As you’ve noticed by now I took a few days off from the blog. It took me that long to get over the Virginia Tech debacle. Ok, not really. I was up in Minnesota for a few days touring some generator plants and attending some Oktoberfest festivals. Tough life, but somebody’s got to do it. By the way, I’m now a two time Hammerschlagen champion. The trip did offer a nice reprieve from hearing/reading about another wasted opportunity for NC State football to make a splash on the college football national scene.
I said all last week to anybody that wanted to listen to me that the Virginia Tech game is “the” game that NC State loses every time. We had lots of momentum, fan excitement at its peak, a Top 25 ranking, a high profile opponent, and a sold out Carter-Finley Stadium (58,083 … 3rd largest attendance of all-time). Even though I worried all week, when the Pack raced out to a 17-0 lead those thoughts quickly vanished. Then just as quickly Tyrod Taylor broke that long 71 yard run late in the 2nd quarter to set up Tech’s first touchdown and Russell Wilson followed it up with an interception in the endzone right before the half.
With the Pack clinging to a 17-7 halftime lead after dominating most of the first half I could feel it coming. Then David Wilson returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown and it felt like a foregone conclusion. We had numerous chances to finish off a win, including having the lead with 4:42 left in the game, and every time we gave it away. This is why Frank Beamer is the best coach in the ACC (now that Bobby Bowden has retired, of course). It’s also why the Boston College fans didn’t lose any sleep when TOB decided to bring his talents down South to Raleigh. Okay the talents part may be debatable, but I’ve been trying to work in a LeBron reference and finally found the opportunity. With the loss the TOB-O-METER currently stands at:
The ACC has announced the 2010 ACC Football Legends class and our representative is the great Ted Brown. The best running back in NC State and ACC history finally gets his due. He joins previous Wolfpack legends Roman Gabriel (2005), Jim Ritcher (2006), Dennis Byrd (2007), Bill Yoest (2008), and Willie Burden (2009) to get this honor. One word comes to mind when I think of Ted Brown … STUD! He set the ACC career rushing record in 1978 and it still stands to this day some 32 years later. Ted Brown made the #23 cool way before that ‘Air Whatever’ guy did at that school with the ugly color blue. His #23 is without a doubt one of the eight retired jerseys that you can see on display at Carter-Finley
Here’s what the ACC media release had to say about Ted:
“Ted Brown (1975-78) is the only player in ACC history to be named to the first-team All-ACC Football team for four consecutive seasons (1975-78). He ended his career in 1978 ranked 4th on the NCAA’s all-time rushing list and he still is the leading rusher in ACC history, having accumulated 4,602 yards. He scored an ACC-record 49 rushing touchdowns and holds NC State school records for most yards in a season (1,350), most touchdowns (51) and longest run from scrimmage (95 yards vs. Syracuse in 1977). Named a consensus All-America in 1978, he was a first-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings. The 16th player selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, Brown ran for 4,546 yards and 53 touchdowns in an eight-year career in the National Football League. He was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Football Team in 2003. Originally a native of High Point, N.C., he now lives in Apple Valley, Minn.”
Wolfpack Nation already knew you were an ACC football legend, now it’s been made official. The 2010 ACC Football Legends class will be recognized at the 2010 ACC Football Championship Game here in Charlotte on December 4th. I should be there so I’ll definitely give Mr. Brown a standing ovation for all he’s meant to the NC State football program. #23 … you da man! Congrats!
NC State football legend Dennis Byrd passed away this week. He was the first two-time All-American in NC State football history, the only Wolfpack defensive player with his jersey retired, the leader of NC State’s famed “White Shoes Defense” of the late 1960′s, an ACC Champion (1965), and a soon-to-be inductee into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (December 2010). To read the GoPack article that includes all his awards and accolades go here.
I’m a big history/tradition guy and since NC State football doesn’t have much of it I make sure that I don’t forget what little we do have. The first thing I always do when I enter Carter-Finley and get to my seat in section 18 is look up and acknowledge all the retired jerseys. While I’m not old enough to have watched Byrd play for the Wolfpack, I am aware of his importance in the history of our program so I’ll be giving a longer pause for #77 this season in reverence. It’s definitely a sad day for Wolfpack Nation. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Byrd family.
My favorite things about the 4th of July are: fireworks, hot dogs, beer, parades, baseball, no work … and of course it means football season is getting closer and closer. Happy 4th of July everybody! Have fun and be safe!
NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow (photo by N&O)
Debbie Yow was introduced as the new NC State Athletic Director yesterday at a press conference (video link) held at Carter-Finley Stadium. She comes with a ton of experience in collegiate athletic administration, has a history of success, is a straightforward no-nonsense kind of person, is über competitive, and from the legendary Yow family that has always been so very good to Wolfpack Athletics. I am excited by this hire and I expect a lot of good things are finally on the horizon for Wolfpack Nation. As I’ve stated on here numerous times, I avoid the NC State message boards like the plague because they are quite frankly embarrassing, but apparently there has been quite a bit of upheaval over this hire. Some people think they know everything, huh? [as my readers mumble under their breath … look who’s talking] Me, I do know everything. Would I have started this blog for any other reason?
Here’s some of the best quotes from the presser:
‘My family has been part of the Wolfpack Family for many years. I am glad to be home.’
‘I am greatly honored to be the athletic director at North Carolina State and look forward to working with Chancellor Woodson.’
‘We need to build on the strengths of this athletics program and this university and move forward.’
‘We will strive to improve our graduation rates. The single most important national academic metric, it is after all, the goal, to graduate.’
‘What fans need will always matter. It’s just one specific way (new email address) we can show respect to individuals that support Wolfpack teams.’
‘We will expect a national top 25 program, moving toward top 10 status and competing for national championships.’
