VT fans get free seats for snowy win

BLACKSBURG During Virginia Tech basketball games at Cassell Coliseum, the aisle seat in row G behind the scorers’ table usually is occupied by the school’s president, Charles Steger. But last night, Steger and many of the season-ticket holders who sit in row G weren’t there.

For one rare game on an even rarer night, they were replaced by cousins Dominic Whyte, 13, and Tiara Templemann, 12. Dominic wore a bright orange wig and fidgeted in his seat, studying the Hokies’ moves as they beat Charleston Southern 73-50. Templemann mostly sat quietly while attending a basketball game for the first time in her life.

A foot of snow in Blacksburg led Tech officials to offer free admission for the game. The crowd of about 3,000 included longtime fans who rarely miss a game and first-timers like Templemann, who is from Switzerland and was in town to visit family. She and Dominic sat with their dads, Barry Whyte and Urs Templemann.

Dominic doesn’t get to attend many Tech games he had been to five before last night so he relished the chance to watch the Hokies. “I’m playing basketball, so I like seeing all the moves they do,“ he said.

Tiara, meanwhile, had only seen basketball on television. “She thinks it’s fun,“ Barry said after translating a question.

The atmosphere last night in the 9,847-seat building was lively, considering the absence of students graduation was Friday and the quality of the Hokies’ opponent. In the final two minutes, one male fan sitting behind Charleston Southern’s bench inexplicably removed his shirt and began howling while thrusting his hips.

Last night wasn’t the first time Tech used modified admission because of inclement weather. Nearly three years ago, on Jan. 21, 2007, an ice storm rolled in, and the school let students in free for a 67-64 overtime win against Maryland. Though last night seemed less likely to provide similar drama, the Hokies were surprised when they looked at the crowd.

“I thought we were gonna have 200 people in the stands,“ said the Hokies’ junior shooting guard, Dorenzo Hudson.

In the row behind Dominic and Tiara sat John Moody, a 1958 Tech graduate who now works as an athletic fundraiser for the school. Moody has attended basketball games since 1972 and has grown accustomed to seeing the same season-ticket holders sitting around him. Last night, he saw few of those regulars and more people like Dominic, Tiara and their parents.

“If we didn’t have them, we just wouldn’t have many people,“ Moody said.

Across the court sat Dave Edmonds and Hilda Reynolds, friends who have been season-ticket holders for Tech football, basketball and baseball since the early 1980s. They usually come to Cassell with a group of about 20, some of whom travel from Roanoke. But Edmonds and Reynolds, who live in Blacksburg, were the only two who made it last night.

“I’ve got a four-wheel drive [Jeep],“ Reynolds said. “No four-wheel drive, I wouldn’t have come.“

Edmonds, who grew up in Blacksburg, said he last saw snow like this during the blizzard of 1993, when he recalled about 30 inches falling. (Victor Davila, Tech’s sophomore forward from Puerto Rico, was even more stunned when he watched the powder pile up Friday afternoon while leaving a team lunch at a Chinese buffet restaurant. “This is crazy,“ he thought.)

So as Reynolds looked around Cassell, she was impressed with what she saw. “These people that are here now are the people who really want to be at a basketball game,“ she said.

The developments on the court weren’t exactly riveting. Tech led 17-2 five and a half minutes into the game and shot a season-best 55.1 percent (previous high: 47.2) to counteract 19 turnovers, their most by four this season, and a stat that bothered coach Seth Greenberg.

Still, his team is 9-1, its best start since it was 12-1 in 1995-96, with another seemingly overmatched opponent, Maryland-Baltimore County, coming to town tomorrow. Greenberg knows an auspicious beginning alone won’t get the Hokies into the NCAA tournament, which they missed the past two seasons. But he felt just as encouraged by the Hokies’ progress as he was about the fans, whose presence, he said, “speaks volumes for people being excited about what we’re doing.“

After the final buzzer, he grabbed the public-address microphone and spoke to them as they pulled on coats, hats and gloves and filed out.

“Thanks for coming out and supporting these guys,“ he said. “We really appreciate it.“