Code:
Content, Pictures and Download links visible to registered users only.
REGISTER NOW to access all areas that are invisible to non-members.
I've always seen so much more heart in college. My friend played O-line for VT, probably could have gone pro but had no desire. He played because of what it meant to put on that jersey every Saturday, because he was a Hokie, he chose to be there, had the desire to give his all every game and juggle that extra work with getting a free education. He didn't even try to get into the NFL because he had no allegiance there, he had grown up wanting to have that VT on his helmet. Merely from the standpoint of a fan, I grew up with Hokie blood, my dad went there in the '70's, my brother went there the year before I did, I didn't even apply to another school, I always knew I was going to be a Hokie and going to a game in Blacksburg is something that will always be special to me. Granted I've only ever been to Panthers games in the NFL and I cannot imagine a worse group of fans, I've just never seen the devotion and enthusiasm that I've seen in the Lane. I love having the band playing the school songs, the cheers (though it's a shame the "stick it in" cheer was banned from our games), the instant camaraderie that I feel when I see another Hokie, personally I've never seen that with anything professional. I just hate how after any NFL game, the players just cruise into the field and laugh and talk it up with the other team. If you lose a game in college, you're on a knee looking at your dreams for that year float away (unless you're to the point where you're used to losing, which is just sad). I don't know, I'm ranting now, but it might just be because I've just been around a very tight, loyal college community and haven't witnessed anything close anywhere else, but I have never been able to get into pro sports because they don't have the same effect on me as what I've seen at VT.