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Hokie football players take the field after a ceremony honoring the victims of the shootings as well as their families, the wounded and first responders at Norris Hall.
Tears well in the eyes of a member of the Virginia Tech drill team during a moment of silence for the 32 victims of last spring's shootings. The event before yesterday's home football game gave the Tech community a chance to unify. |
BY JIM McCONNELL
BLACKSBURG--Other than the ominous clouds hanging overhead, the scene outside Lane Stadium yesterday morning looked just like so many other fall Saturdays on the Virginia Tech campus: music playing, people smiling and sharing stories, boys tossing footballs with their dads and grill smoke mingling with the thin mountain air.
The Hokies' season-opener against East Carolina wasn't just another football game, though.
It was another small step in the healing process for a university that had its innocence ripped away in a hail of gunfire less than five months ago.
"I've talked to some alumni today and they're still sad about what happened, but there's a lot of hope that Virginia Tech will heal, too," Virginia Tech junior Kyle Knight said, taking in the tailgating scene from a parking lot behind the stadium.
For many former Hokies, the start of the 2007 football season marked the first time they had been to the campus since the April massacre that claimed 32 lives. They came yesterday to cheer for their beloved team, but also to pay tribute to those who perished in the nation's worst mass shooting.
"I've looked forward to this day for a couple months," said Andrew Carle, a Blacksburg resident who bought season tickets for the first time this year.
"It's a real community thing, being able to celebrate and share the emotion with your peers. Just looking at the crowd over at "GameDay" shows that."
ESPN broadcast its popular pregame show live from Virginia Tech. Thousands of fans turned out for the show's first hour, which was filmed on a soccer/lacrosse field adjacent to Lane Stadium. The second hour was broadcast from a stage inside the stadium, allowing viewers across the nation to watch as the university honored the April 16 victims in a moving pregame ceremony.
Unlike on a normal Saturday, when many tailgaters linger in the parking lot right up to game time, there wasn't an empty seat in the house when the ceremony began with a moment of silence 20 minutes before the opening kickoff.
The ceremony concluded with a video tribute set to "Walk Humbly Son" by Eddie from Ohio, whose lead singer, Julie Murphy Wells, is a Virginia Tech alumna. Virginia Tech's cheerleaders then released 32 orange balloons to thunderous applause.
"It was a great atmosphere in there. I thought people were saying, 'We care about each other and we're stronger than ever,'" Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said.
While the Hokies sent their fans home happy after a 17-7 victory, yesterday's game was significant for much bigger reasons.
"It was important to play this game," Virginia Tech freshman Nick Lockhart said, "so we can start getting back to normal."
Jim McConnell: 540/374-5444
