A Sea Of Red

It will seriously test the loyalty of the LU fan base. We have far too many kids that still wear VT shirts around campus. You see them often. We’ve fought this for years. It will be an interesting week on campus, that is for sure. I’ve always said: “If you like Tech so much, by all means, transfer.”

LIBERTY is your school, NOT Virginia Tech.

You’re allowed to like both the school you go to and the one you grew up cheering for.

I just hope you choose the one you’re paying to attend when the two play each other.

Jonathan Carone wrote: ↑November 1st, 2020, 6:34 pm You’re allowed to like both the school you go to and the one you grew up cheering for.

I just hope you choose the one you’re paying to attend when the two play each other.

Last time I choose Tech to protest Jerry Jr's endorsement of Trump. This time I'll likely be cheering for Liberty.

Jonathan Carone wrote: ↑November 1st, 2020, 6:34 pm You’re allowed to like both the school you go to and the one you grew up cheering for.

I just hope you choose the one you’re paying to attend when the two play each other.

My brother in law asked me earlier today who I cheer for in this game. My response- the school that took all my money. Grew up liking the Hokies, but alma mater over fandom.

I’ve actually been super impressed at the student body’s school spirit and how so many kids wear LU gear around campus.

BTW - to clarify my above observation. I've only been associated with LU for 2 years (2 daughters currently attending). My personal campus experiences are Penn State and Cedarville. Obviously Penn State is Penn State. The students are blue and white through and through. You do still see the occasional stray college gear, but its not the norm. At Cedarville, students really love CU and there is great school spirit, but you definitely have a full kaleidoscope of other college gear (I think mostly because most kids are from out of state and they like reping where they are from).

The LU student body school gear/spirit level honestly reminds me of what I experienced at Penn State (obviously on a smaller scale, due to Penn State having three times the number of students on campus). LU blew me away on my first visit . I was not expecting to see such a high percentage of kids walking around campus and town in LU gear. Even beyond the students, I was not expecting the Walmart and Target to have "Welcome LU students" signs with Flames logos (and have fairly sizeable fan gear sections). I wasn't' expecting the hotels to have LU logos displayed or for the staff to say "go Flames" when I was at the counter. And crazy enough, all this was going on while Jerry was still out there doing stupid stuff and embarrassing the school, which makes me think that the ceiling can be much higher even. I think something very special is happening on campus and in Lynchburg.

BTW #2 - I currently live very close to the USF campus. School spirit wise, LU has USF beat by a mile. Its not even close.

In the last 10 years, the campus has transformed dramatically from a mix of LU & "state U" fan gear to mostly LU. It's even changed more in the last 2-3 years. Sports has been a big influence on that. Victory over Baylor, NCAAMB exposure & win, FBS and bowl win separate the LU of today from the LU of the past. We are now a national brand. A small national brand, but something that gives the students pride.

It also helps that you can buy a variety of quality gear online, from the bookstore, Walmart and other local options. That definitely was not an option for many years.

I freely admit that I wore Ohio State gear around campus back in the '80s. I can't even comprehend such a decision today.

For the record, my lifelong Longhorn/Flames fan son is now at Texas A&M. He mixes in some Liberty gear on campus now that we are having this incredible season just to get reactions. Kids.

How does a lifelong Longhorn fan end up at A&M?!

I was shocked at the amount of LU stuff at Walmart. It was really good stuff too. Back in the 90's when I was a student, the Liberty gear was trash. The LU bookstore has a great selection as well.

SumItUp wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 11:41 am In the last 10 years, the campus has transformed dramatically from a mix of LU & "state U" fan gear to mostly LU. It's even changed more in the last 2-3 years. Sports has been a big influence on that. Victory over Baylor, NCAAMB exposure & win, FBS and bowl win separate the LU of today from the LU of the past. We are now a national brand. A small national brand, but something that gives the students pride.

It also helps that you can buy a variety of quality gear online, from the bookstore, Walmart and other local options. That definitely was not an option for many years.

That timing makes sense, as I've only been associated (paying the bills ) for two years. I walked onto campus and was immediately blown away by the tremendous school spirit.

Same with the football stadium / gameday experience. I went to my first game with rather low expectations. After Beaver Stadium, and visits to the Big House, the Horse Shoe and the Swamp, I was expecting something much more like high school football or maybe D2 than what I was used to. Nope - again blown away. Gameday had all the key elements of the big schools - just smaller. Nothing about it seemed rinky dink at all.

LUGrad2000 wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 2:43 pm I was shocked at the amount of LU stuff at Walmart.

The Walmart on Wards Road across from campus now has an entire ROOM devoted to LU gear.

