Fear and Loathing at The U Covering the Miami-Virginia Tech game called for me to channel the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. It was entirely necessary for this atavistic endeavor, pure Gonzo Journalism. There really aren’t any other options when you’re diving head first into a vicious snake pit. Hopefully the good doctor would approve. The prospect of this trip was enticing; a couple days in sun-soaked Miami and a little Hokie football. The ‘Canes were reeling and Tech was flying sky-high heading into the match up, but who would prevail? Upon arriving in Miami we found a radio station that was playing nothing but music from the ‘80s all weekend long. It made driving around the city like playing hours of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, though at times it was uncomfortably realistic. Would we live to tell our tales? Could the Hokies continue their winning ways? All questions were ultimately answered in the historic Orange Bowl, the once mighty venue that has played host to five Super Bowls and countless classic games. I came in expecting the horror stories about the stadium’s condition and location to be somewhat exaggerated; not so. The Orange Bowl is located in a run-down, dangerous neck of the woods. It’s the kind of stuff nightmares are made of, truly depraved. The stadium itself is rusting and crumbling like a brittle gingerbread house, and on top of that it was half empty. An estimated crowd of 41,000 packed the 72,000 plus seat stadium for a game with the #23 Hokies, a far cry from its heyday. Then of course there are the fans, proud representatives of “The U” indeed. This fair-weather bunch showed their support by displaying signs with the ABC letters, “Anyone But Coker” they exclaimed. After the second unsuccessful offensive series a chorus of boos echoed off the empty upper deck, giving Kyle Wright and the Hurricane offense a tremendous boost of confidence. Evidently, fans sitting in the same section as Wright’s father began expletive laden chants about his son’s play. Needless to say he was less than pleased. Several drives later, Wright was pulled for the ‘Canes’ “savior” Kirby Freeman, at which point the Orange Bowl exploded. On his first play he took off and ran for 31 yards. Chants of “Kirby! Kirby! Kirby!” bellowed out, and he promptly threw an interception on his only pass attempt of the night. That was the last we saw of Miami’s version of Ike Whitaker, the athletic backup the fans just know is better than the starter. What do the coaches know anyway? All night it appeared that the Miami fans represented all the negative aspects of the small portion of bad Hokie fans multiplied by a factor of fifty. Their coach can do nothing right, they boo when things don’t go well, and they don’t support their starting quarterback because he sometimes struggles and can’t run like the backup. The game proved to be a battle of two very talented defenses with a slight edge going to the Hokies. Tech intercepted three passes on the night, two coming from Brandon Flowers and the other from Xavier Adibi. The Hokies got just enough offense to outlast the Hurricanes 17-10, pleasing the countless Tech fans that made the trip. After the game the Tech players came racing over to my spot in the stands where all their families sat, several times for that matter given the bizarre ending to the game. The fans rejoiced with the players, paying little attention to the security staff desperately trying to hold the Hokies back, but there was no one in Miami who could stop Tech on this night, on or off the field. I left the Orange Bowl to the deafening roar of Hokie fans, “Let’s Go Hokies! Clap, clap clap, clap, clap”. After some searching I found the rest of the group I’d been with earlier and after hanging around for a bit we headed back into the surrounding barrio to the car. We appeared to be the last ones leaving the Orange Bowl on this night and what a sweet night it had been; no terrible confrontations and a Hokie victory in this backwards place, all-around a great weekend. As we walked, I felt like a monster reincarnation of Hunter S. Thompson…a Man on the Move, and just sick enough to be totally confident. |