Nov. 29, 2003. Virginia 35, Virginia Tech 21.
That day five years ago is the last time the Hoos bested the Hokies in football. That day is separated from this one by 1,831 and one-fourth days (yay leap years).
What were you doing Nov. 29, 2003? For me, it was two weeks after my 16th birthday; it would be another three months before I even got my driver’s license. For most of you graduating this year, it was your junior year of high school.
President-elect Barack Obama was then Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, still 3.5 months from winning the Democratic primary for his U.S. Senate seat. U.S. Senator-elect Mark Warner was still governor of the commonwealth, and Congressman-elect Tom Perriello had just finished helping to depose an African dictator.
Topping the Billboard charts was “Baby Boy,” by Beyoncé featuring Sean Paul, and “Bad Santa” — starring Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac and the late John Ritter — had just opened in theaters across the country. Unfortunately, I’ve heard the first; thankfully, I’ve never seen the second.
Prominent in the news that week were President Bush’s surprise Thanksgiving visit to troops in Iraq, the relaunching of the USS Cole after completion of repairs and the resignation of Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze. OK, that last one wasn’t all that prominent, but hey, it happened.
In 1,831.25 days, you could have climbed Mt. Everest 26 times. You could have circumnavigated the globe, following the same timeline and itinerary as Ferdinand Magellan — and have two years to spare. If you were able to maintain Andy Green’s world land-speed record of 763 mph the entire time, you’d have logged enough miles to go around the equator 1,346 times — though you probably would have had to stop for gas.
Since Nov. 29, 2003, 10 teams have beaten the Hokies, including Boston College thrice, and Miami and Florida State two times each. Because Tech joined the ACC in 2004, we have never beaten the Hokies in football when a conference game was on the line.
The same story doesn’t translate to almost any of Virginia’s other sports. Besides a 13-6 edge in softball, Virginia Tech trails in every other sport. In women’s soccer, the maroon and orange were 0-5 until this year’s two close upsets, and in baseball, the Hokies have managed to post a big, whopping goose egg, going 0-10 on the diamond. And they don’t even have men’s lacrosse, so I guess that’s Them 0, Us Infinity.
But perhaps it’s the talent to blame. Surely with such a streak of on-field success, the better players have always won out. They were just plain better, so there’s no reason to complain.
In the NFL Drafts from 2004 — to include those who played in the 2003 Virginia victory — to 2008, Hoos have been picked in the first round four times. Only three Hokie players have been picked during that same span. DeAngelo Hall went at No. 8 in the 2004 draft, the highest position of any Tech player during those five drafts. Virginia’s D’Brickashaw Ferguson was No. 4 in 2006, and super-freak Chris Long was this year’s No. 2.
Aside from the headliners, the average draft data sorts out about the same. Of the 28 Tech players taken, the average draft round was early fourth, the average pick 122nd. For the 18 Cavaliers, the round was the same, the average pick only 10 spots lower.
If it isn’t the players, what about the coaches? That may well be one source of the problem. For Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, he’s had the same two coordinators for several years: Bryan Stinespring on offense and Bud Foster on defense. Both were there, in those positions, in 2003, and both are still there today.
Here in Charlottesville, however, we’ve faced a coaching carousel. In 2003, Ron Prince was the offensive coordinator, and Al Golden ran the defense. Both left in 2005, handing the offensive reins to Mike Groh and the defensive controls to Mike London. London then took his current position at the University of Richmond, and Bob Pruett stepped into his role. Four new coaches, versus Tech’s status quo.
Whatever the reasons, we’ve got to do something, and fast. Our next shot might come as soon as 2,171.5 days since the last win. All of us have a relative or co-worker or, God forbid, a boss who roots for Tech, and it would be really great if after all that time, they’d finally shut up.
Two straight classes of Virginia graduates will have never seen a Cavalier victory against the Hokies during their undergraduate years. Rivalries are supposed to have some back-and-forth. Pretty soon, this will just become ritualistic flagellation.
So, whoever out there can hear this, take the lessons of this year to heart. Call it the Wildhoo, the Hoocat, whatever, just use somebody who can make it work again next year. We had Tech on the ropes. Next year, let’s finish the job. Fingers crossed, it’ll happen before my 13-year-old cousin is old enough to celebrate with a beer.
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