ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 26, 1995 TAG: 9512270021
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
NOTE: Strip
When it comes to supporting the state's NCAA Division I-A football teams, nobody will be more unbiased this postseason than the Bias brothers of Roanoke.
At the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Bruce Bias will be the guy wearing the ``Hokies for 'Hoos'' sweat shirt as Virginia takes on Georgia at 8 p.m. Saturday.
At the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Sam Bias will be wearing a sweat shirt proclaiming ``'Hoos for Hokies,'' supporting Virginia Tech against Texas at 7 p.m. Sunday.
In a span of approximately 66 hours, the Bias brothers will drive more than 1,700 miles, see two bowl games, sample some of the South's finest night life and perhaps consume a few frosty beverages.
Or, rather, Bruce will enjoy the beverages; Sam is the designated driver.
``He's making the itinerary,'' said Sam, the older and - theoretically - more responsible of the pair, ``but I've got the car keys.''
The idea for the trip was hatched when it appeared Virginia Tech might receive a bid to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bias brothers have family near Jacksonville.
But the NCAA agreed to let the University of Miami start serving its probation this year, taking the Hurricanes out of bowl consideration, and suddenly there were bigger things on the horizon for the Hokies.
``The first thing I heard was that it was 13 hours to drive from Atlanta to New Orleans,'' Sam said, ``but it seemed like it would be a lot shorter than that.
``I was talking with relatives outside Atlanta, and they said it was closer to 61/2. But if you remember, it looked for a time like Tech might go to the Orange Bowl [in Miami]. That would have been too far.''
New Orleans is 480 miles from Atlanta, so the Biases will be making time if they can complete the drive in 61/2 hours. But the trip to New Orleans through Atlanta isn't much longer (900 miles) than the most direct route from Roanoke (850).
Although they might appear to be fanatics, neither of the Bias brothers is a season-ticket holder. They didn't attend the Virginia-Virginia Tech game this year or even watch the telecast together.
Bruce is manager of the team division of CMT Sporting Goods Co., but is careful about using his position for any special favors. He had a few anxious days before learning that Tech had filled the Sugar Bowl ticket request he had filed by fax.
Bruce, a 41-year-old graduate of William Fleming High School, became a Hokies fan when he attended Tech during the early 1970s. He started working at the CMT office in Blacksburg while a student at Tech.
``It seems Sam went to every school but UVa,'' Bruce said. ``He finally had to quit college because he couldn't see out of the windshield [for the stickers]. Ours is the kind of relationship that, if I say black, he says white.''
That's not exactly true, said Sam, a 42-year-old insurance salesman. He is a self-described history buff and originally was attracted to Virginia by its Jeffersonian tradition.
``I'm one of those people who doesn't go to Williamsburg for the Pottery,'' he said.
What separates the Bias brothers from most college football fans in Virginia is their professed support for both programs. Both say they would like to see their team go 11-0 and the other finish 10-1.
``As I get older, I am being surrounded more and more by Hokies fans, and I'm starting to warm up,'' Sam said. ``I didn't care too much for Tech before [coach] Frank Beamer, but I'm beginning to realize it's a good institution and a good program.''
The Bias brothers, both married, were unable to persuade any family members to join them on this bowl trip. Each had friends who expressed interest, but ultimately, sanity prevailed.
``The trip is a Christmas present from wife and family,'' Sam said. ``The fact they're letting me go is one present. We'll have to see if they pay for the tickets or not.''
The Bias family originally is from West Virginia, and, until this generation, much of the family's rooting interest had been with the Mountaineers. If West Virginia were playing in a bowl, Sam said, maybe they would be driving to three games.
``I had a shirt made up before West Virginia played Clemson in the Gator Bowl'' in 1989, Bruce said. ``On the front, I had printed `West Virginia by birth.' On the back, it had `Tech by choice.'''
``I wouldn't have expected any Tech fans to be there, but from behind me in the stands, somebody yelled out, `Hey, Hokie.' It turns out they were Tech fans, too.''
Bruce may want to wait before establishing a ``'Hoos for Hokies'' or ``Hokies for 'Hoos'' clothing line, but that's OK. If the memorabilia craze continues, the sweat shirts might be worth something as a collector's item.
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Bruce Bias (right) will leave theby CNBdriving to brother Sam as the two hit two bowl games in two days.
color. Graphic: Map by staff. color.