ATLANTA 鈥 After taking part in a postgame trophy presentation on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium field, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer walked over to his father and gave him a hug.
After Shane walked away, his father, legendary former Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, brushed a tear from his eye.
Sunday was indeed an emotional day for the Beamer family as No. 13 South Carolina beat Virginia Tech 24-11 in an Aflac Kickoff Game.
鈥淚t was real emotional,鈥 Frank said in an interview after the game. 鈥淏ut I really enjoyed watching him.鈥
鈥淐ertainly really emotional for me,鈥 Shane said in his postgame press conference. 鈥淚鈥檇 be lying to you if I told you this one wasn鈥檛 extra special.鈥
Shane was a Virginia Tech player and assistant coach under his father.
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鈥淧roud of him,鈥 Frank said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 good at this.鈥
Frank, who steered the Hokies from 1987-2015, wore a black South Carolina pullover jacket at the game.
鈥淚 had to kind of go with my heart on the outerwear,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 had to go with family.鈥
But Frank did show his love for the Hokies, too. He wore a Virginia Tech pin underneath the South Carolina emblem on his jacket.
Frank鈥檚 wife, Cheryl, had a 鈥淏eat Virginia Tech鈥 sticker on her black jacket.
鈥淪omebody stuck that on me,鈥 she said in an interview after the game. 鈥淚 did not start out with that. 鈥 I鈥檓 going to take it off right now.鈥
Frank and Cheryl were outside the stadium to greet their son before the game as Shane and his players walked from the team bus to a stadium entrance.
鈥淲hen he saw us, he had tears in his eyes,鈥 Cheryl said. 鈥淚 think that affected all three of us, just to see him and then to see him so emotional.鈥
鈥淚 was doing pretty good with my emotions till we got here and did the (pregame) walk and I saw my parents at the end of it,鈥 Shane said.
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer holds the trophy in the postgame trophy presentation Sunday after beating Virginia Tech. He is wearing the replica of the old-fashioned leather helmet that was part of the trophy.
Cheryl said the game was stressful for her.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been some big games where I want to throw up. Tonight might have topped it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was so nervous for many reasons. I love the Hokies. When they did 鈥楨nter Sandman,鈥 I felt myself get very emotional. I love (Tech coach) Brent (Pry) and the Hokies. 鈥 But Lord knows I was pulling for my son.
鈥淚t was stressful, but glad it鈥檚 over and glad they won.鈥
Was it a fun day for her?
鈥淣o. No. Not till it was over,鈥 she said with a laugh.
Frank said Sunday was weird for him.
鈥淟ike I said (prior to the game), it鈥檚 one (where) I鈥檓 going to be a little bit happy and a little bit sad,鈥 Frank said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never been in one like that before.鈥
Pry spent three seasons as one of Frank鈥檚 graduate assistants.
鈥淲e love Tech鈥檚 coach, too,鈥 Frank said. 鈥淲hat a good guy he is. Brent, proud of him, what he鈥檚 doing there at Tech.
鈥淗ope both of them can win the rest of them.鈥
Shane鈥檚 sister and fellow Tech graduate, Casey Prater, also was on hand for the game.
鈥(The game was) even harder than I thought it would be,鈥 said Prater, who lives in Charlotte, N.C., with her family. 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e all just glad it鈥檚 over. We obviously love both programs, so it was just lots of emotions. But happy for Shane.
鈥淲hen you get in here and hear 鈥楨nter Sandman鈥 and see so many friends 鈥 we just love so many people at Tech and have so many memories. 鈥 We love Virginia Tech but had to pull for Shane today.鈥
She wore a Gamecocks T-shirt.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all in on cheering for Shane and the Gamecocks, 鈥 but it was definitely a hard one for all of us and we鈥檙e all glad it鈥檚 over so we can go back to cheering for both,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t was a very fun day 鈥 a very stressful game.鈥
In a pregame ceremony, Frank and Cheryl were presented with a white, commemorative football that was signed by both head coaches. Shane wrote 鈥淟OVE YOU BOTH!鈥 on the football.
Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, seated in a cart next to his wife, Cheryl, waves to the crowd as they are taken off the field before South Carolina鈥檚 win over the Hokies. They were recognized in a pregame ceremony, with Frank delivering the pregame invocation.
After getting the football, Frank delivered the pregame invocation. He said in the invocation that Tech and South Carolina had the two best fan bases in the country.
After the game, Shane was presented with a trophy that featured a replica of an old-fashioned leather helmet. Shane, wearing the helmet, addressed his team鈥檚 fans in his speech.
He assured the South Carolina fans in his speech that he was home in Columbia, South Carolina. He told them he had great respect for the Virginia Tech program but reminded the fans that he was born in Charleston, South Carolina (back when Frank was an assistant at The Citadel).
Shane repeatedly praised Virginia Tech in his postgame press conference, which was attended by his parents, sister, wife and children.
鈥淏est of luck to Virginia Tech,鈥 he said. 鈥淏rent Pry is doing a heck of a job. He is the right guy for that job. They鈥檝e got a good team and they鈥檙e going to win a lot of football games this year.鈥
When Frank coached the Hokies, Tech became known for 鈥淏eamer Ball,鈥 with the defense and special teams displaying a knack for scoring touchdowns.
On Sunday, one of South Carolina鈥檚 touchdowns came on an 80-yard punt return.
鈥淗ow fitting that is, playing Virginia Tech and 鈥 (with) my dad鈥檚 history with special teams, to score,鈥 Shane said. 鈥淚鈥檓 always amped up on special teams, but this week especially.
鈥淭o score on special teams was pretty special without a doubt, especially playing Virginia Tech and with him being here.鈥
Shane, a Blacksburg High School graduate, was on the Tech football team from 1995-1999 and was one of Frank鈥檚 assistants from 2011-15.
How will he remember Sunday?
鈥淚 really appreciate our players telling me in the fourth quarter (when the game was close), 鈥榃e got your back, 鈥楥oach,鈥 and 鈥榃e got this one. We got it for you,鈥欌 he said.
鈥淚鈥檒l remember the gratitude that I have for my time at Virginia Tech 鈥 growing up, playing there and coaching there.
鈥淚鈥檒l remember the gratitude that I have for the unbelievable fan base and people in this program here at Carolina and my family that鈥檚 here. I鈥檓 very blessed.
鈥淚 got up 鈥 and (went) running this morning at 6:30 and we鈥檙e staying downtown and I ran down to Georgia Tech鈥檚 campus. I got into coaching in this city 鈥 in the year 2000 as a young graduate assistant at Georgia Tech. Didn鈥檛 know a darn thing and just trying to hope I could get a job one day coaching football somewhere.
Frank and Cheryl Beamer were given a commemorative football before the Virginia Tech-South Carolina game. Both head coaches signed it. Their son, Shane Beamer, wrote 鈥淟OVE YOU BOTH!鈥 on it.
鈥淗ere I am 26 years later, to be coaching in the SEC at a special place like South Carolina, it鈥檚 pretty, pretty cool.鈥.
Shane took time in his press conference to remember the late Randy King, a former Virginia Tech football beat writer for The 麻豆传媒官网, in his press conference. King, who covered Shane when Shane was a Tech player and assistant, died Aug. 20 at the age of 69.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of bittersweet that Randy King is not in here today,鈥 Shane said. 鈥淚 certainly miss him. Please keep him in your prayers, his family in your prayers.鈥
Shane did see a few familiar faces in his press conference.
鈥淚 tried to avoid so many people from Virginia Tech today, but to see (former defensive coordinator) Bud Foster and see Bill (Roth, the radio play-by-play announcer) and have (radio analyst) Mike Burnop texting me in the locker room before the game, it鈥檚 pretty cool,鈥 he said.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 over, though.鈥
