Can anyone tell that I'm ready for football season yet? I've been thinking about the possibility of WVU having to join the ACC and all the fun we could all have again at their collective expense. I had a little extra time tonight and found myself on YTMND. If you're bored, head on over here and enjoy the gloriousness of Mr. Wayne Ward. Make sure your volume is on...

http://vtwvu.ytmnd.com/

H8U WVU.

As a college football fan, I'm certainly into traditions, as I'm sure all of you are as well. As Virginia Tech fans, we certainly value things like the Walk, the Enter Sandman intro, the touchdown pushups, key plays and more (rest in peace 'Stick It In'). One thing that always bothered me a bit was the student body's apathy to learning the words to the fight song or the VPI Victory March. Sure, we all learned the Old Hokie chant during orientation, but when do we really use it? We hear those two songs multiple times per game, and I really wish the student body knew more than chanting "Hokie, Hokie, Hokie HI!" or "H-O-K-I-E-S HOKIES!" I honestly think we're better than that, but the words aren't exactly easy to learn. I'm going to take this week to at least try and do my Hokie diligence and introduce you to some of the songs that I think we SHOULD know as fans. I'm not saying we need to turn into UVA and hug and sway, but it would be fun for more people to be able to belt Tech Triumph on Saturdays after a big play or touchdown.

Unfortunately, our VPI Victory March has become a bit outdated. The original version was written to highlight old school Tech rivals like VMI and Georgetown, and revised in 2000 to point out newer rivals in Miami, UVA, Syracuse and WVU. As much as I still hate all of those schools, I think that the Hokies could certainly use an updated version of the song to incorporate our new ACC rivals. After some deliberation, I sat down and cranked out a new version of the old hit. It pulls bits and pieces from the older versions, but actually contains two verses (one before and one after the break strain) which fit better with the way the MVs actually play the song. I'd like you loyal readers to give it a look and offer any suggestions you might have. With enough positive feedback, I might just try and submit this to the powers-that-be as a legitimate edition of the traditional song. Check it out!

So I finally took the time to re-write it with a nod to the old version and to cover all the ACC teams. It's also complete with two verses. Click here to get the audio for the song and tell me what you think...

You have seen the Tar Heels tumble,
You have made the Eagles cry;
And you know that Georgia Tech
Once tried to sting ol’ V.P.I.
You know that worthy teams from College Park
Have fought with all their might;
And now it's time to show the world
That vict’ry is ours tonight!

Break Strain:
GO, TECH!
GO, TECH!
H-O-K-I-E-S, HOKIES!

You have seen Miami humbled,
You have passed the Devils’ test.
And you know that UVA
Has seen the Hokies beat their best.
You know those guys from Clemson, FSU
From Wake and N-C State
Will fight and flail with no avail
The vict’ry is ours to take!

The No. 15 Hokies continued their superb season with a series victory over Duke in the last three home games of the season. Tech won Friday and Saturday's matchups by a grand total of 29-11 (11-3 Friday and 18-8 Saturday), but fell in a wild 11-7 game on Sunday afternoon. Here's the recaps from this weekend:

Concern that turned into panic...panic that welled into tears...tears that fell and helped a group of students to grow an overwhelming sense of pride. These are the things that I remember when think back to April 16th, 2007. I was a junior at Virginia Tech, only a month removed from summer vacation and what would be my final tour as a student in beautiful Blacksburg, Virginia.

I had somewhat coasted through the better part of the first three years (after a rocky first semester) enjoying parties here and there, playing my fair share of video games and procrastinating on plenty of political science papers. College was something that I learned how to manage very well, but I had never taken enough time to sit back and really think about how much the experience had given me to that point. Like every other college guy, I was concerned about the next exam, whether or not I was going to see my long-distance girlfriend that weekend, or if mom was going to send along that check I needed to pay for my groceries. I never stopped to think about the great things I had learned in my classes, about how many wonderful friends I had made, or just how fondly I would look back on this sleepy town after my days at Tech were numbered.

Sometimes life gives you unavoidable reasons to stop and appreciate how truly blessed you are.

