Tempering the 'No Thursday Night Game' Madness

I love Thursday nights in Blacksburg as much as the next person.  The crisp, late-fall air, perfectly maroon and orange trees and thick bubble of tailgaters creates an atmosphere that's near impossible to match elsewhere, if it's even possible to begin with.  I love walking around campus during the day of a Thursday night game.  The spirit is taken to a whole new level as students drive around the drill field blasting "Enter, Sandman" from their trucks and yelling "LET'S GO..." and choruses of "HOKIES!" answer.  That's not to say these things don't happen on Saturdays, it just feels extra special on a Thursday.  Other Hokies know what I mean.

With that being said, you can imagine my reaction when I looked at our 2013 schedule and the word "Thursday" was only listed once, next to a matchup against Georgia Tech in Atlanta.  I wasn't a happy camper.  No Thursday night game for my last season in Lane?  But...but...no!  That can't be right!  I'm also not too happy about our weak home schedule, but that's a different story.

Anyway, so basically, this was my first reaction:

And then I thought this was a little more appropriate:

Either way, you get the point.  I couldn't understand why Weaver (our athletic director, for those of you who may not know) would request to not have a Thursday night game.  We've had one every year since 2001, and to be honest, they're my favorite games of the season (except 2011 Miami).  I just couldn't imagine what kind of reasoning led to that decision.  

"...it wasn't fair to have a game every year where so many fans couldn't come and had to sell their tickets. ... It was simply a request on behalf of our fans, something I thought we needed to do to say 'thank you' to them for being so good to us on Thursday nights over the years."

My first thought when I read that quote from Weaver was, "Have you seen Lane on Thursday nights?  It's packed.  Plenty of people make it to Thursday night games.  North was rocking this year, as always."  I find it hard to believe that "so many fans" can't make it to the game when it's hard to find an empty seat or space to stand.  Granted, I don't ever see ticket sale statistics, so that's based solely on tailgate and game-time observations.  

Also, solution for student season ticket holders who can't attend the game: why not put those tickets back into the lottery so other students can have another chance to attend?  I don't know how doable that is logistically, but it's a thought, and it's the thought that counts, right?

So naturally, I was pretty upset with Weaver's decision, as was most of the student body and fan base.  But after a couple days, the hoopla seemed to have died down and maybe we were accepting the decision--no matter how much we hate it--and moving on with our lives.

Originally, I wasn't going to post about the whole mess.  Then last night, VT's student newspaper posted an opinion piece in which the author shared that he/she hates Thursday night games and calls them a "hassle."  Needless to say, that has sparked quite the commotion on VT social media, especially Twitter. 

(Side note: it was quite amusing.)

(Side note again: I'm not going to name the author or link to the piece.  If you want to read it, you can find it yourself.)

I get that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinions, but this is another one I find especially hard to grasp.  Thursday night games are a tradition in Blacksburg.  To me, they're as much of a tradition as firing Skipper after each score and watching in awe as the cadets march from Upper Quad to Lane.  How could someone hate something as special as that?  And really, Thursday night games aren't a weekly, or even a monthly thing; they happen once a year.  Surely we can all appreciate that.

Okay, so all of the madness aside, let's get back to the main area of debate.  After getting over my initial annoyance with the decision and reading some other pieces, I've come to temper my opinion.  Sure, it sucks, and I really hate not having my favorite kind of game for my final season in Lane.  Thursday night games are meant for up-and-coming teams and those with limited exposure.  I think VT is a little past that, so we need to aim bigger.  Saturday night, anyone?  Saturday afternoons are quite the parties in Blacksburg, so imagine what that would be like at 8 p.m. instead of 3 p.m., or God forbid, noon.  I'm a morning person and I like to get my day going ASAP, but I don't even like noon kickoffs.

Lastly, could the decision have had something to do with our 7-6 season?  It's a huge possibility.  Maybe we lost to FSU at this year's Thursday night game, but it was a hell of a game if I do say so myself.  We didn't get slaughtered like many feared, and we made FSU work for their victory.  Sure I was disappointed in the loss, but was pleasantly surprised at the level of competition we saw in Lane that night.  Regardless, 7-6 isn't a normal Hokie record.  

Anyway, if that's the case, if we want Thursday nights back in the Burg, then maybe this is our cue to earn them back.  Weaver has said that they will return in 2014, so this year in 2013, we need to prove we want to keep Thursday nights alive and to keep the tradition going, but while still aiming for that higher goal of Saturday primetime.

And who knows, maybe on some November Thursday--or Saturday?--night in 2014, we'll set off the Richter Scale again.