30 bucket list items college football fans need to experience

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 09: Linebacker Ben Boulware #10 of the Clemson Tigers celebrates after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 to win the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium on January 9, 2017 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA – NOVEMBER 17: Virginia Tech Hokies players take to the field prior to their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Lane Stadium on November 17, 2011 in Blacksburg, Virginia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images) /

20. “Enter Sandman,” Lane Stadium

Opened in 1965, Lane Stadium in Blacksburg began as a humble home for 35,050 Virginia Tech football fans. Recently independent after spending more than 40 years in the Southern Conference, the Hokies had played in just one bowl game prior to Lane Stadium’s construction – a loss in the 1946 Sun Bowl. There were several successful seasons in the past, including an 8-0-1 record in 1954, which earned the Hokies their one and only final ranking in the AP Top 20 (No. 16), but Virginia Tech was far from a national brand.

Jerry Claiborne led the Hokies to two Liberty Bowls after Lane Stadium was christened. Bill Dooley coached Virginia Tech to seven straight winning seasons from 1980-86, during which Lane Stadium was first expanded, and the program went to three bowls, including the first win in school history in the 1986 Peach Bowl.

But Virginia Tech reached its greatest heights after the school hired Frank Beamer. The former Virginia Tech defensive back overcame a slow start as head coach to lead the Hokies to 23 consecutive bowl games, seven conference championships and 13 10-win seasons.

With the program’s success under Beamer, Virginia Tech felt the need to expand Lane Stadium in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004, to its current capacity of 66,233. And all 66,233 stand, jump and scream when Metallica’s hit song “Enter Sandman” plays over the stadium loudspeakers before the Hokies take the field.

The tradition began in 2000, and when Virginia Tech hosts a big game on a Saturday (or Thursday) night, there are few entrances that create a more electric atmosphere.

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