Late last Friday night I waited at the bus stop and watched a stream of first years pour out of new dorms and walk toward me. I received many a strange look, but what else could be expected? The majority of them were headed out to parties on Rugby Road, and I stood there with a backpack and pillow.
No, I wasn't planning on staying the night at a frat house. I was about to spend 24-plus hours on a bus with 35 other Cavalier Marching Band members as we drove down to Florida State University to support our team in Saturday's game.
I finally made it to Bryant Hall, our designated meeting place, with plenty of time to spare before our planned 12:01 a.m. departure. We were taking two buses down to Tallahassee, one of which was designated the "band bus," while the other would carry Team Cavalier members, who had joined forces with the band in order to make this trip possible.
Once everyone had arrived, we boarded the buses only to discover that they were, as co-drum major Woody Wingfield put it, quite "cozy."
After stuffing our belongings either under or above the seats, and ourselves into them, it was finally time to set out for Florida.
How does one pass the time on a 12-hour bus trip? The most logical answer would be to catch a few z's, but we didn't accomplish much of that the first night.
"Not a lot of people slept, just because it's been awhile since we've all been crammed on a bus -- kind of like sardines," Wingfield said as he sat in the aisle, squished between the two seats on either side of him in a position that effectively demonstrated his point. "I don't think sardines could sleep under such conditions."
As I tried to get comfortable, my foot grazed my backpack and hit something hard -- a textbook -- reminding me that I had work to do. About that time, someone put "Animal House" into the VCR and, based on the options I was left, I decided to put on my headphones instead.
A couple hours later, around four in the morning and after several attempts at dozing off, still no luck. To amuse myself, I tried to figure out where we were. This made for a game that was both entertaining and frustrating, taking into account the fact that we were on a bus barreling down the highway and I didn't have my contacts in. Despite my inability to confirm it, the bus was making progress to Florida, and the
night hours were passing -- slowly, but passing nonetheless.
Although the bus trip resulted in no rest for the weary, a true Cavalier fan needs no sleep -- right?
After a quick breakfast stop at McDonalds, we settled back into our sardine can to watch a tape of the recent Virginia vs. Clemson game and get pumped up for our game that night.
Early in the afternoon, we finally rolled into Tallahassee. The bus was suddenly alive with movement as we peered out the windows and grabbed for our own versions of appropriate game attire -- orange T-shirts for some and more dressy apparel for others.
Despite the close quarters, most of us managed to change clothes right where we were (in band, it's one thing you get accustomed to very quickly). By the time our bus pulled into the parking lot, we were able to unload fairly quickly, grabbing our ticket and orange pom-poms as we stepped out into the warm Florida sunshine.
We arrived on FSU's campus at around two in the afternoon, a good four hours before the gates even opened, and the game wasn't scheduled to start until 7:45. Needless to say, we had plenty of time to wander about enemy territory and, of course, be heckled.
What do water balloons, fruit and insults have in common? They're all things that Florida State supporters threw at the Cavalier fans that were in Tallahassee to support the 'Hoos in person.
"They are so mean here," said Matt Funston, a first-year Architecture student as we passed another jeering crowd of Seminoles.
As we walked through an area of dorms, we encountered a group of students who decided to shout "overrated" (one of the more popular anti-Cavalier taunts) at us. "Number six" we yelled back with equal, if not more, fervor.
Despite the unwelcoming FSU fans, we did find a home away from home, per se, with the other Virginia supporters that had set up tailgates, many of which were alumni.
After a long, anticipatory afternoon, we entered the stadium and made the trek up to our seats. Our vocal support began promisingly, with our group of 'Hoos fans chanting "U-V-A" at the top of our lungs, hoping to overpower the Seminoles' cult-like chop, which is quite possibly one of the most obnoxious cheers ever.
Sadly though, as the game reached its upsetting conclusion, we'd heard "the chop" one too many times, and the morale was getting pretty low in our miniature Sea of Orange. Some Cavalier fans sat down, head in hands, some threw down their orange and blue gear in disgust, while others continued screaming as loud as possible.
"If it's any consolation, I brought 'Shrek,'" offered Wingfield, attempting to lighten the mood.
When it was all over, the Seminoles continued their annoying chant, and we did all that there was left to do -- sing the Good Ol' Song.
Then there was no choice but to begin the trip back to our buses, which in reality wasn't much of a walk, but seemed to last a lifetime because we were forced to make our way through a crowd of mocking FSU fans.
"Leaving the stands, there were like six-year-old children just constantly giving us the chop the entire way down and shouting 'overrated,'" said Rachael Beaton, a second-year College student. "That was a little disheartening, but we had pride in U.Va. and walked the entire way back, singing most of the way."
That walk was one that members of the band and Team Cavalier, myself included, won't forget for quite awhile. "I've never heard so many variations of 'you suck,'" Wingfield said.
Back on the bus, I fell asleep quickly this time, exhausted from the day's activities.
Sure, it would have been great to beat the Seminoles, but you can't say the trip was a total loss just because we didn't win. When you're part of a group like the band, or just a group of fellow die-hard Cavalier fans, it's hard not to have a good time whenever you go somewhere together.
"I was definitely glad I went to the game," Funston said. "It was too bad that we couldn't pull out a win, but it was a good experience overall."
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