I've grown up a Hokie fan. Being local, having family gone there, always access to season tickets - VT sports just felt part of me. However I'm fully aware that most of that was just circumstantial. Had I been born in Baton Rouge with the same set of details tailored there, I'd be a die-hard LSU fan. Laaser is one of those rare people who was able to set aside his preconceived biases, knowledge, personal fanhoods, and become a HOKIE from his first day on the job. And clearly, it's not just lip-service. He cares deeply about VT as much as anyone and to me, that's amazing. He's honestly a big reason why I've felt a deeper emotional connection with this basketball team than recent years. The way he analyzes the team beyond the court, the way he interviews the players and gets into the nitty-gritty, the way he can take a simple thing like an injury or a double-digit win and turn it into an exposition of character and class sets him apart from the rest. I know people are struggling to like him, and most of that is because he's not Bill Roth (who struggled mightily in his early years), but if we could appreciate Jon Laaser as Jon Laaser, I think we'd understand the diamond we've got.
[Post edited by SkoHokies at 04/01/2019 10:39AM]