the HOKIE-fication of OC girl

Every relationship requires reciprocity. Otherwise, it ends up feeling one-sided. When it comes to college football (or any college sport for that matter), Jesse and I have learned to appreciate each other’s schools. However, it wasn’t always that way.

When Jesse, a Virginia Tech alum, and I, a Trojan for life, started dating, the BCA Classic was a few weeks away. The BCA Classic (BCA= Black Coaches Association) was a sort of season-beginning game between two worthwhile opponents. Fresh from the Rose Bowl ass-kicking of Michigan and a share of the national title, USC was poised to win the national championship that year (and eventually did). Tech had just joined the ACC (a far superior football conference than the Big East) and was all set to make an impact. Even though we had just started dating, the trash talking was inevitable.

To be honest, I had never heard of the Hokies before moving here. Jesse definitely took it upon himself to school me on all things Hokie related. But first, the mascot. Seriously though, what is a Hokie? Apparently, the word Hokie originated in 1896, when the school held a competition for a new school cheer. O.M. Stull, the person who came up with the winning cheer, made up the word Hokie as an attention-getter in the cheer. Although VA Tech athletes were originally referred to as the Fighting Gobblers, the Hokie name stuck. Personally, I prefer Hokie over Gobbler. (By the way, I can just picture Jesse’s beaming face after reading this paragraph).

The big battle between East and West, ACC and Pac-10, USC and Virginia Tech was a good one. A tight game through out, the Hokies gave us a good fight before losing to USC 24-13.

With the exception of that game, Jesse and I have supported each other’s teams. Last year, while USC was pursuing a national title and Virginia Tech was still in the race, Jesse actually defended USC to his friends and praised both Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush as being some of the best players in the game. While sitting in a Blacksburg sports bar after a Virginia Tech game last year, I watched the USC/Oregon game. While I was cheering for my Trojans among all these Hokies who were hoping for our defeat, Jesse stood by me and cheered for USC.

This weekend, I return the favor. Jesse and I are going to Blacksburg for the first weekend of college football and for Virginia Tech’s first home game of the season against Northeastern (it’ll be a blowout, no doubt). I like going down there because it’s such a college town. Having gone to school in LA, the city was not all about USC (seeing as that there are several other alleged universities in the city and it’s surroundings). On the other hand, Blacksburg lives and breathes Virginia Tech football. The town would be nothing without the school and the community embraces the university. It’s a very interesting dynamic to see and appreciate.

This weekend, I can’t wait for the yummy gator bites and kick ass mojitos at Boudreaux’s. I’m looking forward to drinks at Sharkey’s and late nite breakfast at Hokie House.

And after the game, I can’t wait to watch the USC game at Big Al’s and piss off the Hokie fans that want to see us lose!