Over the course of the many debates re: the Hokie Club, I've been relatively reasonable and have worked to try to find some middle ground in the arguments. So please don't take this as "another homer fighting for the Hokie Club." To be frank, I do blame the Hokie Club for losing you and others like you. They could have and should have been more proactive for those they knew would be MOST affected by the change and sought them out beforehand.

But at the same time -- how much of this is just a pride thing? You talk below about how you won't be on the 50 leaning on a railing on the aisle with a primo parking spot, so if you don't have that you don't want anything -- that you'd only be focusing on the guy sitting where you "should" be sitting and getting bent out of shape about it.

Maybe it's just me, but I really don't get the frame of mind where people toss aside years of fandom and tailgates and gametimes because they have to sit in somewhat worse seats. Again, maybe it's just me -- I actually sacrifice seat location to sit with a group of friends -- but that just seems like it's more a pride thing than anything else. "How dare you move me? How dare you not respect what I've done?" And yeah, they SHOULD respect what you've done. You're one of the building blocks of the athletic department. But have they really disrespected YOU? Or just moved forward with a program that happens to negatively affect you (and again, one which I agree could have been handled MUCH better).

In a way, too, your letter seems to be overly smug in many areas. You remind them that you could have donated tens of thousands more if they didn't screw up; you imply that you know they're doing something screwy with the 200-300 person drop; the comment about old money obviously meaning nothing to them; and you use what's normally used as comic fodder in generational stories -- "That's it, I'm taking you out of the will!"

I know you're hurt, frustrated, and pissed off. And yeah, an apology from the Hokie Club probably would have gone a long way toward mending a fence. I'm unclear what earlier conversations you've had with them so I don't know if you received one or not -- though it shocks me that they'd tell anyone "Maybe you just need to decide whether you should remain an active member"; the answer they should ALWAYS promote is "Hell yes you should."

But man, you're shaking up your entire life's plans because you'd be sitting 20 rows up or two sections over? Negatively affecting the kids that you're not going to stop cheering for -- because your pride is hurt?

You say that you refuse to "become another victim of vague promises and self-serving lies." At the core, though, nothing the Hokie Club does is self-serving; that's the definition of their job. As I've said, I think they haven't done a good job for years and the sad byproduct is good people like you leaving. But I'd suggest that you leaving is more about you than about them -- and hope that perhaps when time has provided a little breathing room, you might at least consider coming back to the Hokie Club at a level you're comfortable with and continue your excellent support of our student-athletes.