Letter From the Editor: When Stars are Made
by Will Stewart
TSL Extra, Issue #17
Dear Readers:
"Go to the light, Carol Ann! Go to the light!"
Bonus points to you if you know what movie that line is from (I'm sure most of you do). Why do I start this month's letter from the editor off with that quote? No good reason, other than I'm bleary from no sleep for about a week now, and I thought that quote was applicable to spring football.
You're thinking: Um, yeah, okay. But really, Virginia Tech spring football used to be conducted in obscurity and in privacy, with a few thousand fans showing up for the spring game, but no one paid any attention to the month of practices beforehand, and the traditional media -- TV and newspapers -- didn't cover it.
Then along came a 9-year bowl game streak, and the winning, combined with the Internet, led to spring football becoming the third season (the real season and recruiting are the first two seasons). Spring football, thanks to increasing media coverage, higher spring game attendance, and daily practice nuggets from BeamerBall.com, has stepped from the darkness � into the light. Kind of like Carol Ann.
Okay, it's a bit of a stretch, but I told you, I'm getting punchy.
This month's TSL Extra includes exhaustive previews of the offense and defense that break the team down position-by-position and tell you who's stepping up, who's holding serve, and who might come on strong this spring. Spring football is when football players are made, through hard work, dedication, competition, and repetition.
It is during the spring that players learn their position, develop their game, and even move to different positions. A lot will be settled in the coming month, before the Spring Game on April 20th.
We've also got a Marcus Vick profile that gives you a different take on Marcus, concentrating more on Marcus the person, instead of Marcus the football player. Our other recruiting profile is Amherst RB/DB Brian McPherson, a player who seems like he was always destined to wear the orange and maroon.
Add to that articles about Tech men's basketball (from the always informative and entertaining Jim Alderson), football player power ratings (all hail Cols Colas), and "Inside TSL" (more thoughts on the UVa flier), all wrapped up in an awesome Marcus Vick cover, and you've got another great version of your monthly Hokie fix. It's Friday, so quit work and read the TSL Extra!
Enjoy issue #17.
