Aaron McFarling

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• Monday: Hokies finally get one to fall; Threats from jail; Warming up pitching arms and engines

"What I don't want to happen is the Hokie Nation get in a panic. Because nobody's panicking." -- Virginia Tech assistant athletic director Tom Gabbard, July 5, 2005.

Well, Tom, maybe not nobody. That guy who called the newspaper the other day seemed pretty close. Said he heard the Lane Stadium project hit a snag and could be delayed a year.

A year?

But we've got games to play before then, don't we?

And then there was that "concerned citizen" who phoned in a rumor he'd heard. Something about Lane Stadium's girders needing to be replaced. Something about a "major delay" in construction.

Girders replaced?

Major delay?

Umm ... Tom?

"I don't know what they mean by delay," Gabbard said. "If they mean that the stadium isn't going to be done on [contracted date] Aug. 8, then they're probably pretty close to right, although it's too soon to tell.

"If they think for a minute that the stadium won't be done by opening day, then there is no indication at all that that's going to happen."

Whew. That's a relief. Because the Hokies are supposed to be pretty good this year, and, well, it'd be nice if they had a stadium to play in by Sept. 17, when they host Ohio in their first home game.

The public's questions are understandable. People drive by the stadium on a hot July day, check out that gaping hole right smack dab in the middle of the structure and immediately think, "No way they're finishing that thing in time."

Gabbard gets that. And he admits he has daily concerns that some unforeseen problem could arise that would disrupt the mad dash toward completion. But concern should be expected when you're overseeing the most costly capital undertaking in campus history, a $52.5 million project to upgrade Lane's west side, and thousands of rabid Tech fans are counting down to kickoff.

But Gabbard has something we drive-by analysts don't -- information. He's getting weekly detailed updates of the stadium's progress and constant assurances from the contractor, Turner Construction Sports, that the project will be done in time for the season.

There were some steel-detailing delays over the winter. (I'd love to explain to you exactly what that means, but Bob Vila I ain't. And Gabbard's explanation, though clearly demonstrating his deep knowledge of the subject, sounded like it was spoken in Swahili.) Gabbard said the crew quickly made up most of that lost time. Other than normal weather issues, Gabbard said there have been no recent hang-ups. All the necessary materials are on site, he said.

Because workers are indeed a little behind, some of the landscaping and other minor details might get put off. But the major stuff -- including the new luxury suites -- should be completed, he said.

"This is probably the 100th football stadium these folks have done," Gabbard said of Turner Construction. "If they say we're going to make it, I don't have any reason to believe otherwise."

Forgive us, though, Tom. A lot of us live around Roanoke. In this town, if someone tells you they're going to improve a stadium -- especially if they say it's going to be done quickly -- you roll your eyes and choke back a laugh.

But seriously, does this situation sound familiar to anybody? What we have here in Blacksburg is a smaller-scale version of the Athens Olympics. Delays occur. People say it won't be done it time. Builders say it will. People hold their breath. Builders scramble.

The Hokies can only hope their situation turns out as well as Athens did. For now, though, perhaps we should all give Tom a break.

"I can't go to a fast-food restaurant or anywhere where people know who I am without somebody saying, 'Are we going to make it? Are we going to make it?' " Gabbard said. "And of course, my response is, 'Well, we have to make it. We don't really have a choice.' "

There's one word to describe what would happen if they don't.

Begins with a "p," ends with a "c."

But the Nation needn't spell the rest just yet.