– Andy Bitter
Day 2 in Jacksonville was just like Day 1: overcast and empty, though a few more fans started trickling in. Maybe it’s because we’ve been sequestered at the hotel all day, but I haven’t gotten the sense that this is the eve of a big game. As the dutiful sportswriter that I am, I will force myself to go out to the bars once again tonight to get the pulse of the fans (I do it for you, the readers, of course).Today was a pretty light day in terms of interviews. BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski and Tech coach Frank Beamer had short press conferences, which I think was more for the benefit of TV than anything. Nothing new came out of it.They followed it up by presenting the ACC legends, recognizing a player for each current ACC team. NFL Hall of Famer and Miami great Jim Kelly was the biggest name, but here’s the thing: he never played in the ACC. Miami was an independent back then. It only joined the Big East in 1991 and the ACC in 2004. Same goes for Tech’s “ACC legend” Antonio Freeman, who played his entire career in the Big East. It seems kind of misleading.
Some other odds and ends:
– We ate lunch at a place called Mongo’s, a Mongolian barbecue joint where you select raw food from a buffet line and they cook it on a grill in front of you. Memo to entrepreneurial Lynchburgians (Lynchburgers? Lynchburgites?) with some extra cash to throw into the restaurant biz: this place would be a cash cow in the Hill City. I’m on record as saying I will eat there every day if one is built, and noted News & Advance chowhound Nathan Warters said he’d eat there twice a day.
– Loyal reader Lee Carpenter mocked my bowl selection story in an e-mail today, saying I misled my readers by writing that Virginia Tech had an outside chance of appearing in the national championship and, if it loses, earning an at-large berth in the BCS.
I fully admit both are longshot scenarios (the national championship one in particular, since it would require about five things to happen), however, despite not being probable, they are possible and warranted mentioning in the story.
That said, in my professional opinion, I think Tech wins tomorrow and goes to the Orange Bowl. If the Hokies lose, I’d wager on a repeat trip to Atlanta.
– Virginia may not be in the ACC title game, but the ’Hoos were represented well in Jacksonville today. Coach of the Year Al Groh, Defensive Player of the Year Chris Long and Jim Tatum Award winner Tom Santi (top ACC senior student-athlete) were on hand for the awards ceremony.
– Read tomorrow’s News & Advance for Nathan’s game advance and my feature on Jagodzinski. I’m fairly certain I spelled his name correctly throughout the story.
– I’ll chime back in tomorrow before the game, but will first post these YouTube clips. The first might be painful for Virginia Tech fans. It’s a quick recap of the final minutes of the loss to Boston College, but it is a remarkable game. What a great finish. The second shows how Matt Ryan left everything on the field in that game. And I mean everything.
And another reminder, send some quetions to us. I promise we’ll answer them.
