Cheers and Jeers: Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest

I remember writing about the 0-0 game when Frank Beamer memed himself into infamy far beyond his legendary coaching career. To that point as a writer I had stuck to fairly standard post game recaps. I couldn't help but spout off after that shameful outing which resulted in a perfectly avoidable loss to a mediocre Wake Forest team. I fired off some sarcastic remarks about quite possibly the worst game I've ever sat through and now I do that sort of thing almost exclusively. This weekend was a far better Hokie effort than 0-0, but the sinking feeling that this disappointing outcome was entirely avoidable was a familiar one.

The weather was exquisite on the east coast this weekend and Blacksburg was no exception. Conditions were ideal for Virginia Tech's Homecoming festivities and the game had a late summer look and feel. The crowd was great until things got strange in the second half. There's lots of support for this team and their continued fight. In all, it was like many Hokie gamedays with everything going great right up until kickoff. We continue to tailgate at a high level despite the product on the field.

This entire column is late due to my spending Sunday at the pumpkin farm. In honor of our fearless Editor Sam Jessee's suggestion, let's do a quick ranked rundown of peak fall behaviors (non-sports edition):

1. Halloween Candy - I don't care for the holiday AT ALL but I do enjoy expanded access to bite-sized candy bars. Plus, Reese's pumpkins are absolutely elite.
2. Foliage - I find it strange to drive a long way to see leaves, but the Appalachians do come alive with colors so I kind of get it.
3. Hot Days, Cold Nights - Maybe it's my body's increasingly inconsistent ability to regulate temperature but I love going from winter, to summer, to comfortable for 30 minutes, before plunging back into a crisp overnight. Open those windows y'all!
4. Pumpkins - I don't care for pumpkin spice but I enjoy the strange gourds in their natural form. Honestly, I love anything that can be fashioned into decorations and later repurposed as a weapon.  
5. Cider - extremely versatile, mixed and straight up. Apple cider is a key and sneaky ingredient in a lot of delicious things. 
    

"My body is one big cramp" -Thom Brennaman

That quote was the only memorable and agreeable contribution of the afternoon by Brennaman who continues to be generally bad in the booth along with his partner Will Blackmon. The second CW game in a row means we've heard a lot of these two recently. It's baffling listening to some of their assertions which imply that they've never watched film on either team. I actually don't mind that the CW has a handful of ACC exclusive games, but we need to up the production value a little bit. I'm not even sure they're at ACC Network level and that's heavily facilitated by children. One mild bonus, there seemed to be far fewer ads for a certain cold, government organization this week. I guess they shut down the advertising budget?

Take your pick here. Tech suffered multiple self-inflicted penalties. "Boneheaded" might be my least favorite kind of infraction and the Hokies piled them up with late-hits of the most preventable nature possible. Low football IQ is never something you want to see and it's a shame because the Hokie defense played pretty well for much of the day Saturday. Just one less drive-extending penalty and the home team probably wins that outing. The worst part is Ben Bell and Kaleb Spencer have been in college long enough to be doctors and yet they were both front and center on these low lights. That simply can't happen no matter who the coach in charge is. 

I didn't really expect to turn things around overnight and win out. That's especially true given the remaining schedule but defeating a banged up Wake Forest team wasn't too much to ask for. The good will and momentum built over the previous two games is now largely evaporated. That leaves people like me wanting to attend a game in person, but unsure if I can in good conscience put my family through that. I don't think my child's first game should be a roundhouse kick to the face from Miami or Louisville, and Cal will be after his bedtime. At any rate, hopefully you can enjoy the wonders of fall wherever you find yourself. 

I'm reminded of the last concert I got to which was Fleet Foxes at an apple orchard outside of Syracuse. That's some serious autumn New York behavior and there's a version available to you as well. Remember your options the next time the Hokies tempt you into wasting four hours of a glorious Saturday afternoon.