The question: if you could travel in a time machine and attend any game in Tech sports history, what game would it be, and why?

I received over 80 votes (sometimes there were multiple votes per answer), and the answers, as you can imagine, varied widely. Our old favorites, the 1995 Sugar Bowl and the 1995 UVa game, were there, of course, as well as a veritable "who’s who" of great Hokie sports moments.

But hidden amongst the usual suspects were some interesting choices. Perhaps the most interesting choice is this: out of the 80+ responses, a whopping three chose the 1998 football debacle against Temple (and yes, you better believe I’m reprinting all three emails in this article).

The top three are no surprise. I have found in my time here at HokieCentral that when it comes to great moments, the Sugar Bowl, the 1995 UVa game, and the 1973 NIT are in a class by themselves.

Beyond that, and beyond the games shown in the table, many of you took the opportunity to recycle some great, yet perhaps more obscure, Virginia Tech sports moments. And your reasons for wanting to relive certain games are as varied as the games themselves.

I didn’t copy every email I received into this article, because many of the responses were one-liners, or they didn’t have much to say. But I did print about half of your responses here, and it makes for interesting - and often educational - reading.

A few words before we begin:

1. I copied many of the responses verbatim without editing, so the spelling and grammar will sometimes get rough.
2. This is a long article. I have subdivided it into sections, so take your time reading it, and if you have to do it in more than one sitting, you should be able to pick up where you left off fairly easily.
3. I printed the HokieCentral member’s name or alias first, then their response. Responses are separated by a horizontal line.
4. Only one of you picked the same game as I, and I saved that one for next-to-last, so stick around for the end of the article. It won’t set your hair on fire or anything, but my response is a little off the beaten path (but I’ll tell you right off the bat, I didn’t pick last year’s Temple game - sheesh!).
5. As I like to do with these things, I have saved my favorite submission for last, so be sure to read it.

The Sugar Bowl is the stuff of Hokie legend. Combine arguably the biggest win in the history of Hokie football with the magic of New Orleans, and you’ve got an experience that many Hokies will never forget, and many would like to relive.

Of course, many of you who want to relive it weren’t even there in the first place, and that’s precisely why you want another chance…

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HokieCentral member: VTVTVT

Without a doubt it would have to be the Sugar Bowl. I had to watch the game on TV from Columbus because my inconsiderate sister got married the day before. I imagine that the atmosphere at the Superdome and on Bourbon Street after the game just couldn't be beaten (except for a similar experience after the upcoming season). The Hokies broke open a close game against a favored opponent and dominated the action in the highest profile game in the history of the program. It doesn't get any better than that unless there are National Title implications.

The finals of the 1973 NIT run would be my second choice. That occurred before I enrolled at Tech in the fall of 1974. My only real exposure to that is from an LP that was put together called "NITty Gritty Virginia Tech." Yes, it was a vinyl disk to be played on a record player-do you know what those were? Sort of like an 8 track player but for your room and not your car.

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HokieCentral member: Baltimore Hokie

This is an easy one - Sugar Bowl 1995. Before then, bowl trips were pretty easy, since I was unattached and living alone. But I had moved in with my girlfriend and her two kids, which made bowl travel really difficult. I didn't try very hard to work out travel arrangements, settling instead for a trip to WV to watch it on TV with my high school chums. In case any of you didn't realize this, WE WON THE GAME, the biggest win of VT history. The next day we drove back to Baltimore via I-81, and when I stopped for gas I picked up a copy of the Roanoke Times. There is was - color photos of the team after the victory, Hokies taking over Bourbon Street, etc. It hit me that I had missed one of the greatest events in Hokie history, something that I would regret forever. So now I'm holding out for a National Championship game, the only thing in my mind that would replace the Sugar Bowl victory.

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HokieCentral member: A. B.

I would attend the Sugar Bowl. A group of us were watching at a friend's house and it looked glum .....down 10-0 close to the end of the first half ....when "the punt return" occurred. I was standing and cheering in front of this large TV set. I turned to all the others and proclaimed. "We just won this game!" Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. But I continued, "As bad as we have been playing and being down only 3 points, we won't play two lousy halfs in a row. We are going to win". What a game!!

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HokieCentral member: HotTubHokie

Undoubtedly, the 1995 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The opportunity to attend this event was one which was presented at the last minute and I took a "What the hell, why not?" attitude. Boy, am I glad I went!

Prior to this, I was a half-baked Hokie. Over the course of the previous ten years, I attended perhaps 5 football games (total) and scarcely kept up with Tech sports or events. Since "The Sugar" I have been a season ticket holder and a Silver Hokie. This game was a watershed event and still provides the fondest of memories. It reminded me of how it feels to be a Hokie.

Long before Tech won the Sugar Bowl, there was the 1973 NIT. An unknown Tech basketball team that was described as "too white and too slow" took New York by storm and captured the NIT title by winning four games by a total of five points. This was back when the NIT was big-time, and to cap it all off, Tech won the game on St. Patrick’s Day over none other than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

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HokieCentral member: alechokie

No question about it. 1973, Madison square Garden, Sell-out crowd, St. Patrick's and we upset the Irish...National TV( #1 announcing crew) ...we had won the previous 3 games by a total of 4 points during this NIT ( The NIT meant a lot in 73') Bristow, Lieder, Charlie Thomas( MR. D), Bobby Stevens, Calvin Wade and many others. What a team, what a game and what vivid memories. I could go on and on. I was 12 years old at the time and thought we won the super Bowl.

