ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9601010002
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
note: above
FROM 1970 TO 1973, they were defensive backs, fullbacks and linebackers. Today, they are married with children. Not enough time has passed, however, for these former teammates to forget the rush of being a college football player.
Amid an exploding crowd punctuated by Hokies hugging in the stands, Rodney Schnurr just watched and smiled with pride.
Now engulfed in a hysterical sea of maroon and orange, this former Tech football player knows what it's like to be on the field, although he never experienced a victory like Sunday's 28-10 Sugar Bowl victory over Texas. His reaction: "I am flabbergasted!''
Schnurr, along with two other former teammates who are some of his closest friends, went to New Orleans to watch this latest generation of Hokies play in the team's first Sugar Bowl.
From 1970 to 1973, they were defensive backs, fullbacks and linebackers. Today, they are insurance agents, company executives and high school physical education teachers. All are married with children and are in their 40s. Not enough time has passed, however, for these former teammates to forget the rush of being a college football player.
"I can't tell you how much it means to see your team," said Randy McCann, who wore No.33 when he played defensive back from 1970 to 1973.
"I like Tech fans, they're great fans," added McCann, now a high school teacher in Pittsburgh. "But being there with your buddies that you've been through a lot with, it just means more."
Though they did not all sit together during the game, the former players spent the weekend talking about football, life and friendship, occasionally trading dirty jokes when their wives and children were not around.
Almost as if no time had passed at all, they teased each other about the long shaggy hair and mustaches they used to sport during college - especially McCann, who had big curly hair and long sideburns. Today, all are clean-cut and have the trim bodies of former athletes who have kept in shape.
They talked about their playing days, especially before the game as they drank a few beers at a French Quarter bar. All three said they believe the team was good enough to go to a bowl game in 1972, a dream that was thwarted by two key losses, to the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary. At that time, there were only 10 college bowl games, compared with the 18 played today.
"If we had as many bowls that we have today, we would have gone to a bowl," said Dennis Dodson, a State Farm insurance agent in Fredericksburg, Va. The former Tech linebacker, who wore No.34 on his jersey, has had season tickets to Tech football games for 10 years and has missed only one Hokie vs. Wahoo encounter during that time. His younger brother, George, who also came to New Orleans this weekend, played on the Tech football team two years after Dodson.
"There's nothing like the climax at the end of the year of going to a bowl game," said Dennis Dodson, who attributes part of this year's winning streak to the No.34 Tech baseball cap his brother bought him before the University of Miami game. Of course, he wore the cap, along with a Tech windbreaker and sweater, to Sunday's game.
Bowl games have changed since these men played football. In addition to the increased number, the games are more commercial and more money is at stake. Schnurr - now vice president of marketing for Snyder's of Hanover in the snack food company's Northern Virginia office - says the changes have helped universities' recruiting efforts.
"I think there is a dramatic change and a heightened importance of the bowl games,'' he said. "This is the '90s, and this is the way people market now."
Like other Hokie fans, these former players yelled toward the field during the good and bad plays. However, Schnurr said he would never approach the players with advice or criticism.
For a former football player, being in the stands is hard, they said, especially during this game. They are often asked whether they would like to be on the field playing.
"Every one of these guys would answer the question the same way," Schnurr said. "We hate being spectators."
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. ALAN KIM/Staff Hokie fans leap from their seats asby CNBBryan Still's 60-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second
quarter puts the Hokies on the scoreboard. The hysterical sea of
maroon and orange exploded in celebration over Tech's Sugar Bowl
victory. color
2. DON PETERSEN/Staff Former Tech players George Dodson (from left),
Dennis Dodson, Rodney Schnurr and Randy McCann watched this latest
generation of Hokies defeat Texas in the Sugar Bowl. "I am
flabbergasted!'' Schnurr says of the win.