By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – By Saturday afternoon you will have had your fill of turkey and stuffing, will have spent several days with family and have done some Black Friday shopping.
You should be ready for a break, for a chance to get out of the house and spend some time on clear, crisp fall day in the great outdoors in a beautiful venue watching what promises to be one hell of a football game.
Old Dominion's football team hosts Charlotte at 2 p.m. Saturday at S.B. Ballard Stadium, and it's been years since ODU has played such a meaningful home game.
Yes, that victory over Virginia Tech in 2018 was delicious. But in many ways, this game is bigger. A victory Saturday would almost surely put the Monarchs in a bowl game for the first time since 2016. And that would be such an important milestone for the Monarchs.
A victory would put an exclamation point on ODU's rise back to college football prominence.
Attendance on the Saturday after Thanksgiving is usually spotty. Most students are out of town and we're all busy with other activities. But coach Ricky Rahne urged fans to turn out after the Monarchs upset Middle Tennessee Saturday night, 24-17, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
"We'll be in front of our home crowd and that will help. And I know Monarch nation will be out there to support us.
"It's a holiday weekend so I know everyone can come home and be there. I'd love to see that place and rocking and rolling."
If you're a lapsed ODU season ticket holder, or just a casual fan, we're going to make it easy for you to come out Saturday and enjoy the game in a sideline seat. We've reduced prices to $16 per ticket (with $1 of the price going to benefit the Oyster Bowl).
Click here for tickets and enter the words "Oyster Bowl" to get discounted tickets or contact Justin Ross at 757-683-3360 or at jross@odu.edu
Rahne's team is 5-6 and has won four in a row. The national media was poking fun at ODU as lately as last week, including one web site that called an MTSU victory over ODU "a lock."
Slowly but surely, Rahne's program is gaining the respect it deserves.
Not only does this team need a large turnout from Monarch Nation, it deserves to have thousands of full-throated fans at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
These players, especially the seniors who will play their final game, have been through so much adversity, and through it all, they've worked so hard to represent your university well.
ODU was 1-11 in 2019 and that was followed by a change in coaches. Then, in 2020, the team was among only three in FBS that did not play because of the pandemic.
ODU lost some very good players in the transfer portal. Credit Rahne and his staff for holding onto standouts such as linebacker Jordan Young and center Isaac Weaver, and recruiting nine FBS transfers.
The CBS Sports Network deemed ODU to be the 129th worst team among the 130 in FBS, which was ridiculous on its face, but it gives you the gist of how ODU was viewed nationally.
ODU began the season losing six of its first seven games, including three in heartbreaking fashion -- 35-34 to Buffalo, 20-13 to Marshall in overtime and 28-21 at UTEP.
But this team never quit. ODU's football players always kept the faith, they always believed. The same can't be said of all ODU fans.
Don't get me wrong. The fans who've been in S.B. Ballard Stadium have been loud and supportive. They've been awesome.
Those remaining from last weekend's crowd of 13,634 cheered so long and so loud when the Monarchs left the field after the 30-16 victory over Florida Atlantic that it gave me goosebumps.
But there have been empty seats at S.B. Ballard Stadium all season, and we all recall the time a few years ago when there were fannies in every seat at old Foreman Field. If you haven't been to an ODU game in a few years, it's time to come see what you've been missing.
Attendance usually comes down to one thing – winning – and it was logical to think it would take Rahne two or three years to rebuild the program. I suppose the decision to remain on the sidelines a year or two made sense to some fans.
But the rebuilding process is over. The Monarchs are winning, and they play exciting football. The defense is hard-hitting and aggressive.
Given that all but 12 seniors return next year, this team is going to be so much better next season, when ODU's home schedule features games against Virginia Tech and Liberty.
But that's next season. Much football remains to be played this season, including, hopefully a bowl game.
Fan support has been critical to ODU's success this season, Rahne said, and could be critical for the Monarchs to defeat Charlotte.
"I love our fans," Rahne said after the win over FAU. "I don't know how we built this (stadium), but it's loud. It's a loud stadium and I want that thing full the next time we play at home. Everyone's bellies should be nice and full and everyone should be rip roaring and ready to go."
Ballard Stadium, he added, "reminds me of some other place I've been where the quarterback was having some difficulty communicating. So that was awesome."
You know what else is awesome? The pregame vibe around S.B. Ballard Stadium.
Tailgate lots are open all over campus. If tailgating isn't your thing, then head to Kaufman Mall, where there is food, a truck with a huge TV showing the best college football available, a beer garden and places for kids to romp and play.
The band and cheerleaders gather in front of Webb Center to perform about an hour before game time.
Because it's the Oyster Bowl, Shriners will be out in droves. It will be senior day for 12 guys, most of whom could have transferred elsewhere but instead put loyalty first.
Come to show your appreciation for how hard they've worked. And come to enjoy a pleasant afternoon in a wonderful venue.
Minium worked 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot, where he won 27 writing awards, before coming to ODU to cover athletics for odusports.com Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU, Instagram @hbminium1 or email hminium@odu.edu
Minium: ODU Football Team Deserves a Full Stadium Saturday When Monarchs Host Charlotte