I woke up on Monday, April 16th at around 8:45. I had a 9:05 class in Squires, but I had slept in a little too late and asked a friend to take notes for me that day. That was Bud Robertson's Civil War and Reconstruction class...one of the best classes I've ever taken. I never should have skipped, but I did on that morning. I was pledging KKPsi at the time and had a bunch of things to do on campus, so I still decided that I would get dressed and ready to head over a little while later. Like every other day, I rolled out of bed and over to my desk to check my email. At that point I had been sent an e-mail informing students there was a shooting incident at West AJ. Needless to say, it was a pretty easy decision to crawl back into bed. However, my curiosity was peaked and I turned on the local news (which I NEVER did while I was an undergrad) only to find that they were filming from campus, and that a second wave of shooting had started. As soon as I realized what was going on, I felt sick to my stomach. I picked up the phone and managed to get hold of my mom and girlfriend to let them know I was safe. I wouldn't be able to dial out for the next four hours or so, so I was extremely fortunate to be able to reach them so they didn't worry.

I managed to track down most of my friends via text or instant messenger, so I spent the rest of the day in bed, watching in horror as my classmates fled from second-story windows and others sat in lockdown next door. I lost my composure more than once when they continued to announce the rising number of casualties, but it was like a drug. I had to be connected to what was going on, even sitting in my Pheasant Run townhouse two miles away. It was absolutely draining to watch that coverage. I didn't even feel up to going to convocation the following day, so I sat in my room at watched it on television as I cried. In fact, it felt like I didn't turn the news off until NBC released Cho's images on Wednesday afternoon. I've never felt so disgusted in my life as I was when I shut the TV off that afternoon.

After everything was all said and done, none of my closest friends were injured or killed in the shootings, so I can consider myself to be somewhat fortunate. However, I had a direct link with two victims: Mary Read, who was in my section in band, and Ryan Clark, with whom I shared several mutual friends. I would later come to find out that at least ten of the victims were in my World Politics and Economy class, which was both shocking and saddening, considering how little I knew about them.

In the following week, classes were cancelled and we were given the option to take the rest of the semester off if necessary. Almost all of my friends decided to go home and spend time with loved ones, but I felt compelled to stay. Something was telling me that I needed to be in Blacksburg and that it would help me heal, and it did. That week was the quietest one I spent on campus. My girlfriend came down and visited from JMU and my best friend stayed in town as well. We relaxed and watched TV, went to the movies and took some nice walks around campus. The weather was beautiful and the air was refreshing. It was at this point when I realized just how wonderful it was to live in Blacksburg. As the media began to subside and the students filed back onto campus in the coming weeks, it was amazing to see just how happy everyone was to be on campus and to enjoy one another's company. It was amazing to walk around and see the outpouring of support and love from other universities and even arch-rivals in our time of need. I've never received so many phone calls and messages reminding me how happy people were that I was alive and well. It was pretty surreal.

More than anything, I think of one moment following the events of April 16th. The following evening, the students organized a candlelight vigil on the drillfield to honor our fallen classmates and colleagues. The crowd was much bigger than I had anticipated, taking up a third of the entire field. As people turned to light each other's candles, you could see the pain and anguish on some faces, and confusion paired with sadness on others. People sobbed and hugged as we all held up our candles to the dying daylight and the sound of taps. Then something incredible happened. Off on the side somewhere, a single voice rang out with "LET'S GO!"

The Pavlovian response for any student at Virginia Tech is to follow that up with a resounding "HOKIES!" Describing this response as resounding doesn't do it a bit of justice. The crowd responded with full emotion, louder than I think I've ever even heard on a game day in Lane Stadium. The chant was nothing short of goose bump-inducing. I cried out with everyone else, over-and-over for several minutes until the chant finally settled down. With each yell, it felt like a release and a blow back against the violence we had all witnessed the day before. Our collective will would not be broken by one man's senseless acts. We would respond with energy and rejuvenation in honor of those thirty-two people that had lost their lives. We felt that that's how they would have wanted us to react, so it was only proper.

Let's go Hokies indeed.

For those of us that were around during those tragic events, and for Hokies past, present and future, April 16th will always carry heavy meaning in our hearts. This day is a reminder that life is fragile and can be taken from us at a moment's notice. This day affords us the opportunity to reach out to our fellow Hokies, relatives and loved-ones just to tell them we love them and they matter to us. But more than that, it inspires us to do better...to be better people. It calls for us to live life to the fullest and honor those we lost on that day.

Today, I urge you all to acknowledge today in whatever way you see fit. Personally, I will take the opportunity to appreciate the good things I enjoy in life but often overlook: my wife, my dog, my job, my students, my friends and family. On that day, I was reminded that all things in life are precious and not to be taken for granted. If there is anything I ask of you, my fellow Hokies, it's to remember that as well.