They come in their sun dresses and orange ties, a steady stream of students and alums, the rabid fans and the cheerful socialites, the drunks young and old who like a tailgate and a crowd and who do not mind sitting outside on a 90-degree day.
The 58,554 pour into Scott Stadium to watch the Virginia Cavaliers open their 118th season. And like many seasons before this, hopes rise and fall and rise again during the course of three and a half hours.
True freshman quarterback Peter Lalich leads the Cavaliers on an 82-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to stave off a Duke upset.
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After the opening entertainment—an Army unit parachuting onto the field, as well as the typical fare of Jumbotron animation and marching band movements—fireworks explode on the field and out gallops the Cavalier on horseback leading droves of football players. The crowd roar is as loud as it would ever get this Saturday.
Ah, and then the game. It appears that the rout is on against the lackluster Duke Blue Devils after a spectacular punt return from Vic Hall and a 58-yard scoring run from Cedric Peerman help give the ‘Hoos a two touchdown lead. But over the next two quarters, UVA returns to anemic offensive form. Awful long snapping on special teams allows Duke back in the game, and with the score 17-13, it looks like the Blue Devils might break their 21-game losing streak.
Then true freshman quarterback Peter Lalich plays savior, coolly delivering eight of 10 passes on an 82-yard drive that culminates in a touchdown throw to stalwart tight end Tom Santi. Jameel Sewell, the starting quarterback who just last year was himself the anointed savior, watches from the sidelines, a sophomore facing the possibility that already his time is up.
The mistake-riddled win against one of college football’s worst teams is hardly reassuring after the previous week’s drubbing at the hands of Wyoming. "It’s not just the wins but the purity of the game that you like to see," Head Coach Al Groh would say after the Duke game. "My analogy is it’s like a great story with a lot of misspelled words."
But there is more to life than football, and so starting at halftime, even though the game is far from over, a steady stream of people trickles out the gates. "I’m sort of a diehard fan," says Edward Twohy, a season ticket holding alum who’s been attending games for 50 years. "Plus I happen to like football. But everybody understands that University of Virginia is not totally about football."
Twohy is not the kind who leaves early. "Needless to say, I’ve got a lot of patience. I’ve been through seasons where they never won a game. Still came. Hope springs eternal in the human breast."
A sack by defensive end Chris Long on a last ditch Blue Devil fourth down effort and the game is over, no matter the three minutes left on the scoreboard. Even the diehard fans start making for the exits, vain attempts to "beat the crowd." The highway arteries leaving Charlottesville surge with flag-bearing SUVs, and Alderman Road soaks up the sun dresses and orange ties. In a press conference, Groh tries to dismiss a brewing quarterback controversy. And somewhere in a Corner bar, a drunken alum hums The Good Ol’ Song.
Football has returned to Charlottesville.
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