Metallica in Blacksburg: 25 Years of Jumping

Dotting the "i" at Ohio State, “Rocky Top” at Tennessee, the Sooner Schooner at Oklahoma. These traditions, and hundreds more across the country, define college football. And the best traditions, the ones most engrained in the identities of their fans, are the ones that start by accident. 

Almost 25 years ago, a new tradition began on a rainy night in August…sort of. Virginia Tech was taking on Georgia Tech to open the 2000 season. The Hokies were coming off their first and only National Championship game appearance, and expectations were high with star quarterback Michael Vick leading the way. Virginia Tech had a brand new video board and with it a brand new walk-out song to match the season's excitement, a single released in 1991 by the heavy metal band Metallica. The song’s commercial success was one thing, but to many sports fans the song had become synonymous with Yankees closer, Mariana Rivera, who made the jog from the bullpen to the mound to the tune of the Metallica hit. 

While the game vs the Yellow Jackets didn’t go as planned (meaning it didn’t go at all, the game was canceled due to lightning) it began with an electric tradition that has carried on over two decades. 

Despite the song’s now legendary status, my father, Steve Castle, barely remembers the first night it was played. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1996 and has been a football season ticket holder for almost 30 years. He was at the game where “Enter Sandman” was introduced to Lane Stadium. He says, “That night was so chaotic for so many reasons that I don’t think at the time it hit me that they were introducing this, and there wasn’t a lot of fanfare around that.”

Not everyone was on board during its inception for a tradition that today is so enthralling. “I was actually kind of a little pissed off about it,” said Dave Day, a former Marching Virginian in 2000. “I did not go into it instantly being the guy who was like this is a great, wonderful idea.” Day’s issue wasn’t that Metallica was being played. In fact, he’s a fan of the metal giants himself. But in those days, the marching band was the sound of gameday, not a stadium PA system. His sentiment was echoed by the Director of the Marching Virginians, Dave McKee. “We were there to be part of the soundtrack,” McKee said. Both had the vision that the band should be more involved in the newfound festivities. But in a way, the band is what ended up creating the tradition that took over Lane Stadium.  

Late in the 2001 season, McKee remembers that the Marching Virginians were on the field performing pregame. He says it was “brutal cold” as they were waiting for the team to take the field. Then, as the band tried to stay warm, the tradition was born. “Somebody started jumping, it was like one or two people, and a few more people started jumping, and by the time the band was doing it all together, the people in the stands were realizing this is fun, this is cool.” He says that moment is what makes “Enter Sandman” unique among the many traditions of college football. “There are lots of people who spend a lot of time trying to come up with new traditions, and sometimes the best traditions happen by accident.” 

“Enter Sandman” has delivered dozens of these moments in the past 25 years, making Lane Stadium one of the best and loudest atmospheres in college football. My dad remembers a game in 2003 against second-ranked Miami. VT had lost the week before to West Virginia, and my dad remembers a call out to Hokie Nation to be all hands in for the game against the Hurricanes. He says, “The stadium was already electric before Enter Sandman started, but the second it came on, I do think the entire stadium shook…there was not a single person not jumping.” 

Tradition is the backbone of college football.

Another moment came in 2011, again against Miami. A high-scoring affair between old Big East rivals had come to a head when Logan Thomas pierced through the line and into the endzone to give the Hokies the lead late in the fourth quarter. McKee was in the endzone, directing his band. “I remember standing up there on the drum major’s podium thinking if he scores, this place is gonna go absolutely nuts, and he did, and it did.” On the following drive, the Hurricanes faced a 4th and 10 from their 45-yard line with 5 seconds left. Miami Head Coach Al Golden called a timeout, and as the teams walked to their sidelines, Metallica returned for an encore. “Enter Sandman” boomed through the stadium, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The late Mike Patrick, on the call for ESPN, was so blown away by the energy the song evoked that he uttered a now iconic phrase in Blacksburg: “These people are losing their minds.” 

The first note of “Enter Sandman” is an open E string, iconic in its simplicity. When Metallica takes the stage on May 7th, and that note hits the ears of the crowd, the energy may rival a Fall gameday as the 25-year wait to hear the song live in Lane Stadium comes to an end. Hokie Nation has been eagerly waiting for this day. When he first heard the news of the concert, Dave Day said his first reaction was “It’s about time…only took about 25 years.”