Crazy for Tech, but not everyone’s crazy about it

Jennifer McQueeney's house is decorated for Christmas.

It just so happens that everything is orange and maroon and has Virginia Tech logos on it.

The 1998 Virginia Tech graduate decked out her Midlothian home for the seventh annual "Crazy for the Hokies" contest.

But the Charter Colony neighborhood association, however, isn't feeling so festive.

A recent letter sent to McQueeney by the association says the Tech decorations violated a policy about "decorative ornaments and other landscape accessories" because they don't represent any recognized holiday. The letter also said the decorations were put up without the board's approval and must come down.

"It was just for fun," McQueeney said yesterday. "I figured it wasn't a big deal."

And "most of the neighbors have liked it," she added.

The association's office was closed yesterday, , and no one could be reached for comment.

The contest is held by the university each year, and there's always a different focus. This year's contest invited people across the country to decorate their front yards. McQueeney and roommate Rob Ridout, a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, said it took them and one other roommate four days to decorate.

They painted the front lawn orange and maroon in a checkerboard pattern. The front door, the garage door and every window on the front of the house is covered in orange plastic. The shutters on the windows are covered in white Virginia Tech bed sheets.

Baseball caps hang from tree limbs. A homemade flag that stretches from the roof to the ground drapes the side of the house next to letters that say "LET'S GO HOKIES."

The mailbox is decorated with Virginia Tech logos and streamers, and a blow-up Hokie Bird sits among the bushes. McQueeney said she used to have an orange and maroon Christmas tree on the porch, topped with a football helmet, but has taken that down to protect it from the weather. They've also taken down big maroon and orange letters that spelled out "VIRGINIA TECH" over the garage.

And that's just the front yard.

The backyard was marked like a football field, complete with cardboard football players, though rain has erased most of the paint.

McQueeney and her roommates said the association gave them until next Friday to take down the decorations or face a $10 fine every day they stay put.

But if the roommates win the Hokie contest, the $5,000 first-place prize should help cover their fines.

The contest winner will be announced tomorrow during halftime of Virginia Tech's game against the University of Virginia in Blacksburg. First place is $5,000, second place is $1,000 and third is $500.

The contest ran from Sept. 1 through last Friday. Decorations had to be up for at least three days.

"I respect that they want to protect everybody's investments and not let them trash their houses," McQueeney said. "We're not trying to offend anyone."

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or .