As a devoted fan of Virginia Tech, it warms my heart to see my son and his cousin prepared for the in-state rivalry game versus Virginia.
Until the gang poses show up.
It worked. The Hokies dominated the game and won 38-0 over the Cavaliers.
I've mentioned ad nauseam how I'm a fanatic over my alma mater Virginia Tech's football team.
There is the beautiful campus, sense of community even in the wake of tragedy and great tailgating but there is no better entrance in college football than what happens at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va.
The Hokies run on to the field to Metallica's Enter Sandman while close to 67,000 people are jumping up and down and cheering their arrival.
In a nail biter game on Saturday evening, the Hokies fought their way back to take the lead over Miami.
It was in the last few seconds of the game when Miami had possession that the fans in the stadium rose to the occasion to support the team.
This still gives me chills.
My apologies to our puppy Tucker whom I almost threw into the tv when the Hokies scored their last touchdown.
Going away to college has to be an experience like no other in your life. You’re living within a three mile radius of all your friends who don’t have jobs, are getting money from their parents and the only real responsibility is to show up to class a few times a day and get good passing grades.
I had the best college experience at Virginia Tech and am still friends with many of the people I met including my roommates (not) from hell.
At the beginning of my senior year, I made a pact with my best friend CC to never miss a drink downtown on a Thursday night our senior year. This pact was to be anything alcoholic consumed any time before midnight.
Thursday nights were the best ones downtown because of the happy hour specials, live music and in general, everyone was out on the town and not at parties or passed out at some frat house.
CC and I had another partner in crime, our friend Kevin who was in my major. Kevin was a junior but because of an early birthday was 21 before most of his buddies.
He lived on campus so I would pick him up, drive the whole ¾ of a mile downtown, park behind one of the bars, meet CC, we’d lock our coats in the car and go to Sharkey’s. It was our favorite watering hole. At the end of the night, we'd walk back to my car, retrieve our coats and walk home.
Showing up early to Sharkey's - me, Kevin and CC.
Since we were Thursday regulars, we knew the bouncers, bartenders and everyone there. The supermugs were $2.50 each for 32 oz of Miller Lite. After purchasing the first of three rounds for $10 which included the tip, we would make our rounds around the two-story bar. Upstairs were pool tables and often times, CC and I would lay our quarters down to wait our turn against the drunk college boys. We would often win which infuriated them. If CC lost focus during a game, I’d whisper to her that our opponents just said girls suck at pool and the Philadelphia attitude in her came out in a rampage. She’d usually make several shots in a row at that point.
One time late in our senior year, we were playing pool against a college guy and his dad. They had won several games in a row and were feeling drunk on their success. CC and I were feeling quite drunk on our supermugs. I laid down the quarters and we waited our turn. Halfway through the pool game, CC and I were struggling. Then I channeled Tom Cruise in The Color of Money and shot several balls in a row including the eight ball. We had won.
It was then that the dad approached me, asked me what I was majoring in and when I was graduating. I told him and he handed me his business card and said to give him a call. He was so impressed with my pool skills under pressure that he wanted to hire me.
He didn’t hire me.
It may be because I never contacted him.
Now it's your turn.
Find an old picture like and share a story about it and then email me so I can add a link. Flashback Friday has no real rules other than to have fun.
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It's well documented on this blog and twitter that I am a huge fan of my alma mater, Virginia Tech. Located on the other side of the state from where I live now, I try to make it to at least one football game every year.
This is the first season in a number of years that I didn't make it to Blacksburg even though I did watch the Hokies play against Boise State over Labor Day weekend in Maryland. They lost the game in the last 3 minutes.
It was devastating.
In November 2007, Tim, Nadya The Laugher and another friend sat through the pouring rain (similar to when we watched them play during a hurricane) on a Thursday night to see Virginia Tech lose literally in the last 1:38 of the game to Boston College.
It was devastating.
There was some redemption because that same year Virginia Tech had a second chance to play Boston College for the ACC Championship and they won.
Tomorrow night, Virginia Tech plays Florida State for the ACC Championship. Tim, Nadya The Laugher and I will be tuned in and drinking beer screaming at the television together.
You can find me on Twitter @debthaxton.
Now it's your turn.
Find an old picture and share a story about it and then email me so I can add a link. Flashback Friday has no real rules other than to have fun.
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It is frequently discussed on this blog that I am a huge Virginia Tech college football fan. Earlier this week I shared a picture of friends of mine from high school, college and the working world tailgating.
As I was browsing through old pictures, I found some taken in 1997 outside my college townhouse. The front door was on the second story and gave us a bird's eye view of the parking lot below full of drunk college students.
I wore an orange and maroon cat in the hat style hat to every game for years. I'm smiling, my hair was very long and curly and I'm holding a beer. This about sums up my four years in college.
This picture is of CC, me, my high school best friend Julie, and my roommates, Therese and Kathy.
From our place you could hear the cannon in the stadium signaling the game was about to start. For us, that meant finish your drink, grab another and start walking towards the stadium.
To the left of me in the white jersey is my friend Brian. His roommate and my roommate Kathy were high school sweethearts, both went to college with us, married and just welcomed their third child.
Brian is just as passionate about Virginia Tech as the next Hokie fan. In an email exchange this week following our devastating loss to Boise State in the last two minutes of the game he wrote, "You wear the same shirt on gameday that I do: "We are Virginia Tech." It's not just about the football team. Never has been. That's why we take this very, very seriously."
No wonder we're all still friends.
Now it's your turn.