I was raised an OU fan and wore Sooner gear on campus in the early 2010's with pride. I equated it to the same as wearing an NFL team's gear - different stratosphere. I'd still view it the same way today but am always hoping the Flames continue to rise. I'm sure it's very unpopular, but for someone like me who was raised with OU DNA that doesn't exactly go away after just a few years on campus. That said I hope I never see the day where OU and LU face off on the gridiron.

JK37 wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 1:09 pm How does a lifelong Longhorn fan end up at A&M?!

It shocked us all. But A&M wound up being the best academic fit and is just under an hour away from home. The day he made the decision he cleaned out his entire room of burnt orange. And that was no small task. He is now fully in the maroon cult. My Longhorn wife has even started wearing maroon from time to time.

aj7 wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 7:18 pm I was raised an OU fan and wore Sooner gear on campus in the early 2010's with pride. I equated it to the same as wearing an NFL team's gear - different stratosphere. I'd still view it the same way today but am always hoping the Flames continue to rise. I'm sure it's very unpopular, but for someone like me who was raised with OU DNA that doesn't exactly go away after just a few years on campus. That said I hope I never see the day where OU and LU face off on the gridiron.

Boomer ! Same here and after playing a game for LU would immediately be trying to find out how my Sooners did. I have both tv’s going when they play ar the same time ( which is a lot this year ) but I get way more worked up over LU and ha e the sound up for that game. It’s funner hoping to win and doing it vs expecting a win every week and dreading an upset. ( at least until the Playoffs - then for OU it is simply hope....Ha !

I knew there was something about the two of you that just wasn't quite right. Land Thieves.

Sly Fox wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 10:18 pm

JK37 wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 1:09 pm How does a lifelong Longhorn fan end up at A&M?!

It shocked us all. But A&M wound up being the best academic fit and is just under an hour away from home. The day he made the decision he cleaned out his entire room of burnt orange. And that was no small task. He is now fully in the maroon cult. My Longhorn wife has even started wearing maroon from time to time.

Blows my mind .. probably your wife most of all. “But a Mother’s Love is, well, a Mother’s Love.”

Cider Jim wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 4:57 pm

LUGrad2000 wrote: ↑November 2nd, 2020, 2:43 pm I was shocked at the amount of LU stuff at Walmart.

The Walmart on Wards Road across from campus now has an entire ROOM devoted to LU gear.

students would wear more LU attire, if bookstore prices weren't so outrageous.

ballcoach15 wrote: ↑November 3rd, 2020, 11:07 am
students would wear more LU attire, if bookstore prices weren't so outrageous.

Ballcoach, most LU students aren't hurting for money. Just look at the cars they drive.

Grew up in PA watching Paterno for years.
Went to school in Oklahoma. Forgot about PSU (mostly)
Then attended Liberty. (forgot about Oklahoma mostly)
Good God, wear other caps or shirts on a campus in PA or Oklahoma you will get called out at some point.
If you are brazen enough to admit allegiance elsewhere on a campus and you are not called out the fandom at that school is weak.
LU is on a serious rise and deserves a fan base that feels the passion.

I choose my fandom now based on culture. LU all the way.

I wore my Sooner cap at PSU one year. A few on the PSU football team rather forwardly stated: "who does he think he is". FANDOM!
I hope we catch it. I hope the locals begin to see LU as a force and draw fans from Virginia.
At the polls this week my Liberty shiry caught me a nod and a smile here and there. I see Liberty gear being worn from time to time here in my area. Some locals attend Liberty. The potential for nationwide fandom is there. Gear up and and Fan the Flames!

Circling back here....If I EVER see a VT shirt on campus again...

Only on April 16

This win over VT really put Liberty on the map in Virginia and in the region.
Tech and UVA fans all know the best football team in the state is in Lynchburg.
NC State knows they've got a legit game ahead of them when the Flames come to Raleigh and burn the Wolfpack.

I was reading a State board last night. They are taking us seriously now. In fact many of the posters are less than optimistic.

One of the posters on a NC State board summed up exactly what is so special about this team:

And Liberty believes they can win.

THAT is what HCHF has done that nobody has been able to do in a while. These guys believe that they can win any game they play. Any time they walk into a stadium, any time they line up, they KNOW they can win that game.

Maybe they DID play a weak schedule in the first half of the season. But it gave them confidence. It gave them an attitude. ANd they walked on the field Saturday with the attitude that they didn't really care about the Virginia Tech mythos, they didn't care about Enter Sandman - they weren't there to see the sights, they weren't there for a money game - they were there to beat the Hokies. They had swagger, and that matters.