I went to VT in 1969 and after multiple degrees they finally "kicked" me out. I loved the place including football and basketball. Saw some great games. And I have been a fan ever since. My wife doesn't understand how a "grown man" will plan his weekends around VT football. My take on the two major sports (fb and bb) is that "we" just haven't decided what we want to grown up to be. So that when change happens we "react" we don't seem to every be planning ahead (if someone is they are doing a very horrible job at it). It seems to me that right now we don't know if we want to be a Big Fish or a Little Fish and we don't know what size pond we want to play in. So we just muddle through - sometimes acting like a Big Fish (although not as often as in the past) and sometimes acting like a Little Fish. In my opinion neither are bad or good - they are just choices. But the problem is that we actually didn't "choose" them, we just let them happen. It's just like someone who starts a small company - it could be great and provide a great life for them. Or they could decide to become larger (and it may or may not be successful). But rarely does a small entity "magically" become the market leader. It takes work, resources and a focused direction. My analogy is that I don't see the "focused direction" for VT football and absent that it seems we are destined to muddle about. Just one person's opinion who has followed VT for a very long time.