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HokieCentral member: Fleshmant

I would really enjoy going back to see the 1973 NIT championship game. It was the only game in that series I was able to see, and in fact it was the only game I could even hear. I was on a spring track team trip (to Clemson, SC) and most of the tourney was played while we were always from the friendly confines of the state of VA, and the Tech radio network. I can recall several of us sitting on top of the old gym on the Clemson campus, with a AM radio pressed to our ears (volume wide open) hoping to just be able to catch the scores of the prelim games. We had to take turns listening, as the static was deafening after several minutes. I was at home on the Sunday the final game was played and left to return to Blacksburg right after the game ended. I had driven only a few miles before I was overcome with the emotion of the event, and had to pull over as tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. What an event, what a day, what a run, what a victory! I would go back at any age to relive that day!

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HokieCentral member: farmville hokie

I would go back to the 1973 NIT. I was a member of the Highty Tighties then and was able to attend every game. Not only were the games exciting but we were in New York!!!

The big thing though was the feeling of family between all the Hokie players, cheerleaders and band. After every game we celebrated because we didn't expect to win another game.

I particularly remember sitting at the Garden for the semi-finals. We had just beaten Alabama and were waiting for the UNC - Notre Dame game. A couple of the ND cheerleaders came over to ask if we could play "THE fight song". We responded "Tech Triumph? You bet". For the championship game ND went out and rented a local high school band to play.

Also I remember following every victory you would pick up the newspapers and only see pictures of our cheerleaders. You see their uniforms were tight white body suits, orange shorts and knee high orange boots. They were the talk of the town.

To win 4 games by 5 points and be told we were too short, too white and too Virginian was awesome. Remember in 1973 only 24 teams were invited to the NCAA tournament. So we were in reality #25 that year. Not bad.

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HokieCentral member: VB Hokie

Boy, is this ever tough! However, having experienced all of the moments you mention above (and more), my most exhilarating moment was, indeed, the NIT title game of 1973. As a brief reminder for younger Hokies, the NIT then was very high profile. The NCAA tournament only took 32 teams and only one team was allowed from many conferences (ONLY the ACC tournament champion could go in those days. Thus, an undefeated regular season South Carolina squad got left out in 1970).

Anyway, I was a freshman at Tech, at home on spring break, and my brother was in New York with the Tech cheerleaders (he was a senior and head cheerleader). My parents and I had watched one incredible game after another all week and were unprepared for one razor thin victory after another.. But to beat a Notre Dame team with the likes of John Shumate on a last second shot, IN OVERTIME, was nearly too much to handle. We went nuts, Tech went nuts, and, in fact, most of the state of Virginia went nuts. (DSU basketball was just beginning to grow. Barry Parkhill had raised the bar in 1972 but it wasn't until Ralph in the early 80's that they were consistently winners and gathered a substantial state following).

If the Sugar Bowl was the culmination of a great football season, then this game was the perfect setup. A classic comeback, a last-minute victory over a heated rival, the signature game of a great Tech quarterback, and a classic call of the game-winning play by a beloved radio announcer all combine to make this an experience many of you would love to relive again.

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HokieCentral member: Scott McConaghie

It would have to be the 1995 Va Tech v. UVa game at Scott Stadium. I imagine that this will be a pretty popular choice, but I have my own reasons for wanting to see the game. First of all, by girlfriend (now wife) and another couple decided to head down for the game in C-ville. We did not have tickets, but only 2 years before we were able to find some reasonably priced tickets in the parking lot for about $35 a piece. On this day, however, we scoured the parking lot and could not find anything under $80 per ticket. At the time we felt content to stand behind the fence at the top of "The Hill" with our bottle of JD and watch at least half of the game (since we could not see the near side of the field). We figured that worst case we could say we were there and then head home to watch the tape on ye ol' VCR.

As we all know, the game was incredible. During the big comeback in the 4th quarter, we were literally jumping up and down trying to get a better view of things. Then came the throw to Holmes. We saw the ball in the air, but had to wait for the crowd reaction to know what happened. Then in the final seconds of the game, when Banks had the interception, we decided to storm the gates and rush out onto the field with the rest of the Hokie faithful. The feeling was incredible. We were Sugar Bowl bound!

Everything was great as we headed home later that day on Route 29. Everyone was happy with the victory as we laughed and joked all the way home. This is where the joke stopped. For the first time in his life, yours truly did not set up the VCR correctly. There was no game to watch. We could not experience the greatness of the victory again. We had nothing but the pregame and the 1st quarter on the tape. Then we started to ponder the decision not to pay the extra cash to scalp tickets. Oh well, what's done it done.

I have the 1995 Hokie Highlight tape, which walks through the game in pieces, but man, what I would not give to be in the stands watching the game live, the ENTIRE game. And of course this time I will set up the VCR correctly!!

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HokieCentral member: HokieLawyer

If I could attend any Hokie sporting event again it would be the 1995 VT v. UVa game in Charlottesville. I know many would cite this game, but for me the circumstances of viewing the game make the victory particularly sweet. As you may remember, tickets for that game were virtually impossible to obtain. Fortunately my partner's son was attending UVa at the time so he could buy extra tickets and my wife and I went to Charlottesville for the big game. We soon found out that our tickets were IN THE UVa STUDENT SECTION! Believe me, we were the only two wearing orange and maroon anywhere around.

My wife is from out of state and didn't quite understand the rivalry between the two schools until that day. We had never experienced so much verbal abuse, cursing, threatening, pushing, etc. At one point people started throwing things at us, empty beer cans and the like. So instead of leaving, we decided to fight back. We invented a cheer called "Break Tiki's leg!" and said it over and over and over and over. We even cheered it when we were losing (which was most of the second half).

Once UVa went ahead then we really started hearing the crap from them. I have never, ever, wanted to win a game so bad in my life. You can imagine our delight when Druck pulled it out in the end. Needless to say the UVa student section was dead quiet when we scored to go ahead. Then my wife and I really let them have it. Even though it was no longer relevant to cheer "Break Tiki's leg" after a Tech score, it was the only cheer my wife knew, so we cheered it again. Something special happened that day. Good triumphed over evil and my wife and I lived to tell the tale.

