Friday, October 13, 2006
Sports columnist Aaron McFarling: Tech's once blue-collar attitude gone
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- ESPN cameras caught it all, every fumble, every interception, every personal foul, every embarrassing bit.
There were Virginia Tech's defensive players, including leaders Aaron Rouse and Vince Hall, pointing at each other and bickering after giving up the final touchdown. Later, inexplicably, there was linebacker Brenden Hill swaying as the band played "Sweet Caroline."
Umm ... Brenden? You're down 20-3 in the fourth quarter. If you're going to do that, you might want to move somewhere where Kirk and the gang can't circle you with a Telestrator.
But that's the thing about Thursday night games: Everything's right there, for everyone to see. For 11 straight Thursday night outings prior to this one, that's meant great things for Tech -- great exposure, no doubt a boost to recruiting.
The Hokies had better hope every recruit in the country had a hot date on this night and a broken TiVo back at home.
The final score -- Boston College 22, Tech 3 -- was not as important as the stage. The Hokies had an opportunity here, a chance to show everyone that things have changed, that they may have holes on their roster but would still fight and claw and win or lose with poise.
Instead, they took turns looking inept and out of control. They grabbed face masks, blew coverages, fumbled, flailed and flopped.
Game time approached with news of another arrest and suspension, Tech's third this season. And before it had ended, one of those who had been previously arrested and suspended had been flagged for a late hit.
All of the trouble prompted ESPN color analyst Kirk Herbstreit to rip into the Hokies, saying they've replaced their coveted lunch-pail attitude with a me-first bravado. This is something others have said before, but it matters more when it comes from Herbstreit. For the younger generation, he is one of the preeminent voices of college football, not some shock jock spewing hate for ratings.
But one man's opinion -- influential as it is -- isn't the only problem. The game's result, coupled with the loss to Georgia Tech on Sept. 30, confirmed what many had feared early on -- that Tech is in serious trouble.
The offense, centered around short passes, could not produce any big plays. The defense, while stingier than it was against Georgia Tech, lost receivers in the secondary too often and was lucky to keep the Hokies in the game early. Quarterback Sean Glennon was fortunate he wasn't seriously injured with all the booming hits he took.
In all, Tech could do nothing to take the crowd out of the game -- and we're not talking about the most hostile of environments here.
There's a reason Tech had won five straight games at Alumni Stadium. They post hockey scores on the big screen during commercial breaks. The big story on the local sports talk shows a couple hours before the game was that the Patriots signed a lineman.
The centerpiece in the Boston Globe was about the baseball playoffs.
And oh, by the way, Boston College was set to play a ranked team on national television.
This is nothing against BC, a fine program that Tom O'Brien has turned into a consistent winner, but the fact remains that this is a place you can steal one. Even better, you can steal one under the lights, put on a show for the skeptical college football world.
The skeptics have the floor now. Kirk led the way. You can bet many will follow.
