I don't know about the rest of you, but the second half of the Virginia-Georgia Tech basketball game Saturday afternoon just got me livid.
Those of you watching on television probably missed it.
I was just waiting for it to happen.Four minutes into the second half, nothing.Eight minutes, nada.12 minutes gone by, zippy. So finally 16 minutes in, they would get their act together?
Wrong again! We didn't get the t-shirt toss in the second half of the game!
Oh, I know what you're thinking. Virginia finally came to life with under four minutes to go, so who gives a crap about some orange Virginia t-shirt? Over 3,000 Virginia students and thousands of other young kids at the game, that's who.
For those of us who can't knock down some jumpers at the John or get berated by the towering Dave Leitao courtside, the t-shirt toss is the chance for our claim to fame. We position ourselves by the aisle or stand on the nearest bleachers to get in prime position to snag a shirt.
This is no piece of cake, my friends. Sometimes the gear flies out of t-shirt rocket launchers blasted by the cheerleaders who, each time, look as if they have never used the gun before in their lives. Or they could be hand-tossed to those in prime seating. Finally, with our eyes directed at the t-shirt launcher to get an idea of the shirt's trajectory, we must be simultaneously looking above to watch the shirts falling from the John's roof!
I know -- it's a quite daunting task we fans face.
Maybe the Virginia promotions gods were punishing the student body for the near technical foul for displaying the wrong side of the "GO HOOS GO" banner. The silver side caused reflections that apparently were major distractions for the Yellow Jacket players -- if by major distractions one means three successful free throws.
Memo: It's not the students' fault for using the objects that were distributed to them as they walked into the arena. So next time punish the genius who came up with that promotional idea rather than taking away our t-shirt toss.
I'll let this one slide, however, since I actually have no reason to believe there's a connection between the lack of second-half t-shirt toss and the silver reflective banners.
Further, I am actually quite satisfied at the advertising done by the promotional staff at the John.
I mean that girl with one foot on a pedal of the eight-foot unicycle Saturday who successfully flipped five bowls up from her non-pedal leg onto the top of her head, which already had about 10-15 bowls on it, was probably the most incredible halftime stunt I have ever witnessed. And she freakin' did it twice! If I had a wedding ring, I would have proposed right then.
Past halftime shows have also been top notch. Those bucket boys from Chicago played rhythms and beats I didn't even know existed (I realize that's not saying much). The Frisbee dogs last month were also very entertaining.
Basically, any trip to the bathroom at the John (no pun intended) should be done before the intros (can't miss Cav Man even if the same skit has been repeated a couple times) or after the game is in the books.
In addition to the t-shirt toss, time-out promotions include the Delta Dental kiss cam, the Harris Teeter Vic Card, the Harris Teeter blindfold gift certificate game, follow-the-V-sabre and Cavalier trivia.
Delta Dental is always amusing. Whether it's the college students going way overboard on the make-out, the cute elderly couple with the quick peck or the pair that's clearly not dating, it's quite exciting to see the twosome the cameraman finds. Especially if you bring a special someone to the game -- can't hurt the relationship to get to give a little smooch in front of 15,000 plus.
The Harris Teeter Vic Card also has brought some quality entertainment. Virginia fans have become pretty creative when it comes to designing huge life-size Vic cards in order to win the prize money given to the winner of one lucky Vic card waver. I realize I have little chance with my mini-triangle Vic Card, yet I still bring it every time. I have thoroughly searched for the big credit-card-sized one that came with my enrollment in the program, but who the heck knows where that thing is. No college student carries that around in his wallet when he can just keep the mini triangle on a key chain.
Finally, many of the contests are run by the lovely Beth Duffy from CBS. Major props to the students who had the two signs expressing their love for Beth Duffy, even though one was slightly more inappropriate than the other...
And I'm not convinced Ms. Duffy doesn't give a couple hints to the contestants competing in the song trivia or "name that Cavalier" game.
We do love you, Beth.
On that note: Beth, can you sneak me one of those t-shirts or at least come sit next to me during the Delta Dental timeout for the Hokie game Thursday night?
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