Feb. 11, 2015
By Jerome Boettcher
Within 10 minutes of football season tickets opening up for renewal last month, the phone in the Vanderbilt ticket office rang.
On the other line was Brian Langford. He couldn’t wait to renew his two season tickets in Section R at Vanderbilt Stadium. And so Brian and Janice Langford were the first two Commodore fans to renew their tickets.
“We just jumped right on it,” Brian said. “”We believe in the mission of the school. We think they do an excellent job of that, committing to excellence in that and excellence in whatever you do in life. I know they say they work hard and play hard and we see that carry over in athletics as well.”
So this fall Brian and Janice will make the five-hour trip from Zionsville, Ind., for all six home games. Season tickets for the 2015 campaign can still be purchased or renewed. For more information, call the ticket office at 615-322-4653 or click here.
Cheering on the Commodores is special for the Langfords. They lived in Nashville from 1998-2000. Their oldest son, Justin, graduated from Vanderbilt with a mechanical engineering degree in 2013, and their youngest son, Kyle is a sophomore at the university and a biomedical engineering major.
“Just growing up in the area, the SEC, loving Tennessee, the prestige of the university and quality of education once they visited,” Brian said. “Really kind of all the things, part of why we are supporting football – the commitment to excellence, the commitment to community and the way the student body, staff and faculty everyone comes together really focuses on being a community. That is what impressed about Vanderbilt and worked for both our boys.”
Weekends spent watching Vanderbilt football games also provides comfort for the Langford family.
Last May, Justin died tragically at the age of 23 while testing vehicles for a transmission manufacturer. Justin left a big impact on the Vanderbilt community as he was involved in the Aerospace Club, the V-Squared mentoring program and the Vanderbilt Variations a cappella group.
Wanting to be there to support Kyle, Brian and Janice purchased season tickets for football games, where Justin frequently tailgated.
“We wanted to be down there, support Kyle, support Vanderbilt,” Brian said. “That’s what we did last year and said we’ll keep doing that. It is a good time to come down and be together and support a school we believe in and support our son at the same time. We believe in the mission of the school,” Brian said. “We think they do an excellent job of that, committing to excellence in that and excellence in whatever you do in life. I know they say they work hard and play hard and we see that carry over in athletics as well. We’ve always been big sports fans as well. It is fun to support the Commodores and Coach Mason. He seems to be committed and a man of integrity. He is trying to build a program that is sustainable. We clearly want to support him with that.”
