Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 27, 1992 TAG: 9202270157
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JIM ROBERTS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
THE LADY HOKIES' NO. 1 FAN
Charles Hall, sitting by himself in Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum, throws his arms wide and says, "Space . . . I need my space."And, unfortunately, the Pearisburg native gets a lot of it, because Hall is one of only a handful of dedicated fans who goes to every Lady Hokies home basketball game.
"My attitude is, if you can't help someone or encourage them or listen to them, you're not doing anything," Hall said. "If you can't do that, you're too busy."
Hall is not just a fan - he is a fanatic. He flew to Dayton, Ohio, in a January snowstorm to watch the women's team play. He drives 128 miles - to and from Tech twice - on a game day. He would gladly trade his Washington Redskins jacket for a Lady Hokies jacket. And he says one of his most cherished possessions is a basketball - signed by all the players and coaches - given to him for Christmas.
"That meant more to me than a large amount of money," Hall said. "It's like a showcase item."
There is, of course, one thing Hall would like above all else - 10,000 fans cheering for the Lady Hokies.
"I would like to see this place full," he said. "There isn't any reason why this place can't be full."
How would he motivate people to watch the team?
"I would just tell them they're missing the best basketball game around," he said. "It's No. 1. They're terrific. . . . I hate to say it, but I think they work harder than the men."
Coach Carol Alfano's goal is a little more modest. She would like to have 1,000 people come to a game - about one-tenth of Cassell's capacity.
Alfano said student support is at an all-time low, probably because of television and the number of games students can watch on cable.
"If we were 20-2, it would be a different story," Alfano said. "But Charles Hall is one of those people who, no matter how the team is doing, he's going to be there. People like Charles Hall are very important to our program."
Hall, a housekeeping supervisor at Tech, has attended Lady Hokies games for three years. He started after President James McComas held a meeting and told the faculty and staff that students should come before everything else.
"I've always put a lot of emphasis on that," Hall said. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have a job. They're No. 1."
Hall says he sees players on campus all the time, and he gets to meet them through the Lady Hokie Diamond Club, a support group for the team.
"They're not just numbers," he said. "They're my friends now. . . . Working here, you get to know so many good, quality people. Then it's like, four years and they're gone," he said.
But through it all, he keeps a positive attitude.
"If you think ugly, ugly things will happen," he said. "If you think good, good things will happen. So you always should think very positive."
The Lady Hokies have two remaining home games: 1 p.m. Saturday against Tulane, and 7 p.m. Tuesday against Southern Mississippi. Tickets are $3 for adults and $1 for children. Students, faculty and staff get in free.