NCAA enforces ‘neutral event’ policy
The Virginia Tech Hokies women’s basketball team has a tradition of exciting its fans with Metallica’s 1991 hit “Enter Sandman.” However, in their recent March Madness games, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) imposed a no-music rule to create a “neutral event” atmosphere, preventing any perceived advantage for the home team.
Fans sing ‘Enter Sandman’ despite ban
Despite the NCAA’s ruling, Virginia Tech Hokies fans demonstrated their passion by chanting the lyrics to “Enter Sandman” during the game. NBC 12 weekend news anchor Riley Wyant shared video footage of the chant and clarified that Virginia Tech hosted the NCAA Women’s Tournament game as a “neutral venue.”
Wyant added, “So the NCAA said the Hokies would be fined if they played their traditional ‘Enter Sandman’ entry. So yes, the song was banned for this instance but not for regular home games.
Virginia Tech’s History with “Enter Sandman”
This isn’t the first time Virginia Tech has shown immense enthusiasm for “Enter Sandman.” Fans of the college football team once sang the song so loudly that it registered on a seismograph. Although Metallica frontman James Hetfield hasn’t commented on the recent event, he did express his enthusiasm for the footballing instance.
Hetfield recalled, “I get goosebumps just talking about it. It was spectacular. The VT game, everyone jumps. I mean the army, the crowd, the team. Everyone. And I’m telling you, it’s been an eight-year progression with this, but to be part of their life, be part of their team and pump people up with it, there’s no way. We can sit down and try to write something that says, “Oh, we need a song to get the crowd pumping. » »
He continued, “…you can try to do that, but it won’t work. This is simply not the case. So all of these things happen for a reason. It was out of our hands, out of our control. I mean, those Virginia Tech fans, they’re the ones who did this. I mean, they needed this. So they found our song and we are grateful to them. So we are grateful.
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