OK, this is good.
Virginia will be hauling out its 1980s uniforms for its second home game this season (against Richmond on Sept. 6) and honoring a decades’ worth of teams (1984-93) that turned Cavaliers football games into something more than an excuse for preppy frat guys to get drunk a few times each autumn.
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Granted, there is no doubt a fair share of that still going on in Charlottesville. But at least the Cavaliers can safely be counted upon to fall somewhere between mediocre and somewhat relevant with a streak of 21 straight years of five-plus victories, with only one 10-win season tossed in. That seems like a fair accounting of the Cavaliers; after all, Lord Groh’s crew and “national championship contender” usually don’t belong together in a sentence.
So credit goes to the fine people at Virginia, and not just for rolling back the cost of tickets to $16 for a game against a small school (though don’t tell the Spiders, who nearly spoiled Lord Groh’s home debut in 2001 before Virginia squeezed out a 17-16 victory). The Cavaliers will also be decked out in some vintage threads as well much like the ones seen here.
The orange jerseys are a solid choice even against the modern-day fare, though Virginia probably upgraded from the bland, white helmets with a stripe on top to its current head gear.
One thing the Cavaliers would really like to bring back for that game (and maybe a dozen Moore, er, more): The school’s career No. 2 passer and No. 2 receiver.
They would be Shawn Moore (linked to above) and Herman Moore. Peter Lalich will be a first-time starter at quarterback, and there is a standing APB on the lookout for wideouts in central Virginia. That last part sounds a lot like last year.
But at least the latter-day Cavaliers play on a natural grass surface rather than the knee-destroying carpet of death artificial turf used back in the day. That’s one piece of nostalgia no one particular needs again.
