It was peak July — warm and sunny, a beautiful day. Then-rising fourth-year athletic communications intern Chris Messmore was sitting on the bus, ready to travel to his club ultimate frisbee tournament. Chatting with friends, Messmore suddenly felt his phone buzz with a surprising notification.
“Hey, are you still in town this summer?” it read.
It was from Virginia Football’s General Manager, Justin Speros.
Messmore replied saying that he was in town, prompting Speros to invite him to try out for the football team. July 23, only a few days later, Messmore got the call that he had made the team.
A few weeks later, Messmore stood on the field at Scott Stadium in front of thousands of fans ready to kick his first career extra point. As the ball went through the uprights, he celebrated with his teammates, putting Virginia up 59-3 over Norfolk State. The moment felt straight out of a movie, a testament to how one can live out their wildest of dreams — but in all actuality, the journey to that extra point was a lot more complicated.
Messmore was not randomly selected to become a part of the Cavaliers — kicking had been a part of his life long before. Messmore played soccer and football throughout high school, and was highly accomplished in both. In football, he not only received First Team All-State honors as a junior and senior, but was named the Bishop Brady High School's Special Teams Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023. Messmore went on to receive football offers from several schools, but his senior year he decided it was time to make a hard decision.
“I wanted to kick in college and knew I wanted to pursue that as a dream, [but] once I got into U.Va., compared to the schools that I got [into] for football … it [was] just an absolute no-brainer,” Messmore said. “[I was] like, ‘All right now, time to be a man, time to get a degree and be an adult.’”
So, Messmore gave up that dream and began pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree. However, he just could not stay away from sports.
He began his first year cold calling and emailing different communications offices across the University in the hopes that someone would give him a chance to stay around college athletics. Eventually, he found the right person’s office and was given a job his first year from Assistant Athletic Communications Director Patrick Boling, the Sports Information Director for football and lacrosse.
Although he thought he would be sitting courtside at games, Messmore instead started by doing the standard intern grunt work — transcribing podcasts and crunching numbers. But over his first and second years at the University, he started to build his reputation and Boling’s trust by doing game statistics and interviews with players.
“[Boling] started letting me come to away games and … go to all these cool bowl games,” Messmore said. “Last year was a really cool year … I got to go to March Madness for basketball, [and the] ACC basketball tournament.”
But being this close to Virginia sports was not enough — Messmore still had an itch for more. What was the way to scratch it? Attempting to walk on the football team as an incoming second-year.
Messmore had a great kicking day and walked out of the tryout feeling good about his performance. Still, the team did not need another kicker, so they cut Messmore.
“[They] said, ‘It’s good to know we have a kicker on Grounds … if something terrible goes wrong, we’ll call you. So just be ready,’” Messmore said. “I kind of took that as, like, they're gently letting me down … And I kept running into that same guy, now my coach, in the press box at all these games. It was kind of awkward, like ‘Good to see you, you cut me.’”
Messmore continued working his way up in Boling’s office. However, he still found time to kick, going out once or twice a month on Mad Bowl to kick into their uprights — mostly for fun, and partially out of the hope that maybe he really would get the call.
So on that warm day in July before his fourth year when Speros texted him, it was a couple years in the making. Just like he had been told a couple years prior, Messmore stayed ready — something that paid off when he had his first career point against Norfolk State.
“I remember a couple frames of it, but I think survival instinct and just the routine kicked in — like this is what I'm supposed to do,” Messmore said. “Once I looked up and saw that I hadn't shanked it and that it had gone down the middle, [it was] just pure ecstasy … I was trying to play it cool on camera, but I was geeking out.”
Messmore was not the only person celebrating after the kick — his friends up in the press box were jumping up and down with him.
“There may have been some cheering in the press box,” Boling said. “Not generally socially acceptable etiquette in the press box, but I think we kind of made an exception for that circumstance … It was a really cool moment and one that I'm proud to have played a small role in behind the scenes and have been able to witness.”
Messmore’s journey with the Athletic Communications office is not over. The fourth-year plans to return for one last semester in the spring if Boling lets him. Despite the excitement of being on the field, Messmore also finds himself missing the birds-eye view of the press box. More than that, he said he misses the work he was able to do.
“I look back fondly on those memories,” Messmore said. “Getting to stay late after games and research all the notes because I really did have a passion for finding those little tidbits and those little nuggets of information.”
But for now, Messmore is dedicated to the team and getting to spend time with his new teammates.
The same guys he spent the past three years watching are now friends. He is no longer the interviewer, but is now the one at the microphone. Instead of jotting down stats, he now has his own section in the book. Messmore is living proof that sometimes, dreams really do come true.
Read More
On Homecomings Weekend, the Cardiac Cavaliers return in triumph over Syracuse
By Theo Moll | 3 hours agoDown big early on, the Cavaliers were never daunted. The Virginia offense battled back throughout the second half, while the defense held on just enough to secure a victory over the visiting Orange.
Curzan shines yet again in Virginia’s second CSL victory, clinching championship berth
By Lauren Halak | 15 hours agoThe Cavaliers became the first to clinch one of four spots in the championship meet Nov. 6. On top of Williamson and Curzan’s outstanding performances, Virginia combined to win 13 individual races in addition to a relay, Skins event and Super Skins relay.
No. 15 Virginia field hockey fails to capitalize on shots, falls 4-1 to Boston College
By Adair Reid | 15 hours agoThe No. 15 Cavaliers (6-5, 2-4 ACC) were back on the road facing Boston College after a win and loss against Stanford and Cal at home, and odds of victory seemed promising against a team who had yet to win a single conference match. But Virginia would leave the field Friday night suffering another upset, this time 4-1, with failures to capitalize on scoring opportunities, struggles to connect to the circle and a flurry of cards responsible.
