Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511200012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: HAL SHEIKERZ STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
OK, so maybe that's a lie.
The truth? Ken Hincker could've gotten into Tech, he just didn't want to go there.
But when your dad's the head of university relations for the Hokies and your mom works in Tech's financial aid office, you have to expect the truth to get stretched a little. You have to expect excuses.
So that thing about Ken Hincker not getting into Tech? "That's gotten to be my standard line," Larry Hincker says, a defense for the folks who are aghast when they learn his son is a Wahoo. "They say to me, 'You of all people.'"
Ken Hincker chose UVa because it offered what he wanted in a liberal arts education. The athletic and social side of the campus - pardon - grounds, was a bonus.
Little doubt where Ken Hincker will spend this afternoon.
"I wouldn't miss this game for the world," he said this week through e-mail. "Two teams on such highs are going to make for some serious fireworks."
Little question of his allegiance.
"The 'Good Old Song' will be sung so much that even the Tech fans will know the words," he crowed.
It's good to see the Hokies do so well, he said, especially because he grew up rooting for them. "But for this 'Hoo, everything is orange and blue."
You might say part of Ron Secrist's job involves rooting for the home team. He is, after all, Blacksburg's town manager.
So the fact that Secrist's son, Ron Jr., is a first-year student at the University of Virginia adds a little spice to today's big game.
"It'll be an interesting situation to say the least," the elder Secrist said. "He and I have been teasing about it for several weeks. I assured him Virginia Tech will win this game.
"He says, 'there's no doubt in my mind UVa, will win.'"
Ron Jr. was encouraged to go to college away from home, Secrist said, for the full experience. And although the Wahoos are rivals, Secrist says he's proud his son is at such a "fine school." There is even a UVa dog bowl in the house.
Still, there has been a bit of playful tension. When UVa beat Florida State University, Ron Jr. made sure to call at 12:20 a.m. yelling, "We won!" Secrist countered by sending clippings of Tech's victory over Syracuse.
Ron Jr. believes today's game will be "hard fought," though the way he tells it to his father, UVa will surely bury Tech.
"All this is extremely speculative, so the real teasing begins when the fourth quarter ends on Saturday and the scoreboard reads who is the best team in the state," said the younger Secrist, who lives across the hall from the younger Hincker.
Del. Jim Shuler, D-Blacksburg, a Hokie alumnus, also has a son at UVa. But there will be no tension in the family at this game.
Despite four years in Charlottesville, Marshall Shuler still has his priorities straight and roots for the Hokies, his dad says.
"I'm real proud of him," Shuler said with a laugh. "It just takes the proper upbringing."
This morning, Shuler and his wife will rub elbows with dignitaries and well-heeled UVa alumni at a president's brunch before the game. Does Shuler feel any guilt about chowing down at John Casteen's expense while harboring evil thoughts against his football team?
"I just love it," he said. He's eagerly anticipating the ride back from the game on a bus packed with glum UVa fans.
A decade ago, Lorene Long got the personalized license plate of her dreams: It reads, simply, "UVA."
About the same time, Randy Wertz was seeking a Tech-related plate. All the good ones, like "HOKIES 72," were taken. But he lucked out with "TECHMAN."
Today, you can see the plates near each other if you cruise through the parking lots behind the Montgomery County Courthouse, where Wertz and Long work. Theirs is a friendly rivalry.
"I feel real guilty about having the license plate," conceded Long. After all, she attended Radford College, not what UVa alumni call "The University," which only began admitting women in 1970. When her daughter, Amy, attended UVa in the '80s, though, Long became an avid 'Hoo booster. An Elliston resident, Long actually has two Wahoo plates. The other reads: "1UVAFAN."
Wertz is no fair-weather Hokie, but he's planning to watch this year's contest from the comfort of his home. The reason: it's easier to throw things at the TV if things go awry.
"I'd probably rather be at the game," Wertz said. "I hate to go down there and see all those Hoos in Hooville gloat if they win.
"I just hate to be in the middle of all that blue and orange and end up losing."
UVa is favored by four.
It's not odd to see Jeff and Sandy Birch sporting the UVa sweatshirts their Wahoo son, Brad, bought them for Christmas.
But you won't see those shirts this week.
"We want Virginia Tech to win. We are very loyal Hokie fans," says Sandy Birch. She's assistant head of the computer science department at Tech; her husband, Jeff, is an associate professor in the statistics department. Their younger son, Brian, is a Tech freshman.
Sandy Birch says Brad, who graduated from UVa in 1994, was a little disappointed that Brian didn't follow in his footsteps. But he did buy Brian a Virginia Tech baseball cap last year for Christmas.
Heather Boardman, a Wahoo freshman, wants to pursue a law degree.
"That's why she's at UVa," says her father, Greg Boardman, a professor in civil engineering at Tech. "I think she made a wise decision considering what she wants to do in her career."
But when it comes to the rivalry between the two schools, the older Boardman, who has lived in Blacksburg for 19 years, leans on Tech.
"I'm ecstatic that both teams have had a wonderful season," he says. But "my philosophy is if Tech is playing UVa, I want Tech to win."
Boardman and his family will join Heather in Charlottesville for the game - on the UVa side of the field.
"At least inwardly I'll be rooting for Tech the whole time," Boardman said.
What happens when you grow up in Blacksburg, your dad is a Tech graduate and your mother works for the university?
You pack your bags and leave town.
At least, that's what Carole Schneider did when it was time to pursue an undergraduate degree. She chose UVa and Charlottesville.
"Tech was never even a consideration," she said.
Now, Schneider is back home, living in Blacksburg as a Tech graduate student.
Come game time, though, "my allegiance is always going to be with my undergraduate degree," she said. "I'm not a total Hokie and I don't think I ever will be."
In her family, where a younger sister also attends Tech, there are no bets on this game, she said. "Just friendly rivalry."
Staff writers Brian Kelley, Elissa Milenky, Elizabeth Obenshain and Madelyn Rosenberg contributed to this report.
by CNB