The NCAA Banned Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” From Women’s March Madness, But Virginia Tech Fans Are Screaming It Anyway
College sports have all sorts of weird traditions, and one of those traditions is “Enter Sandman” at Virginia Tech. Ever since 2000, Metallica’s 1990 anthem plays before every Virginia Tech home games. It can make for an awesome spectacle. Here, for instance, is the video of the song playing before Virginia Tech’s first post-pandemic football game.
Right now, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team is plowing through the NCAA tournament. The Hokies have the #1 seed in the tournament, which means that they get to play their games at home. But as USA Today reports, the NCAA has been trying to make the tournament games more of a neutral environment, so they’ve banned “Enter Sandman” from the games. But the NCAA can’t stop the fans from singing the song, so that’s what’s been happening.
On Friday night, Virginia Tech utterly obliterated Chattanooga, 58-33. The fans got loud. Here’s what that sounded like:
On Sunday, Virginia Tech beat South Dakota State, 72-60. Once again, fans got loud.
On Saturday, Virginia Tech will take on Tennessee in the Women’s Sweet 16 tournament. The game is in Seattle, so won’t get the same kind of singalong spectacle. Too bad.