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HokieCentral member: Sandy in Florida

I measure this by how I felt at the time. The NIT win over Notre Dame was the first victory where you could say we reached the national stage. This felt great and was a huge jump forward, back when the NIT was more than it is now. The Peach Bowl victory over NC State was in the same category, particularly since it was the first bowl win. The Sugar Bowl, of course, is the best. However, I did not get to see the UVa game that year because it was not on TV and I was playing golf. I started the first nine thinking we would win -- we had a 14 point lead. I finished the first nine at halftime and we were so far behind I thought we had lost. When I finished the 18, my friend told me we had won and I thought he was kidding. I didn't believe him until I saw the replay on TV.

This is the ultimate -- the greatest team in school history, the greatest season in school history, the last game of the season, against our most hated rival, in their house, to come back and win in the last few seconds, and to top it off, UVa's trainer pulls a boner and tries to tackle our guy, making UVa look like a bunch of fools.

When it comes to football victories over UVa, this one runs a close second behind the 1995 game. In 1990, UVa achieved a #1 ranking, but by the time they dragged themselves into Blacksburg, they were stumbling badly, and a fired-up Tech team put the finishing touches on them, 38-13, before a (then rare) national TV audience on ESPN. The game took place before an insane Lane Stadium crowd of 54,000-plus, which is, to this day, the biggest crowd to see a game in Lane Stadium…at least for now.

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HokieCentral member: Billster

I'd travel back to the 1990 VT-Virginia Football game. Tech wasn't getting many breaks that year (we were the best 5-6 team in the country...I think we were 5-6) but everything fell into place for that game and we took a season of frustration out on UVa.

Lane was electric that night as we destroyed a UVa team ranked at one time at #1 and was Sugar Bowl Bound. Everyone from my hall came back from Thanksgiving to attend the game and we were ready to be the 12th man for our team.

Everyone was standing screaming their heads off and then when it the destruction was complete...it was time to storm the field.

Hanging from the goal posts, ripping them down and carrying them around the field, out the stadium and through the streets, I wish I could do it all over again.

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HokieCentral member: Keith Roberts

This is simple.... The 1990 (I think?) UVa football game when they came in as a "national power". I was one of the many students that was initially denied a ticket because the AD had sold too many tickets to the travelling UVa fans. I guess they didn't think any students would come back early from Thanksgiving break. Anyway, once the AD go smart and put temporary bleachers in the end zone, I scored a ticket. (I also got an editorial in the CT, blasting the school for selling out to the enemy).

And what a game it was. Rout... that's what it was. Total domination. I don't think the Hokies ever finished above .500 while I was there, just a lot of missed expectations. But, man oh man, what a game that was. The image of Nick Cullen sliding into the end zone on a fourth down pass near the end of the first half is blazed in my brain. It was a party from then on. OK, Hokie fans weren't too skilled in tearing down the goalposts, but when had we ever had the chance to do that in recent prior years? If I could go back and relieve that game, those goalposts would have made it ALL the way down and been paraded around the drill field and hoisted above the bar in Arnold's. Who would have thought what good fortunes laid ahead for Coach Beamer and his players.

On a basketball note from the same era.... I think it was the last game of the 89-90 season. I know it was against Memphis St. They came in as a heavy favorite at the end of an uneventful season for the Hokies (as Bimbo went, so went the Hokies). Anyway... Tech came out BIG in this one. It was a great game to watch, wondering when we were going to fold. But we never did... It came down to the end, Memphis with the ball. I don't think they could have gone ahead, but I honestly don't remember. It doesn't matter anyway, because a Hokie (Bimbo, perhaps?) stole the ball and fed it down court to a streaking fifth year senior, George Caesar. Time was running out... how would he cap this great win, and cap off his Va Tech career? He could have pulled up and drained one final three as he was known for, but he didn't. He streaked towards the basket... Clock ticking down... 3... 2... (crowd comes to it's feet) George leaps... spins... the clock is at 1 second, going into the decimals... George stretches back over his head with the ball.... DUNK! BZZZZZZZ!!!!!!! I don't think I'd seen him dunk ever before, and he pulled off a spinning reverse slam at the buzzer to cap his career. What a way to go out!

(I researched this in my Tech media guide, and it appears that this game was played in 1964, the year that Sonny Utz and Bob Schweickert were seniors. Tech had beaten FSU in 1963, also, but the Tech media guide lists that as an away game. In the 1964 game, Fred Biletnikoff had 11 receptions for 182 yards, but although FSU was highly ranked, the Hokies won, 20-11.)

This was perhaps Miles Stadium’s finest hour, in its last season (Tech would begin playing in Lane Stadium in 1965). In 1964, a top-ten Florida State team featuring future NFL star receiver Fred Biletnikoff came into Miles and left as losers, 20-11. Those who were there recall the game every bit as fondly as younger Hokie fans recall some of the games listed above … although their memories for the details seem a bit fuzzy at times. One reader even called FSU "Miami," but he mentioned Schweickert and Biletnikoff, so I know he meant this game, and I corrected his email.

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HokieCentral member: Jack Hutcheson

The game is VPI vs. FSU at the old Miles Stadium. Not sure of year, but maybe '63 or '64. Bob Schweickert was quarterback for Tech and FSU had a receiver named Fred Biletnikoff. FSU was a powerhouse and supposed to pass for six zillion yards against us. Didn't happen. Schweickert ran (I think 96 yards, but I'm getting on in years and memory is fading) for a touchdown. FSU was behind by 9 points with little time to go in the game. They marched down the field and Freddie B. (no spelling problems w/ this configuration) caught a TD pass. Then caught a 2 pt conversion pass. TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. In his frustration and defeat, F.B. threw the ball in the stands. This was the first great "win one we shouldn't have" Hokie victory I witnessed in person.