Find an old picture and share a story about it. Flashback Friday has no real rules other than to have fun.
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Tailgating with best friends from high school, college and the working world.
Taken before the Virginia Tech vs. Boise State game in Landover, Md. on September 6, 2010.
We're used to tailgating in Blacksburg.
I don't have a lot of Christmas decorations but I do have a favorite one. The Hokie Santa which was given to my by my former boss after I planned an elaborate conference at work years ago.
As I've mentioned before here, Virginia Tech fans are a cult die hard. This was us two months ago in Blacksburg. All of this is not to be confused with my obsession love of ESPN announcer Kirk Herbstreit.
Our in-state rival, Virginia, causes a lot of prompts for jokes and bets.
The school is an easy target especially when students wear ties to football games.
Since it's Christmas Eve, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday and hope you get everything you need in the new year even if it doesn't come wrapped up in a box.
It's always interesting to hear stories of roommates from hell. I was lucky and had no major issues with my roommates but many of my friends were not so lucky.
My good friend CC lived with four girls while we at Virginia Tech and they had an extra room so a random guy named Bo moved in. He wasn't a student but he was the bouncer at our favorite watering hole that occasionally turned into a benefit. One day she discovered an ant problem but not in the kitchen, it was coming from upstairs. Bo had been leaving spit cups from chewing tobacco in his room for months weeks which combined with leftover pizza crusts under the bed caused an ant infestation. An exterminater had to be called.
I lived with three other girls my junior and senior year in a two story townhouse off-campus but near the Virginia Tech football stadium. As was typical in college, we had little spats on occassion and looking back they were over the dumbest things, turning up the heat, turning down the heat, leaving lights on, turning lights off, etc.
This picture was taken in 1998 on The Couch that we bought ON SALE for 10 dollars. I had it in college and then for almost three more after I graduated. From left to right is Beth, Jessica, Kathy, Therese's boyfriend and now husband Chris and Therese who you may remember from our "dancing " freshman year. We're playing drinking jenga which is still in rotation over ten years later in my house especially during hurricanes.
In college, I remember vividly going to the ATM machine and taking out $5. That was two supermugs of beers or two 32 oz of miller lite With Tip. Oh the good old days...
Do you have any roommate from hell stories?
Now it's your turn.
Find an old picture and share a story about it or why you wanted to share it now. Flashback Friday has no real rules other than to have fun. Please share the link in comments to your actual post and not main blog for others to find you.
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When I first moved to this area after graduating from college, I knew no one. To get on the right path, I joined the Virginia Tech alumni association because if you're a Hokie, you're automatically in the cult.
Tim and I met shortly before the alumni attic pollyanna gift exchange and agreed to be my date for the evening. The idea was to bring junk a halfway decent thing laying around your house that you wanted to get rid of so you could bring home someone else's junk halfway decent item as a replacement.
Tim and I strategically fought and brought home The Dancing Naked Lady Glasses.
Historically, we bust them out while drinking mimosas. During this past Thanksgiving holiday weekend they were on display and in use quite a bit. For those who don't follow me on twitter, I teased about them quite a bit.
Eleven years ago, I was only six months out of college and went back to Blacksburg to drink cheap beer visit my best friend CC who was still living there. Since it was Halloween weekend, we had to dress up and hit our favorite watering holes.
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Yesterday was election day and I voted. The election message of our carpool traveled to Blacksburg last week to watch the Hokies play.
It worked too. Remember, we tailgated with Governor-elect McDonnell during the first football game at Old Dominion University in September not that he put that tidbit on His blog. Ahem.
For the first time, Tim and I carpooled with friends to Blacksburg this past Thursday to watch Virginia Tech play UNC. We were there last year for a Thursday night game and lucked out with great weather. This year it was true again.
Dave and Steve were our chauffeurs and were quite the comedy duo. It was like being in a Grumpier Old Men movie with a view from the backseat. They were constantly bickering, teasing and laughing.
It continued during the tailgating setup and grill assembly before the game.
Tim and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the entertainment and the people we met tailgating.
It was an orange effect for the game and the crowd was loud. That smoke coming from the right hand side is actually from the smoked turkey leg grill. The irony when your alma mater has a mascot called a Hokie Bird that is loosely based the school being known as the gobblers does not go unnoticed.
We had great seats. Unfortunately, we lost the in conference game by only a few points.
It was still worth the trip because I love being in Blacksburg. Where else can you do the Hokie Pokey with 67,233 other people?
On Saturday, Tim, Troy and I headed over to our friend Jay's for a bbq. But first I got a hair cut and had my hairdresser blow out my hair straight. 
There was some serious corn hole competition going on.
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The losers had to chug a beer or do a shot. Fish was happy to oblige and I think that was before he played..jpg)
As you can see, there was football on in the garage. Specifically, Virginia Tech playing the Nebraska cornhuskers. Troy was showing his team spirit in his new hokie outfit I bought him. His Virginia Tech jersey from last year was too small and also missing..jpg)
The kids had a good time running around Jay's backyard. Of course Troy had just seen his girlfriends the night before..jpg)
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Packing off your bags and heading to college in August 1994 was so exciting. Virginia Tech assigned me a roommate at random and it worked out very well. Missy and I lived together our freshman and sophomore years on campus. For my junior and senior years, girls who lived on our floor ended up being my roommates off-campus.
Now it's your turn. Find an old picture and share a story about it or why you wanted to share it now. Flashback Friday has no real rules other than to have fun. Please share the link to your actual post and not main blog below for others to find you.
If you'd like the button, here's the code to include.
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