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A Victory For All Of Hokie Nation

September 2, 2007

By Frank Green

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Just past noon, the cheers of the Hokie faithful peaked as Virginia Tech kicker Jared Develli trotted up to the 30-yard line in Lane Stadium and put his foot into the ball.

The roar at kickoff was clearly heard about a half-mile to the north, on the edge of the Virginia Tech Drillfield, where 32 stones sat amid strewn flowers, soaking up the late-summer sunshine and the hope and promise of a college campus on the opening day of football season.

If the heart of Hokie Nation was in Lane Stadium yesterday, its spiritual center was at the memorial for the 32 students and faculty slain April 16. Their memories remain a haunting presence on campus, the focus of frequent thoughts and prayers.

More than one sign outside the stadium read "In memory of those who cheer from above."

With the surprisingly close victory over the East Carolina University Pirates, Hokie Nation appears well on its way to recovery. Some tears were shed, and the crowd leaving the game was considerably less ebullient than the one entering, but in many ways Blacksburg seemed back to normal yesterday.

"It's just really important, this first game," Lisa Bentley, a 2000 Virginia Tech graduate from Raleigh, N.C., said while tailgating in the parking lot outside Harper Hall yesterday morning.

Her husband said the return to the traditions of football season is important not only for students, alumni and the school, but also for the much larger university family.

"They're moving forward, they understand the importance of moving forward, and this is part of it," Stephen Bentley said.

Early yesterday, tailgate parties were in full swing outside the stadium and in parking lots all over campus. Footballs were tossed, breakfasts were cooked on grills, and drinks were consumed as excitement for the game and hope for a victory built.

Thousands of students and other fans walked in lines on either side of the memorial stones as they headed across the Drillfield toward the stadium. Cheers of "Let's go!" from one line were met with "Hokies!" from the other.

Pam Moody of Manassas, Class of 1979, headed for the set of ESPN's "College GameDay Football" show. She said she has been to countless Tech games over the decades, but "none as difficult as this one." She said that earlier in the morning, while watching pregame television coverage in her hotel room, she cried.

Nevertheless, "the feeling here is the same," she said. "Once you get over the tragedy, this quiet, beautiful campus just comes back to normal, thank God."

Taylor Wilson, a junior from Covington, was headed for the stadium with friend Lauren Bennett, a sophomore. They talked about returning to school.

"I'm still a little apprehensive in class," Wilson said. "I think a lot of people are. But the overall feeling is just [that] everybody's glad to be back."

Bennett agreed. "I know there's still some upset people." But, she said, "I want to get back to normal."

After the game, many Hokies wore long faces leaving the stadium. Tech, a nearly four-touchdown favorite, escaped 17-7 in a game closer than the score suggested.

"It's kind of a typical Hokie first game," one alumnus said. "They've got to gear up."

"They should have done better than they did," said Carter Williamson, 15, a sophomore at Salem High School who hopes to attend Tech.

"But it was a good victory," he added. "We needed that to start off with."

Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com.