Sometimes it takes an outsider to provide the keenest insight. Having attended all but one of Virginia's football games this season, home or away, I often find myself too closely involved with the team's daily play to notice some of the broader issues surrounding the program and the tradition.
Thankfully, I had the pleasure of entertaining my brother Jon and his friend Marc for Saturday's game. It was the first major college football game either had attended, as both recently graduated from Columbia University. I repeatedly had to remind them throughout the game that Columbia-Dartmouth was most decidedly not major college football.
Once we got past debating the merits of our respective school's key figures of Jefferson and Hamilton, we began to talk about Virginia football. Sitting in the student section and listening to Jon and Marc's comments proved to be an enlightening experience. I tried to provide as much detail as possible about the team's personnel and strategy as well as the quirks and rituals of watching a game at Scott Stadium.
Our first observation for the day was that Thomas Jones was trying very hard to be Mr. Cool, dressing in a pure suede get-up and masking a stoic expression throughout the pregame ceremony that honored him.
Next, the frequent Tiki Barber highlights were fun to watch, but did anyone else notice how every one featured him scoring against the hapless Arizona Cardinals?
Saturday proved that everyone loves the animated adventures of Cav-Man. Jon and Marc were envious of our beloved mascot -- both on 'Hoovision and in the form of the horsebacked Cavalier leading the team out of the tunnel -- as the two of them suffered through four years of inspiring fear in opponents with nothing but a sky blue lion.
My game companions were, however, disappointed in the seemingly un-cavalier way Virginia runs its offense. Matt Schaub has proven that he has a very strong arm capable of throwing the ball deep, and yet time after time after time after time (after time...) he did nothing but dump the ball off in the flats. Sure, Wali Lundy's receptions total benefited by catching 11 balls, but he got only 73 yards, most of which were gained running after the catch. Last week Lundy had five receptions for four yards, which mathematicians everywhere will point out is 28.8 inches per catch. His season average is now 6.7 yards. It's as if Schaub and the coaching staff are in love with his high completion percentage, so much so that they refuse to risk a downfield pass.
These Cavaliers will not stir any recollections of the old Raiders teams with Jim Plunkett at quarterback, known for their downfield, vertical passing game; instead, Virginia is jogging memories of a horizontal attack reminiscent of the football of yore -- before the invention of the forward pass.
On a more positive note, though, the offense did pick up the pace in the second half, tripling their first half total of first downs. Marc especially was thankful for this, as the announcer's calls of "another Cavalier ... first down!" kept the experience interactive. And he reveled in not just pointing in the appropriate direction but doing an exaggerated full-body thrust to signal the Wahoo advancement.
The time-honored tradition of singing the "Good Ol' Song" after every score ensured that Jon and Marc had the song memorized by game's end, but their comment hit the mark about how it seems terribly anti-climactic to sing it after each field goal -- we are only celebrating our own failure to reach the end zone.
Jon and Marc loved the concept of the pep band, but not its choice of material. With Strom Thurmond and the state of South Carolina at their disposal, comedic material was abundant and yet they joked "we refuse to potty like it's 1999." This critique should carry some weight considering how their alma mater's band may well be disbanded. The Columbia band's most recent flub was making priest and altar boy jokes while facing Catholic Fordham University. Oops.
Sometimes it's best to take a step back from what we take for granted and allow visitors to give their candid opinions and see if they buy into the customs of Virginia football. Thanks to the defense's strong play and the team's fifth straight win, both Jon and Marc left the game proudly yelling, "Wahoo!"
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