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Beginners Guide To ACC Championship Game In Tampa

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 4, 2008

The Boston College Eagles will land tonight. The Virginia Tech Hokies arrive Friday. Many fans already are here. Tampa's Raymond James Stadium is bracing for its first college football conference title game. Before Boston College (9-3) and Virginia Tech (8-4) kick off the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at 1 (WFTS, Channel 28), with a trip to Miami's Orange Bowl at stake, here is some warm-up information:

GAME INFO

Tickets range from $25 to $120. They are available through Ticketmaster at (813) 287-8844 or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets include a postgame concert with country music recording artist Blake Shelton.

TRIVIAL TIDBITS

Boston College is known as "Offensive Line U." for its ability to constantly produce NFL-caliber players at that position. The average size of this season's Boston College offensive line starters: 6-foot-5, 307 pounds.

Since the beginning of the 1995 season, only Ohio State (140) and Florida (138) have won more games than Virginia Tech (134).

FOOTBALL'S GREATEST MOMENTS

Boston College: On Nov. 23, 1984, BC pulled off one of the greatest plays in college football history. Eagles quarterback Doug Flutie, throwing against 30 mph winds, heaved a 52-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan with no time remaining to beat Miami 47-45. It became known as the "Hail Flutie" game. Flutie won the Heisman Trophy.

Virginia Tech: On Jan. 4, 2000, the unbeaten Hokies played for a national championship. They came up short, losing to the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles 46-29 at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The following morning, fans were still buzzing about redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Vick, who put on an electrifying show and had the Hokies leading 29-28 in the fourth quarter.

MASCOTS

What's a Hokie? It dates to 1896, when Virginia Polytechnic Institute student O.M. Stull won a contest by writing a new school cheer, "Old Hokie."

Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy!

Rae, Ri, V.P.I.

Stull said the "Hokie" had no hidden or symbolic meaning. He just thought it up to get attention. Soon, Hokies was adopted as the name for all of the school's teams.

The HokieBird mascot leads Virginia Tech's football team onto the field for home games, as students jump up and down in the stands, to Metallica's "Enter Sandman."

Why Eagles? In 1924, a Boston College alum, the Rev. Edward J. McLaughlin, suggested an eagle "the symbol of power, majesty and freedom" as the school's mascot. A live eagle didn't last long with the campus habitat, so a stuffed bald eagle was put on display. In 1961, after students campaigned for a live eagle mascot, a 10-pound, two-month-old female golden eagle was donated to the school. It lived at a zoo and attended Boston College home games, tethered to a perch. It died after contracting a virus in 1966. Ever since, Boston College fans have cheered on a costumed human mascot.

NOTABLE ALUMNI

Boston College

John Kerry - Democratic presidential candidate, 2004.
Tip O'Neill - Former Speaker of the House.
Leonard Nimoy - Yes, Mr. Spock was an Eagle.

Virginia Tech

Jim Buckmaster - CEO of craigslist.org.
Clifton Garvin - CEO of Exxon.
Chris Kraft - Established NASA's Mission Control operation.

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