Baseball, lacrosse and softball will be played on Saturday at Virginia Tech. Elsewhere, burials will begin for 32 victims of Monday’s campus massacre.
Are university officials heartless for resuming play so soon or is it part of the healing process as classes reconvene on Monday? There is no right answer. Time always marches on. It did after Sept. 11, 2001. It did after the sniper attacks the following year. It did after Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.
“People need time to grieve, but you can’t do this forever. You have to go on with your life,” said Hokies assistant football coach Billy Hite on Thursday. “This will make the Hokie Nation even stronger if that’s possible.”
Virginia Tech alumni are asking everyone to wear orange and maroon today. Longtime adversaries born from sports are willingly doing so. The tragedy from Blacksburg, Va. has resonated nationwide and certainly throughout the Washington area. My daughters attending two local colleges said campus life has been overwhelmed by the shootings. You’ll see plenty of orange and maroon in College Park and other campuses around the region.
Hite said such support has been nonstop. Former Redskins and Virginia Tech defensive end Bruce Smith called four times looking to help. So have other coaches nationwide. What we can offer now may only be our prayers, but they’re certainly needed.
“All the support we’re getting right now [from] people around the nation has been unbelievable,” Hite said.
Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen and Tech head coach Frank Beamer share a summer lake house where both families vacation together annually. They even attended child birth classes together nearly 30 years ago while assistant coaches at The Citadel. Friedgen saw tears in Beamer’s eyes during Tuesday’s remembrance. Their wives have talked regularly.
“My heart goes out to [Beamer] and all the people at Virginia Tech,” Friedgen said. “How fragile life is to me is such a precious thing. Sometimes that brings to focus how appreciative you should be of things.”
Eventually, a teleconference with Hite turned to whether Ike Whitaker (Northwest High) can be the starting quarterback this fall. It wasn’t disrespectful; just heeding Hite’s advice to move along in life. The games are eternal as passing markers in our lives. So it will be at Virginia Tech.
“I never dreamed anything like this could happen in Blacksburg, Va.” Hite said.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
