From the sidelines
By Marty Gordon
On Dec. 29 in Yankee Stadium, Virginia Tech is going to the home of the New York Yankees to play Maryland in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. The connections between the Yanks and the school in Blacksburg run deep.
Let’s remind you.
Following the tragic day of April 16, 2007, the Yankees reached out to Virginia Tech about playing a baseball game, and the two have been united ever since that phone call
The book on the relationship between the Yankees and the Hokies will have a new chapter with the bowl game of Dec. 29.
Earlier this week, the Yankees, the Hokies, and the Terrapins held a press conference for the announcement of this year’s Pinstripe Bowl.
During the press conference, the president of the Yankees, Randy Levine, and YES Network’s studio host, Bob Lorenz, spoke about how the Yankees wanted to be there for the Hokies and their mourning and touched on how special it was when the Yankees went to the VT campus on March 18, 2008, to visit the April 16 Memorial and play a baseball game versus Tech.
The Yankees also made a $1 million contribution to the Virginia Tech “Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund,” established to aid in the healing process following the tragic events that took place in Blacksburg.
The Yankees honored the memory of the victims by wearing the Virginia Tech logo on their caps and by painting a special Virginia Tech logo on the field.
Virginia Tech was represented in New York during that special honor by VT President Dr. Charles Steger, who threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch. In addition to the donation, the Yankees announced a commitment to play in an exhibition game on the Virginia Tech campus.
“The events that took place this spring in Virginia have deeply affected us all,” said New York Yankees Principal Owner George Steinbrenner. “But the Virginia Tech community has shown great spirit and resolve during this difficult time, and the New York Yankees are proud to join so many others in supporting the healing process.”
Steger said, “On behalf of everyone associated with Virginia Tech, including the families of the victims of our recent tragedy, I would like to convey our sincere gratitude to the New York Yankees organization for this wonderful contribution to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.”
The Yankees took a pause during spring training that year and came to Blacksburg to see the April 16 Memorial and play the Hokies baseball team on March 18.
As Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter stood at the April 16 memorial in front of Burruss Hall, looking at the 32 stones that honor the victims of those who lost their lives and contemplating the tragedy that took place, he found himself approached by a young student who lost her fiancé on that fateful and regrettable day.
The young woman simply wanted to take a picture of Jeter at her fiancé’s stone, and she quietly and politely made her request of the Yankees superstar.
Rather than offer some words of condolence, or stumble over trying to find just the exact right words to say to her, Jeter – in perhaps a way that only he could – made a rather bold stipulation of her request considering the circumstances.
“Only if you smile,” he said.
She, indeed, smiled. And that was the theme of the day.
So as many Hokie fans plan a trip to the Pinstripe Bowl, we need to say thank you to the Bronx Bombers for the connection we have in a Hokie uniform. At least one day, I might be a Yankee fan.
I know I was in 2008, and I have one of those hats to remember the special day by.
