LANESANITY

    Few rules exist surrounding “how to be a good football fan”. Most cardinal among them however, should be to never give up hope. Riding the roller coaster of anxiety that comes with being a fan is a typical experience. Nevertheless, at no point should we just let go. Last night with :44 seconds on the clock I witnessed 66,000+ of my sister and brethren adhere to this rule without hesitation or pause. Unlike some games past, it felt like we knew something spectacular was about to happen. I will not be stupid enough to tell you that a fan base as a mysterious 12th man can help win a football game, but we sure as hell did try. Hell, we had so much energy and determination we caused a freak weather event causing what should have been torrential downpour all night to idle just north of Peppers Ferry. Don’t believe me?
 
Blacksburg Stuff ‏@BlacksburgStuff
Just thought we should share some of those weather miracle tweets from last night. The New River kept eating the storms from the west.
   
    Be it by intimidation or through the constant noise and reverberations coming from Lane Stadium, our Orange Storm was the only thing making an appearance last night. I’ve seen games that have matched or even slightly surpassed what went on last night, but I’ve never seen a fan base so in sync with one another. Of the two choices, orange usually takes the back seat. Nonetheless, begrudgingly or not, EVERYONE made it a point to actually commit to this years Orange Effect. The result? PURE. UNADULTERATED. AWESOMESAUCE. See?

   
    Some of our biggest critics say Tech fans expect wins too much. They brag about the ten plus streak, bowl games, and feel they deserve a National Title. Ok, some do go too far. I get that. What they don’t quite get though is the feeling we have all shared while going absolutely bat shit for our team during a game. By all accounts Lane Stadium is in that middle tier in terms of size and scale. The Big House is almost double ours. We couldn’t care less. When the lists come out, we’re always in the top 5 in terms of intensity and fervor. Enter Sandman is unanimously labeled the best entrance in College Football as well. Back me up here Bruce:

3. Lane Stadium, Va. Tech: Of all the places on this list, Lane Stadium, is the one I feel like is the most overlooked by fans outside of ACC country. So what if it’s only 66,000. Maybe it has something to do with how the building is tucked into the mountains and the sound just bounces all over the place. I’ve been to enough games there where it’s gotten to the point whenever I watch a Hokies home game on TV and I hear them play the beginning of Enter Sandman, I get goose bumps. Happens every time. The entire place rocks and shakes. And then, 45 minutes after the game ends, you trudge back up the stadium steps to the press box and see empty little liquor bottles everywhere.

   
    So yea, Tech fans are obnoxious hellions that think they can will an outcome if they just yell a decibel more while flailing about more wildly than the inflatable thing in front of a car dealership. We can be naive but we also love our university and football team. If that makes us annoying, so be it, because we aren’t changing. When it comes to a Saturday in the fall, its nothing but LANESANITY.