freshman at Tech, and I went to this game with my best friend from high school who was in community college. We met another friend from college who was a freshman at UVA (that best friend later went to UVA…probably because of me. I used to love to drive around to football games even at UVA when the Hokies had a bye, and I'd always drag him with me, and he ended up falling in love with the school in the process.) We all sat in the UVA student section. I got the up close and personal view of "The Sway". I was not impressed, but like Nova Hokie 95, I was impressed with Tech's 31-0 halftime lead. Grant Noel threw three touchdown passes in one half. Enough said.
2002 Colorado State: Again, I made the trip with my best friend from high school. The Hoos had brought in a highly-touted recruiting class, and they were all excited about the future under Al Groh. However, in the season opener against Colorado State, they lost 35-29, and Cecil "The Diesel" Sapp ran all over them. UVA had a chance to win the game, but they were either stopped or turned the ball over inside the five on the final play. I laughed.
2002 South Carolina: I went back to UVA just two weeks later, again with my best friend from high school. This time I saw the Hoos upset Lou Holtz and South Carolina 34-21. The Al Groh love fest was on! For the first and only time in my life, I put my arm around the people around me and swayed when UVA scored a touchdown, but only because the girl to my right was very attractive.
2003 Virginia Tech: I was in the stands the last time the Hokies lost to UVA, and I wasn't even old enough to buy a beer. I went with my best friend from high school, who by this time was in school there. I had gone to the basketball game the night before and seen the Hokies lose to UVA, and then I sat through the same thing in a different sport the very next day. It wasn't fun. Was the tide turning in the in-state rivalry? Also, I met Virgil Goode at a tailgate before the game.
2005 Florida State: This was a Saturday night ESPN game, and UVA upset unbeaten Florida State. What I remember about this game was that it was a really good tailgating environment in the parking lot before the game. It had a nice buzz to it. The atmosphere inside the stadium was good, though probably no better than a Virginia Tech noon game from the same time period. No matter how you slice it, their fans just aren't able to create that amazing home game atmosphere. Not even for unbeaten Florida State in a night game. Still, that's probably the most fun I've had at a UVA game that didn't include Virginia Tech.
2005 Virginia Tech: This is my favorite VT-UVA game that I've attended. The Hokies flattened the Hoos 52-14. The one thing I remember was Cedric Humes intentionally turning a run back to the center of the field in order to run over a UVA safety. He could have kept running forward and probably gained more yards, but you could tell that he just felt like running over the UVA safety. George Bell had 12 carries for 74 yards, all on the final drive of the game. The UVA defense couldn't stop the Virginia Tech fourth string tailback even though they knew exactly what was coming. The Hokies drove from their own 20 to the UVA seven on George Bell's back, and then went ahead and took a knee to end the game.
2007 Virginia Tech: This was the only time I've ever watched a VT-UVA game from the hill, and I went with a big group of college friends. The Hokies won 33-21 in a game that decided the Coastal Division championship. This is the only time I've experienced UVA fans being belligerent towards me. It was probably because the Coastal Division was on the line, and they actually thought they had a chance to win the game. I've heard similar stories from the 2011 game.
Will Stewart: Hmm, favorite Scott Stadium memories ... I have been to every VT-UVA game at Scott Stadium since 1983, with the exception of the 2009 game, so I have a lot of games to draw on. VT is 9-5 in the games I've seen in Scott Stadium, so there are a lot of good memories for me.
But I suppose three come to mind, and they're all relatively old-school.
1983: This was the first Tech-UVa game I saw in person, and it's known in Hokie lore as "The '83 Squeaker: VT 48, UVa 0." Or so goes the bumper sticker. Anyone out there got one?
My memory of the '83 Squeaker is where I sat in the stadium. It was my freshman year at VT. I was from Charlottesville and was living at VT with a high school buddy (Albemarle HS, for the record). My roommate's dad was a banker in Charlottesville, and he got us some sweet seats. We were on the 50 yard line, in the middle of Scott Stadium's East side. To this day, we think he was sitting on one side of the 50 yard line, and was on the other, even though we were right next to each other in the seats.
1985: "King of Hokies" and I drove up from Blacksburg for this one. The Hokies were ten-point underdogs, and at half time, sure enough UVa led 10-0. Going into the fourth quarter, VT was still down 10-7. But the Hokies flattened the Hoos with 21 fourth-quarter points on the way to a 28-10 win. VT did it with a dominant second-half running game (236 yards rushing on the day), and we recall it as the only time that we screamed at Bill Dooley to KEEP RUNNING THE BALL.
1995: Okay, everybody loves this one. A UVa buddy sold me his tickets because he had to work, and my future wife and I sat in the middle of a Wahoo section. My UVa friend told me, "Watch people trip over the step at the end of the aisle." Sure enough, there was one step at the end of our aisle that was slightly higher than the one before it ... and people tripped over it all ... day ... long. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers tripped over the Hokies, and Joe Gieck tried to trip Antonio Banks. It was kind of a theme that day.
I could go on and on, because I've seen so many games there. But in recent years, the mood in Scott Stadium has gotten nasty. In the waning moments of the 2007 game (33-21 Hokies), a UVa fan walked down the aisle next to my Hokie section, looking for a fight, and wound up getting one. In 2011, when the Hokies smashed the Hoos 38-0 in a week where everyone was giving the Hoos (and their "resurgent" program, and "hot young coach" Mike London) all the love, there was definitely a lot of tension in Scott Stadium.
The Hoos are getting really sick of losing to the Hokies. It's making them mentally unstable (more so than usual, anyway). Meanwhile, this season will be the first time I've been in the Virginia press box since 2001, when I sort of snuck in on the Sabre's credential. Now that we've got access at VT games, we can get into the box for road games, as well, so I'll be in the Scott Stadium press box, and Russian Hokie will be roaming the field, taking pics.
Enjoy the game!