OT: UVA turns sprinklers on while Va Tech Celebrates
I thought this was funny and I’d share this. It’s an interesting twist on the post rivalry game on-field celebrations where the winning team is more likely to partake in flag planting, etc.. I’m surprised that MSU hasn’t done this to Michigan since they still have natural turf at Spartan Stadium. This is a very “little brother” type move.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
this is next level petty but impressive execution nevertheless
November 28th, 2023 at 8:55 AM ^
Honestly, I'm looking at UVA a whole new way now.
Not sure why, but in the back of my mind, they didn't care this much. I think I actually esteem them more.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:03 AM ^
This is what rivalries should be about, petty yet harmless one-upsmanship. Looks like the VT players are taking it in stride and having fun with it too.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:41 AM ^
as opposed to gang-like assaults on a player as they're leaving the field?
i'll take sprinklers, with humor, all day long.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
“He’s skipping, get him!”
Remember, msu cares about the health and safety of its students-athletes.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:25 AM ^
Well, with leaders like Sir Robin...
November 28th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
Nothing says petty like a maintenance guy turning on the sprinklers to ruin their celebration.
Great picture, though.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:52 AM ^
Raining on the parade. Love the rivalry shenanigans!
November 28th, 2023 at 9:29 AM ^
I would love to see JJ/Blake and the TEAM get rained on after that 49-0 sign stealing crapola fiasco.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
If that happened in EL, our guys would have reveled in it.
Soaking the natural turf with approximately one hundred pair of football cleats running around seems like a good way to destroy the field.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:15 AM ^
You don’t think Sparty would gladly wreck their field just to mildly annoy Michigan?
November 28th, 2023 at 9:43 AM ^
I don't know if VaTech and UVA are taking this well or extremely angry with each other. But I do know how this would (or should I say, will) go down in E.L. in 2025.
We win and celebrate on the field postgame. They turn on the sprinklers. We get super pissed and everyone goes Devin Bush. MSU wants the Big Ten to cancel the rest of our season and says the whole thing is our fault because we didn't leave the field in a timely manner.
Maybe Jonathan Smith can turn the heat down on this rivalry, but I'm skeptical. This is a "bad system beats good people" situation.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:02 AM ^
Tiny Tony just might cancel the rest of UM's season if this went down...
November 28th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
It's not like we have anymore football to be played in Charlottesville right now. They'll have the field ready for our next game in ... *checks notes... 9 months.
November 28th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
V Tech has fallen far from their days of glory with losses to Purdue and Rutger among others. They need the win over their rival to be bowl eligible. It was a big win and they probably could have cared less about the stunt. It probably added to the celebration.
Reminds me a bit of the 2019 game against ND where we were all celebrating with the "sprinklers" on.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
...and they probably could have cared less about the stunt.
How much less?
November 28th, 2023 at 9:10 AM ^
Pedantry at its finest. +1
November 28th, 2023 at 9:00 AM ^
I LOVE this level of pettiness. 10/10
November 28th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
Ahh the ol' ninth green at nine trick, ehh?
I wouldn't call it a little brother move necessarily. Its a rivalry, and this is part of what makes rivalries great. No one got hurt, no one made any personal insults about someone's mom or girlfriend. Just some harmless shenanigans.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:11 AM ^
Right. It’s not like they got run over by an automated lawn mowing tractor. The maintenance people at UV know where to draw the line. And it’s just before the automated lawn mowing tractor.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:04 AM ^
brilliant.
Too bad tire turf doesn't need water.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:09 AM ^
A buddy of mine was a police officer in Bolder, CO about 20 years ago. He said they always had a big problem with a city park being filled with people partaking in the Ganja on 4/20, at 4:20. So one year they decided to have the sprinklers start spraying for 15 minutes at the top of every hour. Cleared out the park, but everyone just went out on the street to partake.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:22 AM ^
Hilarious and unique
November 28th, 2023 at 9:24 AM ^
This is the kind of jovial pettiness that makes college football so great. Stands in sharp contrast to the more malevolent trends of late, such as killing old-growth trees and hiring PI firms to dig up dirt on your rivals
November 28th, 2023 at 9:25 AM ^
Things like this are why nothing beats college football. It's sad that starting next year it will never really be the same as it was when I was growing up.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:26 AM ^
Definitely sophomoric and good natured ribbing / humor / harmless action between rivals.
It may be immature, but - I look at the injuries suffered - and police charges that might have been filed because of malicious conduct - and, it puts a smile on my face.
Just wondering if ND will do the same thing to Virginia if they upset the Irish in South Bend next November.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:28 AM ^
A maintenance guy got on Twitter and said "sorry, I didn't mean to do that, you can't see the field from the controls and blah blah blah" and honestly I like it better with everyone thinking UVA was just being obnoxious on purpose.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
Don't worry, it was on purpose. Oh right, he didn't know. :)
Serious question: I'm curious about your take on UVA-VaTech rivalry vis a vis UM-MSU. Equally petty and angry, or is it more good natured?
November 28th, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
Much more good-natured for sure. You don't have to look beyond last year to see that. After the shooting at UVA, Tech played Liberty for their next game. Tech wore orange jerseys while LU wore blue, and both ran out with UVA flags as well as their own to show support. I didn't live here during the Tech shooting back in the day, but I would imagine the support was mutual from UVA's side as well.
