HokieBird

HokieBird
HokieBird
University	Virginia Tech
Conference	ACC
Description	Male turkey
First seen	1962

The HokieBird is the official mascot of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The successor to Virginia Tech's Fighting Gobblers, the HokieBird was created in 1981 and has retained its current appearance since 1987. A large anthropomorphic turkey, the HokieBird has become a cultural phenomenon, making appearances in media, children's books,^[1] and public events. The HokieBird was featured in a 2003 episode of Animal Planet's "Turkey Secrets".

Gobblers

Fans of Virginia Tech athletics have referred to the teams by the nickname Fighting Gobblers since the early 20th century. According to the Virginia Tech university relations, the name originated in 1909, when football coach Branch Bocock initiated his players into the "Gobbler Club", a name which appeared in print that same year.^[2]^[3] Another popular legend regarding the origin of the "Gobblers" moniker refers to when the university was a military college known as the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC). As future military officers and gentlemen, cadets were not allowed to look at their plates as they ate. To do so was termed "gobbling" your food and was a cause for punishment. ^{[citation needed]} Athletes were given increased portions of food and in consideration of the limited meal time, were allowed to "gobble" their meals. Because of this, the sports teams for VAMC became known as "The Gobblers".^{[citation needed]} The 1909 football team was the first team to be referred to in print as the "Gobblers", and it became the official nickname in 1912.^[3]

Regardless of the true origin, the "Gobbler" nickname had already been popularized by 1913 when local resident and VPI employee Floyd Meade trained a large turkey to perform various stunts, including pulling him in a decorated cart before a football game. Meade and other mascots to follow continued having a live turkey on the sidelines of games into the 1950s.^[2]

Fighting Gobblers

The first permanent costumed Gobbler took the field in the fall of 1962, when a civil engineering student named Mercer MacPherson, raised $200 to create a costume which had a head resembling a cardinal and included real turkey feathers dyed in school colors. This mascot debuted at the then-annual Thanksgiving Day football game between military school rivals VPI and VMI. This costume was modified in 1971 to include a long neck, making it more than seven feet (2.13 m) tall, and the name was changed to the "Fighting Gobbler".

HokieBird

In reaction to the earlier myths about students "gobbling" their meals, football coach and athletic director Bill Dooley spearheaded a campaign for a new look and name for the mascot, which debuted at the 1981 game against Wake Forest. The turkey-like figure was referred to as "the Hokie mascot," "the Hokie," and "the Hokie bird" (derived from the "Old Hokie" cheer), which resulted in changing the official designation of the Virginia Tech mascot to the Hokies.

The costume worn by today's HokieBird made its first appearance in 1987, when Frank Beamer returned as coach. Although he reinstated the Gobbler to the football team's scoreboard, by then the Hokies nickname had already become the most prominent. The current HokieBird debuted at that season's home opener against Clemson, arriving in a white limousine.

HokieBird Curtis Dvorak (1995–96) won the National Cheerleading Association championship in 1996 and has appeared as Jaxson de Ville, mascot of the Jacksonville Jaguars since 1996. Todd Maroldo, Hokiebird in 1996–1997, won the National Cheerleading Association championship in 1997 and was hired as the Carolina Panthers mascot, Sir Purr.^[4]

HokieBird has been so popular that the mascot landed an appearance on Animal Planet's "Turkey Secrets," shown annually around Thanksgiving. Now, when referring to Virginia Tech, the term "Hokie" generally refers to a Virginia Tech Student.

Often seen rollerblading through campus, the HokieBird has been known to respond to tweets and visit classes, dormitories, and dining halls. The official Twitter account of the HokieBird is @TheHokieBird or twitter.com/thehokiebird

It is unknown how many students serve as HokieBirds during any given school year, and the entire try-out process remains a secret.

In November 2019 the United States government formally recognized the HokieBird as the "supreme leader and god of all turkeys."^[5]

Traditions

Before football games, the HokieBird leads the charge onto the field as students jump up and down in the stands to Metallica's "Enter Sandman".
After scores in football, the VT cheerleaders carry out a bench and weights for the HokieBird to perform bench presses. He does one press for every point VT has scored. Sometimes, in lieu of bench presses, the HokieBird has done situps or pushups.
The HokieBird has also been known to crowd surf from the bottom of the Corps of Cadets student section all the way to the top of the section.
At the graduation ceremony, students who portrayed the HokieBird are allowed to wear the giant orange bird feet. In theory, no one is supposed to know who the HokieBirds are until graduation day.

References

^ Kelly, Morgan (2006-09-01). "Series of mascot books began in ride from game".
^ ^a ^b "What is a Hokie?". University Relations, Virginia Tech. 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
^ ^a ^b "Virginia Tech Historical Data Book".
^ "Former Hokie Birds prowl as cats". Spring, 1999. Virginia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
^ Dator, James (2019-11-25). "The U.S. government just endorsed Hokie Bird as the king and lord of all turkeys". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2019-11-26.

[1] Kelly, Morgan (2006-09-01). "Series of mascot books began in ride from game".

[whathokie-2] "What is a Hokie?". University Relations, Virginia Tech. 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2015-12-01.

[vpihist-3] "Virginia Tech Historical Data Book".

[4] "Former Hokie Birds prowl as cats". Spring, 1999. Virginia Tech Alumni Association. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2012.

[:0-5] Dator, James (2019-11-25). "The U.S. government just endorsed Hokie Bird as the king and lord of all turkeys". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2019-11-26.

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v t e Virginia Tech Hokies football
Venues	Sheib Field (1894–1901) Gibboney Field (1902–1908) Miles Field (1909–1925) Miles Stadium (1926–1964) Lane Stadium (1965–present) Victory Stadium (alternate, 1942–1971)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Boston College Georgia Tech Miami Virginia VMI West Virginia
Culture & lore	HokieBird "Tech Triumph" "Enter Sandman" The Marching Virginians Battle at Bristol Skipper "Lunch Pail Defense" 1986 Peach Bowl 2000 Sugar Bowl 2012 Sugar Bowl
Media	WBRW Virginia Tech Sports Network
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball
Venues	War Memorial Gymnasium (1926–1961) Cassell Coliseum (1962–present)
Rivalries	Virginia
Culture & lore	HokieBird "Tech Triumph"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer
Venues	Sandra D. Thompson Field
Rivalries	Virginia
Culture & lore	HokieBird "Tech Triumph"
People	Coaches Players
Seasons	2007 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
National championship seasons in bold; NCAA College Cup in italics

Gobblers

Fighting Gobblers

HokieBird

Traditions

See also

References