Just thought of another one. When I was a junior in HS, my dad and three or four of his friends went to Chapel Hill to see the Hokies play UNC. Early Dean years. Larry Brown was on the team. I think John Wetzel and company were playing for us. Anyhoo, we defeated the Heels in CH. I remember having a view obstructed seat. Dad had me come sit on the steps beside him. Snooty usher took exception, told me to move, then proceeded to sit on steps. Dad went ballistic. Was booted from the game. Went out one exit and came back in the next. We both were there at the end, making this victory even sweeter! After this defeat, the Carolina fans were calling for Dean's head. He was hung in effigy on campus.

WOW - the memories are flooding back.

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HokieCentral member: Vip in Danville

It would probably be the Tech-Florida State game in the mid-to late 1960's (not sure of the year), where Tech knocked off the top-10-ranked 'Noles. FSU had Fred Biletnikoff at the time. Biletnikoff angrily threw the ball during the tough 10-7 loss. (Note from Will: Tech beat FSU in Blacksburg 10-7 in 1961, not in the 1964 game).

To read the older posters on the board, it sounded like quite a time. Plus, it would give me a chance to see old Miles Field, which I've read so much about.

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HokieCentral member: Ben Owen

In the mid 60's, when I was maybe 13 years old, I went to a Tech/FSU game in the old stadium which is long gone, but was rocking that day. Bob Schweikert and Sunny Utz, the QB and FB that year, were my heros. The Hokies were a good, not great team, but played 'em tough and won, and Fred Biletnikoff threw the ball into the stands in disgust at the end of the game!

When you talk about Tech basketball in the 80’s, and the atmosphere in Cassell Coliseum, one game always comes up: Tech’s 69-56 victory over #1 Memphis State during the 1982-1983 season. Next to the NIT victories, this game was perhaps the pinnacle of achievement in Tech basketball … or at the very least, the most fun 10,000 people have ever had with their clothes on.

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HokieCentral member: Hurmer

My freshman year Memphis state came to town ranked #1 in basketball. I lived right across the street (Lee Hall) from Cassell and didn't go because I did not think the Hokies had a chance. I watched on TV in my dorm room with some buddies and we could hear the cheers in our dorm. I think it ranks with the NIT victory and the '86 Peach Bowl as the most exciting Tech victories of all time.

PS. I never made that mistake again.

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HokieCentral member: Austin Gobbler

Wow - what a question!!

I narrowed it down to three choices (in no particular order):

1) A spring VT baseball game at the old ball field located where the Merryman Center now stands and where I caught a Franklin Stubbs HR ball on the hillside in right center field.

2) The VT Basketball game vs. Memphis State (1985 or 1986?) when MSU was ranked No. 1 in the country and Tech managed the huge upset.

3) The 1995 Sugar Bowl, which my wife (a native Texan and non-Hokie save for by marriage) claims was the happiest day of my life.

Of these 3 though, the one that I would most want to re-live is the B-ball game against Memphis State. I remember clearly how tough it was to get student tix to the big games against foes Louisville and Memphis State. We'd camp out in the Cassell several nights before the student tix were issued, sometimes cutting class to do so. The line for the MSU game wrapped all the way around the inside of Cassell Coliseum for this particular game. I stayed one whole night in the Cassell waiting in line - it was crazy.

The hype had been building that particular season as MSU climbed its way in the AP poll (I don't think that there was but one poll back then). I don't think that MSU had yet climbed to the No. 1 spot when student tix were issued for the game. I remember that I kept hoping that MSU would continue to climb to No.1 by the time the Hokies played them so we'd have a chance of beating the No. 1 team in the country.

I believe that the game was played on a Monday night during my junior or senior year at Tech. I seem to recall that MSU secured its No. 1 ranking the day before Tech played them. Anyway, the game itself was absolutely crazy from the fans' perspective. It was so loud most of the time that my ears rang afterward for more than a day. My throat was so sore from yelling. The whole experience was surreal.

In 1995, reeling at 0-2, the Hokies entertained a Miami football team that was expected to send Tech to 0-3 with a bullet. Instead, their backs against the wall, the Hokies used a powerful running game to shove the ball down Miami’s throat and eke out a 13-7 win that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. Tech would use the win as a springboard to close the season with 10 straight wins, including the Sugar Bowl.

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HokieCentral member: tanman

In '95, after our first two games, I accepted a job as a delivery guy, partly cause I needed the cash, and partly because I thought our season was going down the drain, and I couldn't stand to watch our boys suffer any more. Well, I suffered twice. Once when I realized on a delivery that we had BEAT Miami and I wasn't there to see it, and secondly while I was staring and yelling incredulously at the radio, and accidentally ran my truck straight into a concrete light poll in the Wade's parking lot in town. I guarantee those things don't move. Ouch.

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HokieCentral member: Hokiestud

Without question, I'd go back to the third game of the 1995 football season. We'd just dropped games to Boston College and Cincinnati - both games that we should have won - to start off 0-2. With the infamous Miami Hurricanes coming to town next, things didn't look very promising. So what did the Hokies do? Merely pull a HUGE upset to start a 10-game win streak that would ultimately culminate in our first Big East championship and our first major bowl game appearance, the 1995 Sugar Bowl, where we humbled one of the most storied programs in the land, the Texas Longhorns, 28-10 before a national TV audience.

Believe it or not, Tech’s catastrophic 28-24 loss to lowly Temple in 1998 actually got three votes (you people are freaks - just kidding). Here's what they had to say.

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HokieCentral member: ReciprocalHokie

Of course the biggies in everyone's minds are the MCB, UVa 1995, etc. But I'm gonna surprise the lot of you by choosing the 1998 Temple Football debacle. There are several reasons for choosing this game. The primary reason is that this was the first Hokie sporting event attended by my entire family; wife, son and daughter. Not only did everyone attend but the kids were finally old enough to understand what was going on and, more importantly, big and coordinated enough to toss the ball around and play "kill-the-guy-with-the-ball" with Dad during the tailgate (man I loved that game as a kid).

