John's College Football Page

College football is perhaps my favorite sport; I can get passionate about games involving teams I don't even follow. Pro football seems to cut-and-dried; the collegians, on the other hand, offer unpredictable games and much wider styles of play and offer countless intriguing matchups.

I grew up cheering for WVU and Marshall, and when I came to Virginia Tech I added the Hokies to the top of my list of favorite teams. On the other hand, I've always hated the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame--from my inherent disdain of bandwagon teams to the 1988 or 2001 Fiesta Bowls, I've got good reasons--and I also tend to root against established powers like Michigan or Ohio State or Alabama because everyone just assumes they're "good." In recent years I have come to detest WVU for reasons I shall explain momentarily.

Game-Day Routine | Game-Day Apparel | Best Moments in VT History
Most Hated Teams | Your Tax Dollars at Work: Notre Dame Fans

Game-Day Routine

From prepping food for the tailgate the night before to loading the car the game-day morning to the tailgate prior to the game, every game day has a routine.

Preferably, the game is scheduled for an evening (or at least late afternoon) kickoff; noon games simply don't leave enough time to tailgate, and who wants burgers, brauts, and beer at eight-thirty in the morning?!

Typical tailgate menu:

• Burgers, prepared with various seasonings & ingredients (different every time!) For Beth, a couple of veggie burgers are always included as well.
• Steaks marinated overnight in a delicious mixture inspired by Alton Brown's Rhapsody in Red (Meat) recipe.
• Hokie cupcakes (maroon cake & orange cream-cheese frosting)
• Hokie Jell-o shooters
• Rum & Cokes (I use Vanilla Coke and Captain Morgan's)
• Various microbrews

Got your tastebuds watering yet?

Other game-day activities I enjoy are flyovers--any time military hardware zooms overhead for the game it really gets your heart pumping.

Game-Day Costumes

What psycho fan would be complete without a special game-day getup? Although some fans wear the same clothes every game, I enjoy customizing the Hokie costume each time out.

View My Game-Day Costumes

Best Moments in VT Football History

My days as a Hokie began in 1993 and have witnessed quite a few momentous moments in the program's history as Virginia Tech has ascended to the ranks of the national elite. From the '93 Independence Bowl showing an entire country what Beamerball was all about to the '95 Sugar Bowl win over Texas to the trip to the National Championship with ever-electric Michael Vick, I've enjoyed the past decade-plus of Hokies football and have a few of my favorite moments to share.

View the Best Moments in VT Football History

Hated Teams

Like I said, I can get pretty passionate about college football. I downright hate a number of teams and happily cheer against them every weekend:

1. Notre Dame: There's no bigger bandwagon team out there than the Fighting Irish. Everyone is supposed to like them for some reason, and they continue to live on past glories. Yet the Irish have been mediocre-to-poor the past decade. In 1988 they broke Major Harris' leg vs. WVU in the Fiesta Bowl to win the championship, and in 2000 they STOLE the Fiesta Bowl from a 10-1 #5 Virginia Tech team that had lost only to Miami (and with Michael Vick injured at the time)--and somehow went to the Fiesta Bowl at #11 and got whipped by Oregon State. College football caters to the Irish, giving them special exceptions and rules, and they even have their own TV package. As soon as they win a game, every sportswriter jumps on the "they're back!" bandwagon, too. Ick, ick, ick!
   For some fun, check out this YouTube video about hopeless Notre Dame fans...
2. Syracuse: I hate that damn Jiffy-Pop Dome of theirs--Tech has the worst time up there, but fortunately now that we're gone to the ACC, there will be no more trips up to Syracuse. Plus, the 'Cuse always struggle out-of-conference and get a terrible record, then put their whole season on beating VT to spoil the season. And don't start on the refs at their games, from the '92 Marvin Graves fight that got half the WVU team thrown out (yet not Mr. Graves, the instigator) to lollipops used in placekicking vs. Tech to a BS pass interference that cost Tech the 2001 season. 62-0 is all I have to say... well, I'll add that 51-7 was good payback, too.
3. Pittsburg: The Panthers had taken over from Syracuse as the "we can't beat anyone but Tech" team, gearing up all year for their game with us and winning 2 of the last 3 on HORRID calls by the refs. Enjoy the Big Least, sPitt; until you can beat Toledo or South Florida in non-conference games, you won't be able to garner any national hype.
4. UVA: You have to hate your biggest rival. 'Nuff said. Okay, they're really uppity and holier-than-thou, too. I'm sure UVA fans everywhere were secretly sick when the Governor forced them to help get Tech into the ACC, where the annual loss to the Hokies will actually mean more than bragging rights now.
5. WVU: Get some real fans, WVU. And get some class while you're at it. VT didn't screw you or the Big East, and there's no excuse to take it out on our fans or your couches. Heck, you didn't stay behind when you got offered all-sports membership in the BE when Tech and Temple got left in the A-10, so shut your traps and go burn some furniture.
6. Florida State: Bobby Bowden's team shouldn't have played for the title in '93 over WVU, and the fact that Peter "five-finger-discount" Warrick wasn't DQ'd in the '99 Sugar Bowl (combined with injuries on Tech and nasty refs) cost VT their first title. Don't worry, though; now that we're in the ACC, it's payback time. I can't wait for VT to deny you a BCS game by winning the ACC.
7. The Pac 10: Yes, I hate the entire Pac 10 conference. Why? They strongarmed the Fiesta Bowl into taking #6 ranked Oregon State in 2000 with a threat to withdraw from the BCS (and take the Rose Bowl with them). Now, the Domers are more to blame (at #11 they had absolutely no business in a BCS game), but VT was still ranked ahead of Oregon State, had a schedule literally 3x as strong (14 vs. 42), and Michael Vick... yet the BCS caved to the Pac 10's threats... and not for the last time, either. Any time there's a chance the Pac 10 won't have two BCS teams, they start blustering about leaving the BCS. Whiners!

Your Tax Dollars at Work: A Visit from a Lame Domer

I recently got a rather nasty e-mail from an apparent Notre Dame fan who disagrees with my dislike of the Domers. Funny thing is, the visit to my site and vulgar e-mail came from a government computer during the work-day... yes, your Social Security Administration employees are spending their days at work reading about Notre Dame football and sending hate mail flames out on your dime!

Apparently not aware that the Internet logs nearly everything, this SSA employee probably didn't think I'd be able to or would waste the time to track him down. Sorry, but he was wrong--and you can read all the details:

A Visit from a Lame Domer