Since you have read the guest post from my sister Jessica, you know I am a huge Virginia Tech Football fan. So you shouldn’t be surprised to see a second Tech football experience make my top 10. This of course is the 2000 National Championship Game against Florida State. When thinking about my top 10, I struggled deciding where to put this moment. This game was back in New Orleans where I had been 5 years prior, Tech ended up losing and my father was unable to go because of work. However, this was the National Championship Game and I may never get to see one of these moments again.
The year was 1999. Tech was coming off a solid season in the Big East. I believe they went 9-3 and dominated Alabama in a bowl game the previous year. The hype was about a left handed mobile quarterback named Michael Vick. He was being redshirted, but would likely takeover the starting job the following year. The Hokies were projected to be good with a top 5 defense returning along with the new pieces on offense. Tech started off with a preseason ranking of 14. Vick did not disappoint in his opening game. However, with one single flip into the end zone, the Hokie crowd was silent. Vick had scored, but the sprained ankle was a concern for the staff and Hokie Nation. Vick missed the next game, but returned to dominate the rest of the season. The season included BIG
wins over JMU, Clemson, Virginia, Rutgers, Miami, Temple and Boston College. There was also a 62-0
smashing of Syracuse and 62-7 victory over Temple. West Virginia almost snuck up on Virginia Tech, but Michael Vick made enough plays for field goal kicker Shayne Graham to drill a game winning field goal.
The victory over Boston College secured Tech’s position in the National Championship Game. Right after the game, I knew I wanted to go. Again my sister and I would have to “earn” our ticket from our parents as
I was only 13. As we got closer to Christmas, my Dad found out that he would be unable to go because of his
job. He was working in Information Technology at Virginia Tech and there were concerns over “Y2K”. Not sure if he volunteered to stay home or if his supervisor asked him too, but nonetheless he wasn’t making the trip with us.
With Dad not going my Mom, Sister and I needed to figure out how to get to New Orleans with mom not driving of course. We found out that several families from Blacksburg decided to rent a bus for the trip so we hopped on this opportunity quickly.
With visiting New Orleans only a few years prior, we didn’t do a whole lot, especially since Dad was at home. We went to a few restaurants with other families, but mainly stuck to ourselves. I believe my Mom even slipped into a casino while we were hanging with some friends.
Now to the game experience. That is what this post is all about. We didn’t have the best tickets, but I somehow got an end seat which was nice. On the opposite aisle were Florida State fans. They were in their late 30’s and were joking with me prior to the start. I was hoping Tech could contain the FSU offense and keep the game close until the end. But, FSU stormed out to a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Peter Warrick caught a long TD from
quarterback Chris Wienke and the FSU special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown. Tech’s score came from a
long touchdown completion from Vick to Andre Davis. The second quarter was much of the same. Another FSU receiver beat the Tech secondary for a long score and Peter Warrick returned a punt return for a TD. Special Teams were being dominated by FSU, which was usually a Tech specialty. Vick scored late in the half, making the halftime score 28-14.
After half time, Tech came out strong. They were held to a field goal midway through the quarter, but capitalized on two great runs from Andre Kendrick. His two rushing touchdowns gave Tech a 29-28 lead entering the fourth quarter. Tech had chased a few points by going for two after the touchdowns. It may have made a difference, but FSU would later wear down the Hokies.
I remember the first possession of the 4th quarter. Tech had stopped the Seminoles on third down. Instead of punting, head coach Bobby Bowden decided to roll the dice and go for it. This ended up being a great move. They converted on 4th down and later scored a touchdown to complete the drive. Tech had nothing left. A costly fumble by Vick led to a field goal and Chris Weinke connected with Peter Warrick again to finish off Tech. This was Warrick’s third TD of the game. It was obvious his speed was unmatched by anybody in the Tech secondary.
His final catch was the last score of the game. FSU had won 46-29.
Although unhappy with the outcome I was very impressed with how Tech was able to stay in the game until the 4th quarter. I was nervous going into the game and didn’t know how we would stop FSU. If it weren’t for a few big completions the final result may have been different. Despite the loss, this was a great stepping stone for the Tech program. Vick had put Tech on the map I was looking forward to the future of Tech football.
