When Dadi Nicolas engulfed Tulsa’s quarterback with a monster sack on 4th down and the game on the line, to effectively seal the game, I threw my head back and let out the mother of exhaling sighs. Absolutely nothing would have been more disheartening than seeing Frank Beamer go out on a loss, especially to a school that I had to check Wikipedia to verify whether it was a Division I or II program (D-I).
But a win is a win, and much to mine, and every Virginia Tech fan’s relief, Frank Beamer ends his legendary career, with a victory. And just like that, the most illustrious chapter of Virginia Tech football comes to a close.
It was interesting watching Beamer on the sidelines throughout the fourth quarter of the Independence Bowl; at first, with the Hokies up fairly comfortably, there was a man watching with a deadpan look on his face, almost as if he were watching the clock tick down not just the seconds of the game, but his career. When Tulsa scored a billion unanswered points to close the gap, the only change on Beamer’s face looked like an expression of “oh shit, here we go again,” with a small mix of “am I really going to go out like this?” But even after Nicolas’ sack put the nail in the coffin, and the game all but sealed, was a man who was not excited, but more melancholy and almost even a little scared at the sinking reality that the ride was coming to an end.