But there are other reasons as well. The Temple game marked the dawning of my wife's interest in Hokie Football. She was a dyed in the wool Pro Football fan (another Dolphin fan, Will!) until this game and she felt the collective pain of all Hokie fans in attendance. Following this game she was often caught red-handed downloading the scores and reports of subsequent games that she was too "busy" to watch. Besides, THIS time I won't forget to wear my lucky Sugar Bowl T-shirt and we will probably win the game this time ;o)

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HokieCentral member: C.W.

No brainer here, Tech/Temple football game last year..I bet that gets most of the votes.

Note from Will: I think C.W. may have slightly misinterpreted the question - he appears to want to replay the game, not relive it. I’m all for that!

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HokieCentral member: Keydet Hokie

I know this sounds funny, but I would like to go back in time to the 1998 Homecoming Game vs Temple.

The reason? I want to go to it because I don't think it really happened. I read about it, heard stories about, but since I didn't see it, I don't feel there's any way that it actually occurred. I'm serious here.

It's kind of like the rumors you hear about man going to the moon -- you know, it was fake, and all the pictures you saw were done in some Hollywood Studio. Well, I think the same thing happened here. I think somehow, this was a hoax, craftily handled by none other than the two entities that would like to hold VT down -- UVa and ESPN, obviously!!

I figure Lee Corso got together with George Welsh (aka, Mr. Burns from The Simpsons), and put a spell on the fans and/or the players, or kidnapped Frank Beamer and replaced him with the other Frank -- Frankie Allen.

At any rate, I can't put my finger on any one sporting event "win" that I would like to go to -- they're all special. However, I will always remember the 1995 Miami game in Blacksburg when we first spanked the 'canes, starting a 4-year streak of wins against them, where I also met my wife who was in the very next seat. THAT was a great game with great, happy, lasting results!!

I can't say that I have any sporting event memories like that from my alma mater, VMI. That's why I was in Blacksburg every weekend.

There was a time when basketball was king at Virginia Tech, or at least tied with football. The popular thing to do is to talk about the 1980’s and the heyday of the Metro Conference. There is no denying that Cassell Coliseum rocked during the 80’s, but the Hokie tradition of playing before 10,000 screaming fans goes back even further than that.

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HokieCentral member: Curious Hokie

I'm a young Hokie (only 23 and a '97 grad) so my true VT memories are mainly from the '90s. I thought long and hard about this one, and many possibilities came to mind. But if I have to pick one game...

In the NIT run of our beloved Hokies in the 1994-1995 season when we shocked the world and won the NIT championship (yes the year that we were ripped off by the NCAA), in the NIT quarterfinals we played New Mexico State in the Cassell. I knew that NMS was a pretty good team, and real athletic. Since my two roommates were on the team (Jim Jackson and Kelly Mann) and two more great friends (Travis Jackson and Dave Jackson) and not to mention knowing almost all of the team to some extent, I had closely followed the team and even hit the road to see them a few times (not easy to do as a student).

Anyway, I really wanted to see my buddies get their trip to New York and a chance to show the world on ESPN what they were made of and to have a great experience in college basketball. The Cassell was absolutely rocking for that game---it may have been the loudest crowd that I have ever personally experienced at a basketball game. I'm sure that everyone remembers that game, so I won't go into much detail...

So the Hokies had the ball down with not much time at all on the clock. Travis Jackson got the ball in the corner and hits the 3 to win the game as time expires. The place went absolutely crazy. I think that I cried (and I'm not ashamed to admit it either) and we stormed the floor. I stayed away from Travis because he had 6 billion people around him, and I found Kelly, my best friend (that I had known since my junior year in high school when I tried to guard him when our high schools played each other). We found Jim (with his bad back) and Dave and had a group hug. It was just one of those class moments that doesn't come around too often.

And that would be my Hokie experience that I would relive...

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HokieCentral member: HokieDon

Bimbo's last game at the Cassell, against Memphis STATE (they hadn't changed it yet) in 1990 or 1991. Originally, I couldn't make the game, but at the late minute, snagged a front row, under-the-basket ticket right before tip-off.

I'd like to wind the clock back to experience a little bit of what Tech basketball USED to be like. Yes, it was in the Frankie Allen days of doom, but to me, that was the end of an era at Tech. And, as Will has pointed out, we have not really recovered since. The Cassell was loud, the cheers for Bimbo unstoppable, and Bimbo himself led that team to a convincing win. It was truly his day. Oh yeah, and it puts me back on campus, and still in school. I miss THAT too!

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HokieCentral member: Hokie Defense

Although I could easily list the Sugar Bowl and the 1995 UVa football game (I was at both), I am going to go with the 1995 NIT game vs. New Mexico State. The "shot" by Travis Jackson will always ring in my mind that beat NMSU. I remember getting there for the game 2 1/2 hours before tip-off (of course, I did the same thing for the women's game vs. Auburn this past Monday) and hanging out with friends. The game was wild from the time I arrived, as the students were harassing the NMSU players in pre-pre-game warm-ups. I also recall getting sprayed with a 2-liter of Pepsi after TJ made the shot and then rushing the floor to celebrate.

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HokieCentral member: James Dallas Clark

You will have to check into this as to the exact date, but Tech was playing William & Mary in the coliseum, and we were behind 5 points with 5 or less seconds to go. We won. I think it was in 64 or 65. I remember it but I wonder who else does.

