Old Dominion leaving no stone unturned in prepping for Hokies

The Old Dominion football team heads to Lane Stadium on Saturday night to kick off the 2023 season against Virginia Tech. Last season the Monarchs edged the Hokies, 20-17, so this will be a game that Virginia Tech has circled for nearly a year now.

Monday, Old Dominion coach Ricky Rahne admitted at his press availability Monday an odd way the Monarchs are preparing for the game.

Old Dominion prepping for the Virginia Tech game by playing “Enter Sandman”

The Hokies enter Lane Stadium from the tunnel to take the field to Metallica’s famous hit “Enter Sandman”, which gets the crowd hyped for the game. The Monarchs have prepared for the season opener by playing the song over and over and over again, literally.

“We’ve played a certain Metallica song 427 times already,” Rahne said Monday. “I think it’ll play another 427. It used to be one of my favorite songs, and I’ve heard it a lot now.”

Rahne said that he knows that Lane Stadium can be loud when it’s at or near full capacity, which is expected Saturday night and he’s just preparing his team for the environment they are going into.

“Those vertical-type stadiums, they’re a little bit louder,” ODU’s coach said. “They feel like the fans are a little bit more part of the game, which, again, I enjoy. I think that that’s what makes the game so awesome. That’s why as a coach, as a player, you choose to play at these places: because you get to experience those type of environments. Pretty special.”

Rahne has seen his share of full stadiums and loud entrances on the road as he has coached at Penn State, Vanderbilt, and Kansas State. This should not be a surprise to him in Blacksburg, but you have to think by the time the Hokies get ready to take the field, he will have enough of Enter Sandman and just want to coach the game.

Hey, whatever it takes to get your team ready after finishing the season 3-9 with six consecutive losses.