It's an archaic combat practice.
Upon vanquishing an opposing force on the battlefield, the prevailing battalion justifiably plants its flag on previously contested ground. New territory has been annexed. Victory has been achieved.
Waving high for all to see is a symbol of fellowship and honor – a point of pride and reflection of the effort required to have attained supremacy. After all, to the victor go the deserving spoils.
While no physical land is up for dispute when Virginia and Virginia Tech meet annually in football during the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield, ask anyone with stake in Blacksburg's side of the rivalry and they will alert you to the contrary. Someone like Parker Wood, for instance, whose iconic sign written on Walmart posterboard could be read high, amid the sea of Tech fans who stormed Scott Stadium after the Hokies' 29-24, Clash victory last November in Charlottesville:
'Lane Stadium North.'
"For the record, I did not come up with the name 'Lane Stadium North,'" Wood said. "I had seen it in miscellaneous places before. But, the night before [the game], I thought about it."
At the time of the game, Wood was in his junior year at Tech, studying finance. Growing up roughly 30 minutes outside of Charlottesville, he casually took in UVA football and basketball games with his family, more so when his older brother was attending the university.
"It really was not until my senior year of high school that I started looking more at Virginia Tech. I had toured there at the end of my junior year and just really liked how it kind of fit with me well. It was pretty late when I really started looking at Tech."
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Deviating from his brother's path, Wood committed his academic future to Blacksburg, where he would soon be indoctrinated into Hokie Nation. It took him little convincing that the proper recipe for a Tech football gameday was to arrive early and always stay through to the end.
"In Lane, I have always been in my seat before the team comes out. No matter how big the win is, how bad the losses are or how many people might be leaving, I have always stayed until after the game – even if it is cold, raining; whatever."
However, Wood's formula for a successful 2021 Commonwealth Clash experience was in jeopardy. He woke up on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving short of a ticket to Scott Stadium, needing a favor from his UVA brother to ultimately reserve his spot on the hillside.
Acting swiftly, and boldly, with ticket in hand, he decided he had one final chance to bring 'Lane Stadium North' to life.
"I was not sure if I was actually going to make it to the game. My brother hooked me up [with a ticket] about two hours prior to pregame. I made the sign in a quick run to Walmart. It was so last-minute. But it definitely worked out well."
Wood's confidence to carry his sign behind enemy lines may have been matched that night only by interim head coach J.C. Price and the visiting Hokies, who were determined to finish off the Cavaliers and reach bowl eligibility. Yet through the heckling and the animosity, he was greeted by an emerging wave of 'Go Hokies' shouts and cheers.
After all, this was Lane Stadium North.
"That was really the first time I noticed that Hokie Nation travels well. I definitely had things yelled at me, but at the same time there were probably equally as many Hokie fans there. Sure, there were UVA fans heckling me. But there was the same amount of 'Go Hokies' calls coming from Tech fans, too."
From the bottom of the hillside in Scott Stadium, Wood had trouble asserting his sign in the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of Cavaliers supporters.
"[My brother, his friend and I] were at the very bottom of the hill for the entire game and it definitely became really crowded. I was actually only holding my sign a few times during the game just because the people around me were not very fond of it. But you know, I did my own thing!
"There were definitely a lot of UVA fans around me. But at the same time, after Tech scored, you would hear, 'Let's Go Hokies,' break out on the hill and you would look back – even though it was kind of hard to distinguish between navy and maroon in the dark at nighttime – I could not see the shirts very well, but I could definitely hear us."
Wood's night was about to turn viral after a pregame photo of him and his sign had landed a prime spot on Instagram, courtesy of @HokieSports.
"I did not have a great WiFi connection at the stadium, but at some point, I eventually saw it. I got a bunch of texts from friends and Snaps. So, that was pretty fun."
With his phone blowing up, Wood was fielding texts from friends and family who were following the game remotely.
"My family's reaction was more of pride in me like, 'That's my son!' Or, 'That's my cousin!' But my friends were a lot more happy that I had my sign right in front of all the UVA fans. They were saying, 'You're famous!' Or, 'That's my roommate!' There was definitely a lot of pride across the way."
But Wood's pride that night was far from being extinguished. Before him, Tech was immersed in a classic, back-and-forth rivalry affair with Virginia, twice answering UVA touchdowns during the first half, while a 32-yard field goal by John Parker Romo brought the Hokies within 21-17 of the 'Hoos at halftime.
Raheem Blackshear's 50-yard run early during the third quarter helped lead to Tech's game-tying touchdown, as the Hokies drew level again at 24-24.
Gifted its first lead (27-24) by a second Romo field goal, Tech's strip-sack of UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong during the closing minutes of regulation appeared to seal the victory, despite an untimely fumble that prolonged the contest. However, the Hokies' defense managed to successfully halt UVA in the red zone, prompting a remarkable scene at Scott Stadium, as Tech fans victoriously rushed the field at Scott Stadium.
"You know, it was kind of unorthodox for away fans to rush the field. It all happened so fast. People on the left of the hill started going first. From that point, I was on the right side and figured if there were already 20-30 people going out there, I might as well join, too."
Ditching his brother and his friend, Wood high-fived Tech players during his full-on sprint to midfield to join the raucously excited mob of Hokie Nation.
"That was a special moment. I was really happy for the players. I mean, at the end of the day, I know the players, how much they have worked hard and how much they wanted it. So, I was really happy to see them celebrate and really take it all in."
Arms raised high, Wood and his sign captioned the exuberant Tech crowd perfectly. After all, the Hokies had now won 12 of their last 15 games at Scott Stadium; this was becoming their second home field:
Lane Stadium North.
"People were initially saying, 'You know, I have never seen an away team rush the field.' But then, I heard some Tech fans saying, 'Hey, this isn't really an away team. This is really a home game for us,' considering the dominance we have had winning nearly year after year at Scott Stadium.
"I could not really see until afterwards, but I saw pictures. It was actually a pretty decent crowd on the field. It was not just the 20 or 30 people I had seen when I first ran out there. That really surprised me afterwards, seeing how it really did feel like a home game."
You might say Wood's pregame diversion to Walmart was prophetic – a whim of an idea manifesting itself that night during Tech's legendary takeover of Scott Stadium.
As Wood acknowledges, it was a moment only possible with Hokie Nation.
"All I can say is that Hokies travel – not just to Scott Stadium. I think the dedication we bring to our players is just really impressive compared to other fan bases."
Scott Stadium – more commonly known as, Lane Stadium North.