Tailgating

I finished a stretch of major tests Thursday evening when I took my Engineering Exploration test and was anticipating some rest and relaxation this weekend, something that I have not had much of since arriving here at Tech. Not that I was going to go too many hours without working on school work, I did look forward to some pre-game festivities. Maybe one of these days I will actually win a ticket in the lottery and attend a home game, but for now, tailgating and possibly watching all of the Virginia Tech – Miami game on TV would suffice. I have just returned from two tailgates and feel refreshed enough to tackle some more chemistry and linear algebra homework.

The heavy rain and lack of an umbrella did not deter me from attending tailgate parties. The first was hosted by the Galileo Program, which I am a member. It was nice hanging out with students from my engineering classes and being able to just talk in a relaxed environment. During the school week, everybody is busy. The tailgate party was inside Lee hall on the 2nd floor in the lounge. It was originally going to be outside, but the weather convinced those who were organizing it to change the location. I was one of the first people to arrive, so I got there before the lines got too long for food. They served hamburgers and hotdogs cooked on the stove. The food was all pretty good and I had a great time hanging out with other people in Galileo.

The second tailgate party was hosted by a VT alumni group from northern Virginia, where I am from. What a small world! This past June, at my friend from high school and now college roommate’s graduation party, another guest recognized my father’s name as being pretty famous in the internet community upon introduction. This man, Mr. Bowman, is a neighbor of my friend/roommate and is working in the same field that my father is nationally known, Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). It is a specialized area that many people have not heard of, so it’s a small world that this man knew of my father. At that party, Mr. Bowman told me how he and some of his Tech friends travel to Blacksburg for home games and that they like to host tailgating parties. He encouraged me to visit his group this fall, which I did for the first time today. I am glad that I went. The VT alumni group had a spectacular assortment of food. I love D2 but still miss home cooking. This group also had hamburgers and hot dogs, but an assortment of other foods as well. The tastiest item there was the homemade sausage, especially the jalapeno filled ones. They also provided an assortment of desserts, including my favorite, brownies. It was pouring down rain all around us and I was wet and chilly from the walk, but we stood under the canopy and talked and ate until full.

I think that it is interesting how at an early summer party, someone recognized my father and then became interested in me when he learned that I was going to attend Virginia Tech. I am far from home and it was nice meeting alumni from my area. Now that I have met more people, I will feel comfortable participating in social and volunteer activities during winter breaks and the summers when I am at home. For such a huge school, Virginia Tech alumni seem like a very close group. And they are definitely proud of their football team! I look forward to the day when I can attend a live VT game myself. I have entered the lottery to win tickets for every game so far, but have not had any luck as of now. I know a few people who have acquired tickets to every home game so far. Most of my friends who are attending games buy the tickets themselves, as opposed to waiting until they win one in the lottery, and have even paid well over $100 for a ticket. I was surprised that there weren’t more people giving away tickets to the Miami game today because of the rain. Just from being outside, even sheltered under a canopy, I still got soaked and was somewhat cold. Several people on my hall who were attending the game came back at half time because it was getting so cold and they were afraid of getting sick. But for the majority of the Hokies I saw, nothing would deter them from tailgating or game attendance. Now that’s school spirit!