(Note from Will: vtsam remembers it. Read on…)

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HokieCentral member: vtsam

The most amazing game I've attended was a William and Mary Basketball game, Cassell, early 1960's, pre 3 point shots, Tech down by 4 when final buzzer sounds. Paul Long had a shot in the air which went in. And there was a foul under the basket leading to John Wetzel getting a 1 and 1. He needed both to get us into overtime. Fortunately it was at home and the hush of the crowd was electric. (By the way this was when the men would fill Cassell, even for W & M.) We win in OT. It was as nerve-wracking as Smittie's NIT FT's, which I was also lucky enough to attend.

While the Sugar Bowl, the 1995 Miami and UVa games, and the 1990 UVa game are etched deep in Hokie football lore, it’s true that there are dozens of other great games and great moments that are a part of Hokie football history. Some of the games happened at Miles Stadium, and some of them happened at Lane Stadium, but they are all part of the rich tapestry of Hokie football.

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HokieCentral member: Go VT

There are many game that I could chose there include the 83 squeakier (48-0 at Charlottesville), the Sugar, the 95 UVa game, the Sun Bowl (it was Tech's first bowl), how bout some games from the 1905 team (a 16-6 win over Army or the first win over UVa in a truly brutal war that stopped the series for 17 years and got C. Hunter Carpenter his first victory over UVa), maybe the 1932 win over an undefeated Kentucky team or even the 6-9 loss to Alabama, there were the Clemson and Syracuse wins on the road in 1986, the WVU win (12-10) in 1989, the 1993 win at Pitt that many think got the ball rolling. That's not even the basketball ones! The Memphis State games, the NIT Championship games, the NMSU game with TJ's 3-pointer, how about the 141-133 2ot games against USM (I went home that weekend and had to watch it on TV).

Those are choices but the one that I would really love to see is the 1966 game against FSU at Lane. It was a tight game that was broadcast by Keith Jackson on ABC, it was the largest crowd at the time to ever see a game in the Commonwealth, and Frank Loria returned a punt 80yards for a TD. It probably was the pinnacle of the Claiborne era.

My opinion anyway.

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HokieCentral member: Bill Horst

It was my senior year, November 1967, Miami at VT (Final Miami 14 VT 7)

Not because it was a devastating loss for the Hokies (who went on to lose to Richmond and VMI [can you believe that, Richmond AND VMI?])but because it was the last time I saw Frank Loria play. He took a punt return back 95 yards for the lone Tech score.

Tech had lost to Miami in the Liberty Bowl the previous year, and Blacksburg was cranked up for this rematch. The loss deflated the community, the college, and the team. By all rights, we had a clear shot at a 9-1 record and another decent bowl game -- woulda, coulda, shoulda...

Frank Loria, fellow class of 68 member, exemplified the blue collar approach to defense identified with the Tech defense today. Maybe part of that is carried on by Loria's backfield mate, Frankie Beamer.

The haunting thing for me is that I did actually see Frank Loria again, in the fall of 1970. I was teaching at East Carolina University, fresh from a MA at UKy, and I went to the ECU - Marshall game. ECU won a close, hard fought game, and I didn't even realize Frank Loria was on the sideline coaching until I read the paper the next morning which reported the plane crash that killed all the Marshall players, coaches and fans on the Southern Airlines charter flight from Greenville, NC as it made its approach to Huntington into the side of a mountain.

Frank Loria was a bright flame in VT football history -- too brief but bright. I'm lucky to have seen most of his games through the three seasons he toiled as one of the premier safeties in college football.

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HokieCentral member: Jeff Clayton

The college experience I would want to relive would be the 1995 Syracuse game. I would want to go back again as a student and experience the whole college football atmosphere again. The situation for that game was as follows; if we won, we would win the Big East, and we would be going to an alliance bowl. Anyway, we ended up crushing them (I believe it was 31-7, McNabb tore us up in the Dome, but he couldn't do it at Lane).

The atmosphere surrounding the game was great. Everyone knew towards the end of the game that we were alliance bowl-bound, and a bunch of students had brought oranges and 5 lb. bags of sugar to the game. As the clock was winding down and the game was ending, the field was pelted with these items. Soon the students followed the oranges and sugar on to the field and ripped down the goalposts, carrying them on a procession through Main Street and College Avenue. It was one of those days in Blacksburg when the mentality was: if you aren't hurting anybody, you can do it, we can just bend the rules for one day. That was a great moment in Tech sports, and it encompasses all the passion and the excitement surrounding college football.

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HokieCentral member: Hokie16 Brian Grieff ('84)

If I could travel back in time........(dream sequence music inserted here)........ I would love to relive the experience that changed my dull life and made me a Hokie fanatic, the 30-0 thumping of the Wahoos in the fall of 1980, my first year at Tech. The game was played in one of those drenching all-day rains that ruin hats (like the one I had on that I just bought the day before) and Tech dominated from start to finish. Toward the end of the game a Tech blitz jarred the ball loose from the UVa QB and the Hokies ran it in for a score. The refs called the ball dead and the crowd (all of whom stayed throughout) went nuts, yelling obscenities. A Hokie DB looked up at us in the student section, pointed to the scoreboard and waved his arms. The jeers turned to cheers, and I still get chills thinking about it.

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HokieCentral member: Hoosier Hokie

If I could go back and see one Hokie game, it would be the 1996 Orange Bowl against Nebraska. Hands down. I know we lost, but it didn't really matter then and it doesn't matter too much now either.

Growing up, the only team that I really cared about was the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It might sound funny for a NOVA resident to be a Husker's fan, but my grandparents lived in Lincoln and Lincoln residents eat, sleep, and breathe Husker football. Every year, we would visit them and no vacation was complete without a trip on campus or to the Nebraska bookstore. Even though I lived far away, I was a Cornhusker fan.

