Virginia Tech Football, Where Do We Go From Here?

This writer is just that: a writer. 

He’ll never pretend to be a marketing guru, which is why for the rest of this, we will reference a team of people that are paid handsomely to promote their product. 

This is one of Nike’s newest commercials, narrated by Willem Dafoe. Yes, the Green Goblin. 

Watch this commercial if you’re unfamiliar with it to pick up on the parallels. Or don’t—you’ll see where we’re going regardless. 

Am I a bad fan? 

Perfection is unattainable in the material world. It doesn’t exist. 

That’s why we’re taught not to expect perfection. Parents let young children cry through the night or refuse them a candy bar when they fall to teach them that life is, well, imperfect. 

For most of us, perfection isn’t something we even desire. It’s an artificial reality that will never be achieved or understood. 

Because of that, our perceptions can be broken down into basic concepts such as expectations, responses, and standards. 

Am I a bad fan?

The concept of a standard in an imperfect world is simply what is and is not acceptable. 

Standards aren’t exclusive to the successful or the wealthy. They serve as a pair of guardrails to lead one’s journey wherever it may take them. That journey can start anywhere or at any time and should not be judged for its origin, but rather, its trajectory.

Am I a bad fan? 

Progress is not linear. But the implementation of standards implies the inevitability of progress. 

How can an objectively negative trait, action, or perspective be standardized on the road to success? 

Standards are more important than luck, dedication, intelligence, connections, confidence, or any other buzzword used by your local millionaire. They are the North Star on the path to advancement. 

Am I a bad fan?

The standards at Virginia Tech—well, we knew what they were. But it’s become hard to say what they are now. 

This writer loves Brent Pry and wants him to succeed. The Blacksburg community loves Brent Pry and wants him to succeed. Hokie Nation everywhere loves Brent Pry and wants him to succeed. 

But if the standards aren’t what they’re made out to be, that won’t happen. 

To be clear, the disappearance of standards predates Pry’s arrival. And to his credit, he instituted many that were absent. He genuinely wants the best for the program. 

But his intentions and desires are meaningless if standards aren’t upheld.

Am I a bad fan?

Am I a bad fan because I no longer have the patience to listen to an endless labyrinth of excuses?

Am I a bad fan because I no longer have the interest in holding on to a rebuilding process that takes as many steps forward as it does backward?

Am I a bad fan because I feel like I have a better moral concept of self-discipline than the very university I spend paychecks to support?

Am I a bad fan?

It’s time to judge the reality of Virginia Tech not by its propaganda, but through the lens of objective, emotionless, brutal standards. 

An offseason of internal optimism and national excitement to the largest degree in a decade cannot be met with sleepwalking players and coaches in the first game of the year. 

Kyron Drones, a supposed Dark horse Heisman candidate, either couldn’t diagnose a defense or was severely handicapped by his offensive coordinator and QB coach, a man who like many of coach Pry’s hires has repeatedly drawn the ire of Hokie fans. 

Coach Pry and special teams coach Stu Holt cannot allow an opportunity to save three points on the road to go to waste because two players are wearing the same jersey number. 

Coach Pry and offensive coordinator Tyler Bowen cannot blow another late-game clock scenario on their final offensive possession of regulation. They also cannot put a cramping and immobilized Drones onto the field for one play in overtime only to call a designed run and then immediately remove him from the action. 

Coach Pry and defensive coordinator Chirs Marve cannot fail to find answers for a relatively simple game plan that did not include the threat of downfield explosiveness. 

A road venue swarmed with traveling fans cannot be met with an unenthused, unappreciative, and unresponsive team. 

The current Virginia Tech football product does not reflect positive standards.

Am I a bad fan?

Coach Pry after the game shared his thoughts about the first half. 

“We all got shell-shocked a little bit,” he said. 

He then commented on the overall result. 

“It’s humbling,” he said. “Maybe we needed some of that.”

One of the standards everyone knows Pry to be a believer in is accountability. And the accountable man would ask him “Have the last seven years not been enough of a wake-up call already?”

This is a man, a team, and a program that everyone reading this desperately wants to succeed. But any national relevance or local presence is largely due to the unrelenting spirit of the fan base and a rock song from 1991, not the results. 

Virginia Tech’s best regular season since 2019 ended 6-6. They’ve lost the Commonwealth Cup. They’ve lost the Black Diamond Trophy. And they’re finally losing the best fans in America. 

Am I a bad fan because I recognize progress and because I want the best for my team? Am I a bad fan because I know that I’m not getting it? Am I a bad fan for pretending the snake oil salesman in orange and maroon is here to save me? 

And am I a bad fan because I just might not care anymore?