But even beyond that, it is just a regular ole rivalry. A rivalry for sure, these teams and schools and fanbases hate each other, but it's not at the same level of stakes as The Game (what rivalry is, really?), nor is it at the same pettiness level as Little Brother.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:15 AM ^
Prior to the football shooting last year, the record for a lasting Beta Bridge message was a couple months, which was set by a Hoos 4 Hokies message in maroon and orange after the 2007 shooting. I think that says a lot.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
Even our rivalry with MSU took a backseat with MSU's shooting last year. We hosted them (basketball) the first game after the shooting and were similarly supportive (wearing Spartan Strong shirts, played their alma mater, used green lighting pregame, etc.). And I have no doubt MSU would do the same.
But outside of devastating tragedies, our MSU rivalry is incredibly petty. Neither school would just laugh off the sprinklers. I assume we're not the only in-state rivalry that's this bad, but maybe we are. If UM-MSU really is that much worse than everyone else, that would be interesting. At least no one has gone and poisoned 100 year old trees on the other school's campus yet.
November 28th, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
It's always actually been kinda petty but it's not on the level of UM-MSU. MSU is borderline sociopathic. UVA-VT is a rivalry, not a complete hate-fest. Also when there's a tragedy at one school or the other, they both show up big time in support. UVA was incredibly supportive in the wake of the 2007 shooting at VT and VT was the same last year.
Also, the roles are a little backwards from UM-MSU. UVA and UM are the academic, preppy-ish flagship schools, and VT/MSU are the bumpkin schools, but it's UVA with the crummy football program and the wait-til-basketball-season approach to life.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^
Don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Love it.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:33 AM ^
Inspired by Bull Durham?
November 28th, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
“One hundred bucks says I can get a rainout.”
November 28th, 2023 at 9:36 AM ^
But, but, but...what about the player safety issue at stake here!!! Surely, someone could have been hit in the eye with a streaming bolt of water or slipped and hit their head!!!
I'm sure the other ACC coaches and AD's will set up a call to discuss the appropriate punishment with the commissioner ASAP!!!!
November 28th, 2023 at 9:36 AM ^
I think it's hilarious and not little brother at all. All in good fun.
November 28th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
i just want to point out that The Lawn is, like, a MAJOR THING at virginia. they're not referring to the football field - it's one of the main things on the main campus (something like the diag) - but maybe someone told the groundskeeper that they needed to Protect This Grass, and they just took it too far.
i'm also guessing that tech is very much the 'little brother' in that rivalry, despite the historic records. @BlueinVA needs to weigh in on that one, though.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
UVA is the liberal arts flagship with the history and prestige, VT is the engineering/ag school. Both are located away from the main population centers, but C'Ville is a much bigger city and much closer to both Richmond and D.C. than Blacksburg.
There's definitely the perception that UVA is the 'arrogant rich kid' in the relationship (even though in practice VT recruits its students from basically the same populations), but it's complicated by the fact that UVA doesn't do football well while VT was a borderline national power for a while.
Maybe the Kansas/Kansas State dynamic is the closest analogy.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:43 AM ^
The picture was in Scott Stadium, not on The Lawn. It would actually be quite difficult to get the entire football team onto The Lawn because it's pretty closed off and is also a decent distance from the stadium in the middle of campus.
As far as Tech being the little brother, I don't get that sense at all. Tech is honestly probably the more popular of the two as far as Virginia residents go. I'd guess that split is around 60/40 in Tech's favor. But UVA only really feels like the underdog in football. Otherwise, they play well in basketball of course as well as baseball and a number of non-rev sports. I'm trying to think of a good parallel, but it certainly isn't UM/MSU. The only thing I can think of would be if Northwestern were a public school, UVA would be NW and VT would be Illinois. Neither team has ever been a football powerhouse, they each have had their moments, but historically neither is great but both are top-notch schools.
I don't have the state or school in my name but I've lived in Virginia now for 14 years and work at UVA (am actually typing this a few hundred feet from The Lawn, haha).
November 28th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
I'd say it'd actually be super easy to get the football team on the Lawn. I mean, it's used for graduation ceremonies, 80 or so dudes could get there without the least issue. 15-minute walk at the most and nothing stopping them from doing that other than that's 45 minutes they'd have to spend walking there, walking back, taking selfies, etc.
November 28th, 2023 at 2:35 PM ^
The picture was in Scott Stadium, not on The Lawn.
oh, i knew that...was trying to make a "hey, we protect every blade of grass on this campus"-type joke, and didn't stick the landing.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:19 AM ^
I read this and I am sad.
This is rivalry stuff. Contrast that to what we get in our rivalry games. With MSU, it's them trying to injure our players on the field -- including this year -- and after the game. With OSU, it's CIA-type bullshit and administrative intimidation in an effort to wreck our program long-term, simply because we have the audacity to kick their ass on the field.
It really is awful.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:20 AM ^
Thought about posting this earlier myself. Everyone here at UVA is talking about this, but Wahoos kinda feel it's a bad look since we lost so badly. Looks like the Hokies are having fun regardless of getting wet. Definitely next level petty and I love this kind of rivalry stuff, but it would hit different if Tech didn't just drop 55 on UVA at their own house.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:39 AM ^
On one hand, this is the first time I have heard of something like this, so I applaud the originality.
On the other hand, another school copying it would be stupid.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Are they smoking cigars? UVA just trying to save them by putting it out
Tony Annese is like wtf.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:48 AM ^
I mean, the stadium isn't too far from the medical campus. Maybe they're just trying to keep things smoke-free.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
The picture is awesome and I think VaTech will have that framed in the football building.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
If a prospect was being recruited by both programs - I’d certainly point out this at photo.
November 28th, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
If this ever happens to Michigan our team should just bathe in it.
Go Blue!