By Marty Gordon
Mike Young and his Hokie basketball team produced their own “shock and awe” last season when they captured the ACC Tournament title, and it has carried over to this season as the team has now won 11 games and is ranked in the top 25.
The championship is definitely one of the top sports stories of the year, but Young’s interest in popcorn has stolen some of the storylines, even becoming the norm at every game in 2022.
In an interview earlier this year, he said eating popcorn during warmups was something he had always done while he was at Wofford.
“I had done it for 20 years. It was no big deal at Wofford,” Young said. “When I came here (Virginia Tech), it got lots of attention. I have always enjoyed eating some popcorn and talking to staff, players, and coaches while the team warms up.”
Photographs of Young sitting on the team’s bench have been all the rave.
He told reporters that Virginia Tech’s Cassell Coliseum has the best popcorn in the Atlantic Coast Conference while the best road corn is at Boston College.
I just had to find out for ourselves this past weekend when the Hokies hosted Grambling State. Young sat on the floor with his cup of corn while I sat above the student’s section with a $8 souvenir bucket of Cassell’s favorite.
Not bad for a pregame snack.
So maybe, Mike Young is on to sometime with his popcorn addition. In fact, Virginia Tech Athletics believes so much in Young’s habit, they have created a custom popcorn bucket with his
picture on it. The item was limited and was given to anyone who donated money to the VT Athletic Foundation earlier this year.
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