My family continues to have season tickets to home football games and we are waiting for an opportunity to play for another championship. Hopefully, we will get back there one day.
The year was 1999. Tech was coming off a solid season in the Big East. I believe they went 9-3 and dominated Alabama in a bowl game the previous year. The hype was about a left handed mobile quarterback named Michael Vick. He was being redshirted, but would likely takeover the starting job the following year. The Hokies were projected to be good with a top 5 defense returning along with the new pieces on offense. Tech started off with a preseason ranking of 14. Vick did not disappoint in his opening game. However, with one single flip into the end zone, the Hokie crowd was silent. Vick had scored, but the sprained ankle was a concern for the staff and Hokie Nation. Vick missed the next game, but returned to dominate the rest of the season. The season included BIG
wins over JMU, Clemson, Virginia, Rutgers, Miami, Temple and Boston College. There was also a 62-0
smashing of Syracuse and 62-7 victory over Temple. West Virginia almost snuck up on Virginia Tech, but Michael Vick made enough plays for field goal kicker Shayne Graham to drill a game winning field goal.
The victory over Boston College secured Tech’s position in the National Championship Game. Right after the game, I knew I wanted to go. Again my sister and I would have to “earn” our ticket from our parents as
I was only 13. As we got closer to Christmas, my Dad found out that he would be unable to go because of his
job. He was working in Information Technology at Virginia Tech and there were concerns over “Y2K”. Not sure if he volunteered to stay home or if his supervisor asked him too, but nonetheless he wasn’t making the trip with us.
With Dad not going my Mom, Sister and I needed to figure out how to get to New Orleans with mom not driving of course. We found out that several families from Blacksburg decided to rent a bus for the trip so we hopped on this opportunity quickly.
With visiting New Orleans only a few years prior, we didn’t do a whole lot, especially since Dad was at home. We went to a few restaurants with other families, but mainly stuck to ourselves. I believe my Mom even slipped into a casino while we were hanging with some friends.
Now to the game experience. That is what this post is all about. We didn’t have the best tickets, but I somehow got an end seat which was nice. On the opposite aisle were Florida State fans. They were in their late 30’s and were joking with me prior to the start. I was hoping Tech could contain the FSU offense and keep the game close until the end. But, FSU stormed out to a 14-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Peter Warrick caught a long TD from
quarterback Chris Wienke and the FSU special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown. Tech’s score came from a
long touchdown completion from Vick to Andre Davis. The second quarter was much of the same. Another FSU receiver beat the Tech secondary for a long score and Peter Warrick returned a punt return for a TD. Special Teams were being dominated by FSU, which was usually a Tech specialty. Vick scored late in the half, making the halftime score 28-14.
After half time, Tech came out strong. They were held to a field goal midway through the quarter, but capitalized on two great runs from Andre Kendrick. His two rushing touchdowns gave Tech a 29-28 lead entering the fourth quarter. Tech had chased a few points by going for two after the touchdowns. It may have made a difference, but FSU would later wear down the Hokies.
I remember the first possession of the 4th quarter. Tech had stopped the Seminoles on third down. Instead of punting, head coach Bobby Bowden decided to roll the dice and go for it. This ended up being a great move. They converted on 4th down and later scored a touchdown to complete the drive. Tech had nothing left. A costly fumble by Vick led to a field goal and Chris Weinke connected with Peter Warrick again to finish off Tech. This was Warrick’s third TD of the game. It was obvious his speed was unmatched by anybody in the Tech secondary.
His final catch was the last score of the game. FSU had won 46-29.
Although unhappy with the outcome I was very impressed with how Tech was able to stay in the game until the 4th quarter. I was nervous going into the game and didn’t know how we would stop FSU. If it weren’t for a few big completions the final result may have been different. Despite the loss, this was a great stepping stone for the Tech program. Vick had put Tech on the map I was looking forward to the future of Tech football.
My family continues to have season tickets to home football games and we are waiting for an opportunity to play for another championship. Hopefully, we will get back there one day.