For the fourth straight week, the Virginia football team hits the field for a night game. The Cavaliers opened at Pittsburgh and then hosted William & Mary and Florida State under the lights. Old Dominion is in town Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Fans already know the game at Miami next month is set for a Friday night too so with the exception of next week’s Notre Dame game that kicks off at 3:30 p.m., five of the team’s first six games will be evening affairs.
The late kickoffs take different planning and pacing for players, who must sit around all day before they play. There are treatment schedules and team meetings sprinkled in throughout, basically making Saturday an all-day deal for the team. While that part is challenging, UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall said that he supports the night games at home for the program.
“I think the night games – now that I’ve been here going into my fourth year, I think the night games fit really well at UVA,” Mendenhall said. “I’m learning enough about the community and the fan base and our student body, and just my sense in that short amount of time is that’s the best fit. It appears that that’s when we garner the most support. Seems to me that’s when our fans would like to attend the games. The difficult thing for players is to manage the full day on Saturday before we play; however, part of developing and building a program is more of the prime time slots in television exposure. I view it all as a sign of progress, but I also I think fundamentally view it is as natural fit for this institution.”
For some fans, the late kickoffs create a tricky situation. For those traveling from outside of Charlottesville, do they spend money on hotels or make the late drive back home with games ending closer to midnight? Others are able to make the late kickoffs when afternoon games wouldn’t fit in a schedule busy with family activities.
What about you? Share your thoughts on the message boards or in the comments below.
Let’s look at the rest of The Sabre’s Fan Friday!
Post Of The Week
The pick this week comes from poster zeropointzero, who compared two common traits between Tony Bennett’s basketball teams and Bronco Mendenhall’s football teams. The whole thread is here.
Fans Of The Week
Bringing the noise from the end zone seats!
Student Fans Of The Week
Students have been out in full force for the first home games of the season.
Feature Photo Of The Week
UVA tackle Bobby Haskins protects the pocket against Florida State.
Thread Of The Week
Poster Hoos in da house started this thread on the football message board that focuses on Virginia’s conditioning. That sparked some good discussion. Some of the posts are highlighted below.
Question Of The Week
On the football board, hooshouse asked an interesting question: “Have your expectations for the season changed after three games?” Read the thread of responses here. The Hoos are off to a 3-0 start for the first time since the 2005 season.
MORE NIGHT GAMES WILL MEAN MORE ATTENDANCE.
Late games are a problem. 3 hour drive. If the direction for next year is night games this needs shared prior to selling season tickets. So we can opt out.
With TV selecting time slots 12 days before, you won’t get much advance notice.
I grew up with the lore of LSU’s “Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night”. The excitement created was legendary. But from a comfort standpoint night games are much better in my opinion for fans and players alike for the early season games. The typical heat in September makes the East Side of the stadium unbearable for sun drenched day games and I can only imagine what it’s like in pads and a helmet. Not having to deal with baking at the game has been a treat. I asked people around us a couple of years back why we even had lights if we weren’t going to use them. I do know TV has the final say on most game starts however. We’ll of course have some afternoon tilts in October and November but for September I’ll gladly drive the 2+ hours home late to have the comfort and atmosphere of “Scott Stadium on a Saturday night”!