Then I went to Tech and became a Hokie fan (thank heavens!). Going to the games was a big thing - the atmosphere, the fans, the good football. It was great. But there were times when a winning season wasn't something you could take for granted. Virginia Tech just wasn't in the same league with Nebraska. Then came the season leading up to the '96 Orange Bowl. We had a great season and had a chance to play the game of a lifetime (at least for me!) I would have loved to go to that game just for the chance to see my two favorite teams play each other in a game that I had always hoped for but never expected.

Now, since this is just a wishful thinking kind of thing, if I were to go back, I'd like the Hokies to win that game instead of the Cornhuskers. *Sigh* Maybe next time! :o)

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HokieCentral member: R.D. Williams

One of the first games I remember seeing at what was then Lane stadium "Home of the Fighting Gobblers" was against Alabama. In fact I think they dedicated the stadium with that game. Goes back a way but is one I'd like to relive. The most recent game with Alabama is much more satisfying.

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HokieCentral member: Beachhokie

It would have to be Tech versus William and Mary in September of 1978. It was my first experience at Lane Stadium and to put it bluntly....I don't remember too many details (not that alcohol had anything to do with that . . . no way!). The game ended with Ron Zollicoffer's miracle (er. controversial) catch in the end zone as time expired. Sure wish I was coherent enough to see the play. A great introduction to Tech football.

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HokieCentral member: Coach E.A. Smyth

I've always been sorry that I never saw a game in old Miles Stadium, and I've always been sorry that I never saw the great Frank Loria play. So let's say the last home game in Miles (a 28-19 victory over NC State in 1964 I believe) and Tech's 1967 game with Miami when Loria ran back a punt 95 yards for a TD against the Canes.

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HokieCentral member: SavannahJack

The Houston vs. Tech game at Tech when Strock was our quarterback and Houston had a running back who went to the pros. Tech would score on a pass and Houston would come right back with their running game. I believe the score was 57-56 or something like that.

(Note from Will: according to the Tech media guide, Tech tied Houston in Lane Stadium in 1972, 27-27, and Don Strock threw for 527 yards. The Hokies lost on the road to Houston during the 1971 and 1973 seasons, 56-29 and 54-27).

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HokieCentral member: Mark Schuetze

I pondered this question for several days before I actually sat down to type this response. I also thought of the Sugar Bowl, 1990 and 1995 UVa games, the NIT championships, but I settled on the Independence Bowl.

I remember the feelings that I had after the Sugar Bowl and NIT championship and they were incredible feelings, but the feeling that I associate with the Independence Bowl goes far beyond that. I was a senior in the MV's that year and had either been a student or ardent supporter of the Hokies in the dark years of the late 80's and early 90's. With the Independence Bowl victory, I felt an excitement and energy associated with Tech football that I had not experienced before.

For many of us at the game, it was the pinnacle of our experience with Tech football up to that point. We have since surpassed it, but that feeling of accomplishment and joy really made that game a special one in my heart. I can only imagine what Frank Beamer and the rest of the team was feeling. To be able to relive that game and feeling would be my top choice for reliving a Virginia Tech moment. I sincerely feel that this game was the ultimate turning point in Tech football's recent past. To be able to relive that moment and enjoy it for what it is now, a turning point and the start of a golden era would be fantastic.

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HokieCentral member: DONBWISE

THE 1953 VICTORY OVER UVA IN CHALLOTTESVILLE BYN A SCORE OF 20-6. UVA HAD BEATEN US FOR BEATEN US FOR SIX STRAIGHT YEARS ( 1947 THRU 1952 ) BY A COMBINED SCORE OF 215-13! FOUR OF THOSE SIX YEARS WE FAILED TO SCORE. ALL HOKIES CAN UNDERSTAND HOW SWEET THAT VICTORY WAS!

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HokieCentral member: Jim and Karen Sublett

UVA Blacksburg 1996-Orange Bowl year- Tiki Barber opening play ran for 60 yards. Torrian Gray ran from across the field and caught him from behind. No more Tiki for the rest of the game. What a play and what a game!

Then again, there were some of you who just couldn’t narrow it down to one choice…

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HokieCentral member: Tom Taylor

As I told Beamer, If I were asked to choose two of the following three events to relive - my wedding, the 1995 UVa game, and the Sugar Bowl - I would refuse to answer.

I was most blessed to have my wife Harriet with me at all three.

A surprising answer, then ...the Southern Conference Championship basketball game, in 1960 with Jerry West playing for WVU against Tech. Watching this time with this ole body and the 39 years of Tech history.

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HokieCentral member: Newt

#1

During my junior and senior years, I had the opportunity to visit the hill every week with a host of baseball, beer, and Tech fans. We would bring our coolers and blankets and sit on the hill beside the Cassell tennis courts and watch the people- spectacle unfold.

I especially remember the great right fielder, Franklin Stubbs, crank many of his 52 homers over the fence into the adoring hoard. Also of special interest was the ongoing abuse of the opposing right fielder. I don't believe that we ever threw anything at him; that would be undignified. I do recall at more than one game, the heckled and annoyed fielder ejecting an expletive or object over the fence at the crowd.

These were National Bohemian times; times of sun, fun, and foggy indestructibility.

#2

At every home basketball game that I attended from 1975 to 1982, the part I loved best was when the opposing team was introduced. Tech fans would all stand with their backs to the court and quietly clap, slowly and rhythmically, while the introductions were made. Some would even pretend to read the latest issue of the CT. Then when the Tech team was introduced, a wall of Hokie fans would turn as one and scream, deafening the Cassell.

In the early eighties, hot-shot TV execs got the bright idea of introducing one player from each team at a time. Slowly this Cassell tradition began to die. If you ask me, the death of the clap ended the era of freshness of Hokie Men's basketball with the exception of the Smitty years and the stellar careers of a few exceptional players.

