From the sidelines
By Marty Gordon
Sam Helton is your typical Blacksburg High School student. He loves Virginia Tech sports and doesn’t miss many home basketball games. He never expected, though, to become a national sports celebrity.
He loves chicken wings, so when he got a plate of wings at last week’s home basketball game, it was on. As he returned to his seat, the music started during a timeout, and he decided to jam as he walked down the aisle at Cassell Coliseum.
Little did he know the television cameras had zoomed in on him. All of this was during a triple-overtime game with Miami. The television announcers on the ACC broadcast said Helton came prepared with a plate of chicken wings.
The recording made its way to ESPN and became a top sports highlight. On social media, he became a new sensation.
The restaurant, Bull and Bones, where the wings were from at a concession stand in the basketball arena, has also received a lot of attention.
So, before Wednesday’s game, Bull and Bones invited Helton to a pre-game meal of — you guessed it — chicken wings. He brought five friends, and they got another taste of the smoked wings.
Helton told the media that the good music and the tasty wings made him want to go wild for the crowd, never dreaming he would make it to the scoreboard screen or television.
“I enjoyed it, but the real thing that gets me that I made other people in the world happy by my dancing because I was enjoying myself,” Helton said. “It’s a nice feeling and it’s hard to wrap your head around it.”
I would probably dance too if I had a plate of bar-b-cue wings. Helton did not expect to become such a celebrity. Instead, he just wanted to eat his wings.
Virginia Tech ended up losing the game, but Helton was okay with the result because he had his fill of chicken wings.
Helton, who is a junior at Blacksburg High School, hopes to attend Virginia Tech after graduation.
On the court, the Hokies are still trying to find a middle ground. As fans, everyone needs to remember this is an entire roster of first-year players. I salute Mike Young and what he has managed to do in the first-year. I expected nothing less.
Give Young time, and this will be a basketball program the fans will be proud of. No one expected this team to win 10 games this year. They have done more than that and could be headed to the postseason in the National Invitational Tournament. Not bad for 2020.
Just think what the future holds. Maybe, it includes another plate of chicken wings. Until then, Hokie fans need to just sit back and take the same outlook as that of a Blacksburg High School junior. Enjoy the wings and dance while you watch this team develop into a winner.
For those wanting to know what the song was that inspired the chicken wing dance: It was Wolfmother’s “Joker and the Thief.” Here’s a special salute to our new hero who can hold a plate of chicken wings and groove to the music all at the same time. .
