tbgfan 856 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Bulldogs don’t forget to thank their fans By LARRY HYPES Bluefield Daily Telegraph TAZEWELL, Va. — The Guinness Book Of Records might consider them the largest greeting card in Southwest Virginia. It has become a hallmark of the Tazewell Bulldogs for a unique post-game tribute on behalf of those who buy tickets but often don’t use their seats very much because they spend so much time standing and cheering for the green-and-white gridders. Games don’t end for the ’08 Dogs until the entire team marches over to the stands to say “Thank you†to their fans. Every player is eager and anxious to give credit to their loyal rooters from Boissevain to Bishop to Burke’s Garden. “After the George Wythe game, ‘Tivo’ (Taviaz Wilborn) asked Coach (Bobby) Wyatt if we could go over to the stands and thank the fans for their support,†recalls “Bruiser†Moore, a dedicated senior lineman who has become one of the solid team leaders for the THS team. “That’s how it started and we (players) want to keep on doing it,†grins Moore. “Our fans have been filling the place up. It’s wall-to-wall. We notice that, believe me.†Wyatt says the salute started in East Hardy, West Virginia, some 18 years ago and was carried over from the old “Hammer Time†Pocahontas Indians 1990 playoff team. “It was about a five-hour trip for us,†says Wyatt, “and we must have had 75-100 fans who either got off from work early or took a day, or something, just to go with us. We won that game on our last drive in the fourth quarter. When it was over we stepped up to the fence and thanked everybody for sticking with us. “Taviaz asked if we could keep that tradition and our team has picked up on it and kept it going. I’m proud of them (the Bulldogs) for wanting to say ‘thanks’ and also for doing another thing to get our fans even closer to us.†Wilborn, a first-year member of the Dogs after coming over from Pocahontas, loves his new home and thought bringing something he enjoyed from the old one would be a good idea. “Getting closer to our fans works for all of us,†he says. “It makes us closer as a team and it gets the fans into the game, makes them part of it. I see as us as helping of us enjoy the game, and we just get to be one big team.†Quarterback Cody Lockhart says he likes the idea and is happy to have a way to share his thanks with the people who come to support Tazewell no matter where they play. Andrew Rhudy, a linebacker-fullback as gentle off the field as he is hard-hitting on it, says, “We definitely feel like our fans appreciate us. “Their support makes us feel so good, no matter what the score is. My grandparents, Junior and Mary Catherine Rhudy, are getting a little older and it isn’t as easy for them to get out to the games now so when they see something like that it means a lot to them.†Rhudy sees the numbers. He was a little surprised when Tazewell opened the season at George Wythe and he looked up at the Bulldog fans. “We had more than they did. I’ll never forget that,†he grins. Moore is equally pleased. His mother, Karen Beavers, has always been in the stands for games during his years in high school and she says the fans are “crazy about the Bulldogs and really showing the players how much they (fans) support them.†No. 77 thinks of another number when he considers how often the Tazewell players will not leave the field until they have given their now-traditional greeting. “We will all say ‘thank you’ as long as there is at least one person in the stands,†Moore concludes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeet964 10 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Glad to see the dawgs using old memories from pocahontas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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