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HokieCentral member: BLITZM

I had to choose between three events I did not witness in person, but saw on television. The first was the 1973 NIT championship, the second was the 1995 NIT championship (I can't believe it has only been four years since Smitty drained those FTs) and the last was the 1995 UVa football game. Each would be filled with high drama and an excellent choice. However, since beating UVa in football, basketball or Chinese checkers or anything else is the cherry on top of the sundae I had to choose the 1995 football game. Druck to Holmes will always rank in my top 5 plays in Tech football history.

My top in person event would have been the 1990 UVa football game. The 4th down Will Furrer pass to a sliding Nick Cullen is one of the great ones as well. That one beats the 1995 Sugar Bowl, the 1998 MCB, the New Mexico State NIT game, 1981 Memphis State game and Amy's FT over Xavier. In the final analysis I am willing to miss some of the great moments in Tech sports history just to see all the Hoos down in Hooville cry BooHooHoo one more time.

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HokieCentral member: aar-hokie

I am going to cheat a little and choose an event I was witness too as well as one I wish I could have attended.

Fall '91, it was my first year at Tech, and the Hokies were preparing to go up against 12th ranked Tulane in the Cassell on a cold winter's night. I will never forget the emotion as Wilson, Curruth, Rivers, Purcell, Elliot and others took it to them that night. We all rushed the court after the game, and I was literally pushed straight into Jimmy Curruth by the crowd behind me trying to get at him. He looked down at me with a huge grin as he was swarmed from all sides. The TV cameras were right on all of us as we cheered and jumped up and down wildly. At that moment I was so glad I had come to this university because anything seemed possible. When it was over, I had lost a lens from my glasses, and my cap had been trampled, but it was so worth it.

Although Go VT mentioned it in his memories of great games, only one of you actually chose the same game that I would choose….

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HokieCentral member: Jeff DeSchon

I remember a home basketball game I went to versus Southern Mississippi in 1989, I think. Double overtime game. Bimbo was incredible...highest scoring (non-pro) basketball game I ever saw. I was there, but want to relive it as a fan, because I was working for the Sports Information office at the time and couldn't celebrate!

Will ...fill in the final score and Bimbo's final numbers...I wouldn't want to misquote them...where is the media guide when you need it!

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Will here: I'll be glad to fill in the details, Jeff. It was the 1987-88 season, and Tech defeated Southern Mississippi, 141-133 in double overtime. Bimbo Coles scored 51 points, and Wally Lancaster scored 39, for a two-man total of 90 points that blows the mind to even think about.

I call it the "quietest 51 points I've ever seen a man score." Bimbo would drive, shoot, get fouled, drive, shoot, get fouled, over and over, and the next thing you knew, with the pace of the game, he had 51 points.

To this day, it stands as the best basketball game I have ever seen. Sure, it's not the most important, but for sheer drama and excitement, it was the best I've ever seen (up until then, interestingly enough, the best basketball game I had ever seen was a tournament championship game in a small Christian school high school league in Charlottesville - no kidding).

Why would I choose to relive this game, and not one of our storied football games, or the big upset in basketball over Memphis State? The answer is simple. We will win more big football games, and if I live long enough, I'll probably see us upset a #1 ranked basketball team again some day.

I find that every time I do one of these, there is at least one that chokes me up, especially now that I’m a father and prone to be more emotional about things (you young guys will understand that at some point in your life).

I always receive at least one submission that reminds us that sports is only a small slice of life, but strangely enough, the grandeur and spectacle of our lives often chooses to manifest itself and become apparent to us at a sporting event, of all things.

Perhaps it’s because sporting events are emotional events in themselves, and perhaps it’s because they are a form of leisure that often makes it possible for us to step back for a moment and take a look at ourselves, our lives, and those around us.

HokieCentral member "Hokie68" has such a game, and such a memory, that he would like to relive…

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HokieCentral member: Hokie68

So many good memories - oh what to choose? I think that for the sheer joy of sharing a Hokie experience I would pick the Tech - UVa basketball game played in the Cassell in early 1971, and basketball is not even close to my favorite Hokie sport.

Why then? I had graduated from Tech in (well of course) 1968. My bride of (now) 30 years and I were married that summer, and we had been married about 16 months when I got my orders to go to Vietnam. For those of you who are old enough to remember the evening broadcasts of those times, you remember that Vietnam could only be considered a very dangerous place for a "butter bar" lieutenant like myself.

The combat branch I had been in, ADA, had not been sending Nuke Hercules officers to sunny southeast Asia, but the nabobs in Washington didn't want ADA-Nuke officers missing combat opportunities for promotion. When I got on the plane and had to leave my wife and best friend (one in the same) and my family, I had serious doubts that I would ever see them again.

The year in Vietnam passed slowly with fear, boredom, the meeting of some new friends, and most of all, nagging loneliness. R&R came in September, and then Nixon started bringing folks back and I arrived home in late December. Reunions with my wife and the rest of my family were something I'll remember all my life.

But I have said little about the basketball game. I went back to Tech in winter quarter for post-grad courses before attending graduate school and found myself, sitting next to my bride, in Cassell for the Hokies-Hoos game. The pre-game crowd was loud and boisterous and then they announced the players (whose names have faded in memory), and then the Highty-Tightys (the only band at the time, and they played at basketball games in full force back then) broke into "Tech Triumph" as the crowd in the Coliseum stood and sang.

In those days every Corps member was required to learn the words, something I remember today. My wife and I only got to about "Techmen, we're Techmen, with spirits true and faithful" when I looked at the Corps, the team, the fans, the Coliseum, the U.S. flag, and of course, my wife. We hugged each other, and, I'm not ashamed to admit it, the tears streamed down our cheeks. Even now, we both point to that moment as the instant we both knew that I was finally home and things were going to be all right.

By the way, after sharing that moment, we were treated to the Hokies defeating the Hoos.

Not to be syrupy, and the story isn't totally about the athletic achievements of Hokies in contests, but that's the one I would like to relive the most.