Essay: Lane Stadium Is Home Sweet Home

By Kevin Wertheim
November 17, 2009

The sun is hardly at its highest point in the sky, yet Hokie feet in the bleachers are already pounding out the rhythm of a song.  The north section of Lane Stadium is shaking as Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blares through the sound system.  Players in the tunnel just below the bleachers jump up and down while the fans above scream in anticipation of yet another Virginia Tech home football game. 

Coming from New Jersey I thought that Giants games were the most exciting thing I'd ever experienced.  Boy was I wrong; a home game in Lane Stadium is head and shoulders above any sporting event experience in America.  Hokie fans live and die with the success of the football team; maybe putting so much energy into cheering can be seen as unhealthy.  I would like a neutral fan to come to Lane on a Saturday and cheer along and then tell me they wouldn't discover a newfound allegiance to the Hokies.

Football in Blacksburg is a way of life.  Yes, we all attend school to better ourselves over our years here, but football provides a much-needed escape.  Lane Stadium is brilliantly modeled to amplify all of the noise coming from the fans in every section of the stadium.  This is one of the reasons why Lane Stadium was voted by Rivals.com in 2005 as the no. 2 scariest place to play.  The stands are so steep that the noise is funneled right down to the field.  Coming to oppose the Hokies in Blacksburg has become quite difficult for any team. 

Lane Stadium was proposed in 1963 by Stuart Cassell (of Cassell Coliseum) to replace Miles Stadium, which held a measly 17,000 people.  Construction of Lane began in April of 1964 and its first game took place in 1965, with Tech defeating William and Mary 9-7.  At that time only the west part of the stadium was complete. 

Lane Stadium is named after Edward H. Lane, a graduate of Virginia Tech and a member of the Board of Visitors in his day.  Lane raised over $3 million for the original stadium construction.  In 1980 Lane expanded to hold 52,500 people and today is seats 66,233.  Those people would not be in those seats if it weren't for Wes and Janet Worsham (hence Worsham Field).  The Worshams dedicated over one million dollars to the stadium, and are the reason almost solely for the North End Zone seats and the extreme disadvantage it is to now play against the Hokies in Blacksburg.  The Hokies enjoy a record of 178 wins 66 losses and 6 ties in Lane Stadium; however, under coach Frank Beamer the Hokies are 104-29-1 at home. 

It all starts with the tradition of the best entrance in college football.  It is exhilarating to see a stadium full of people jumping and screaming for minutes at a time while the band and corps of cadets line the way.  After the coin toss, it's time!  If Virginia Tech is kicking the ball to the other team you better get your feet ready to rock the bleachers in a rhythm of a slow clap with growing speed. 

After the shell shock sets in for the opposing team, it is third down.  Some schools will just yell louder, not us.  We have a tradition of letting the other team know it is a KEY PLAY.  Hokie fans will take out their keys and rattle them around creating even more noise while the opposition is just struggling to hear its quarterback call the play.  After the pass falls incomplete or the quarterback is sacked, it is time for yet another Lane Stadium tradition: Beamerball.

Beamer is known throughout college football as a special teams master.  In 264 games as head coach, his teams have blocked a total of 122 kicks and scored 118 non-offensive touchdowns. 

So I'll leave NCAA football with a warning.  If you are coming to Blacksburg to play the Hokies, be ready.  Be ready for the fight of your life.  You will not be able to hear yourself think on the sideline or the field.  Before you know it, you'll be down by multiple touchdowns and attempting to fight an insurmountable fight.