‘We have to make sure our coaches have everything they need. We should always match resources to expectations.’
‘The only limitations we have are the ones placed on ourselves. There will be bumps along the way that we don’t expect. We need to stay focused, and we need to be persistent. Absolutely refusing the status quo.’
‘There is a difference in talking the talk and walking the walk. It isn’t enough to talk about it. This is about doing and achieving. It will be challenging if we are committed to achieving at higher levels.’
‘The No. 1 thing to bring them (the fans) together is winning. The foundation has to be laid, and part of that is already here.”
‘We can become what we believe we can become. If we rally the Wolfpack family, and lock arms as a collective force, and move forward. Only way we can reach these challenging goals … Wolfpack Unlimited’
“I do not have a great need to be popular. I’d rather win than be popular.”
“When you are in a leadership role, there are times where you have to have a tough discussion. You have to lay out what level of accountability you want. If I were not willing to do that, I’d be doing a disservice to NC State.”
“I’m not Mary Poppins. I’m not naive. I know what it takes and we will do that.”
Join me in welcoming Debbie Yow to the Wolfpack Family. Make us all (definitely including Kay and Susan) proud. Go Pack!
So unless you’ve been living on Mars for the past month you know that Sunday was the series finale of LOST (ABC’s much ballyhooed sci-fi, drama, action, mystery, thriller … it fits into almost every genre that exists). I started watching it towards the end of season one and, even though I was ‘lost’ and confused most of the time, it became one of my favorite shows of all time. I never was one of those obsessed Losties, however. I mean I only have 4 Dharma jumpsuits, 8 cases of Dharma beer, 15 LOST posters, 16 LOST castaway action figures, subscribe to 23 different LOST podcasts, and read 42 different LOST blogs. Well none of that’s true, but even if it were I would still only be considered a ‘casual’ LOST fan. Nevertheless I wanted to bid a heartfelt farewell to the series. Now that we have ‘all’ the answers I wonder how different going back and re-watching the series would be? I might have to try that sometime.
Now why did I like LOST so much? It wasn’t because of the polar bears or the smoke monster thingy or the flashes (back, forward, and sideways) or the hatch or the Dharma Initiative or the tropical island in the middle of nowhere or even that lovable fat guy that actually seemed to gain weight while stranded on said island. All that stuff was great, but the thing that got me was LOST paralleled my own personal journey of becoming a fanatical diehard NC State football fan. I’ll try to be brief so here goes.
September 4, 1999 (my first home football game as a NC State Student) was when my plane crashed on the Carter-Finley island. Sitting through Hurricane Dennis to watch the 10-0 win over the Gamecocks was the moment my eye opened (so let’s just say that I’m like Jack).
I’ve dealt with UNC fans (the ‘Others’) and fought against the evil UNC biased media (mysterious polar bears/smoke monster). I’ve also interacted with the Wolfpack Club (Dharma Initiative), been trapped in many of their fund raising initiatives (research stations) including those LTRs (hatch). I’ve even had to write that membership dues check over and over and over to keep everything intact (hatch numbers).
There’s been players like Philip Rivers, Jerricho Cotchery, Dantonio Burnette, Mario Williams, etc. that came along that were absolute dynamite and critical to my journey (Locke, Sayid, Sawyer, Hurley, etc.). There were also those players like T.A. McLendon, Marcus Stone, etc. that I had high hopes for that just fizzled out and were ultimately forgotten (Mr. Eko, Walt, etc.). There is my soulmate Mrs. DFCF (Kate) and even though we technically met and started dating in high school, she didn’t really discover who I was until that first NC State football season and she still chose to stay by my side. I will say our relationship is nothing like Jack/Kate, it’s more on the level of Sawyer/Juliet … except for that whole going Dutch part. Mrs. DFCF never got that memo.
I even missed one home game (left the island) vs. Middle Tennessee State on November 19, 2005 and quickly regretted that decision and returned to the island immediately never trying to leave again. I’ve seen the seemingly invincible AD Lee Fowler (island care taker Jacob) get eliminated and failed miserably at trying to make a huge impact by starting this blog (detonating that hydrogen bomb). Also somehow along the way the smoke monster took over TOB’s body and is trying to ruin everything. Seriously, this guy won 8/9 games every year at BC … something’s definitely taken over his body, right?
I could go on and on about how my journey has paralleled the LOST journey, but the one problem is I’ve yet to get to that enlightenment phase. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept that NC State football is not perfect and my fandom will never die. Can I just put my house on the market already and move to the sideways world where NC State football is always winning championships?
Yeah I know this post was crazy and probably confusing (it’s not like that on purpose … promise), but it’s my tribute to LOST. I’m sure everybody could make some sort of parallel between their life’s journey and that of LOST. That’s what made the show so great. I will miss it, but I have a funny feeling that some spinoff or remake will pop up in the future. Until then … Namaste!
I searched far and wide on the interweb for a cool picture from a past NC State Commencement Ceremony and this is the best I could find. I’m disappointed that not nearly enough people decorate their mortarboards (I never did it either so I’m guilty myself) or at least it’s impossible to find any pictures of them. Nevertheless, today the Class of 2010 has it’s chance to make history. Here’s my top 5 ideas with corresponding pictures for best ever mortarboard designs (my Photoshop skills are awesome!):
#5 - A 3-D exact scaled replica of Carter-Finley Stadium.
#4 - An iced down Coors Light mini keg … to help get through those boring speeches.
#3 - A dozen cold, crusty, week old Krispy Kreme doughnuts in remembrance of the Krispy Kreme Challenge.
#2 - Small wax figurine in honor of two of the most famous NC State fans. Bonus points if you can make it do this.
#1 – Since there is a growing faction in Wolfpack Nation that really wants it … a live wolf mascot (just a miniature one of course).
Well now that the important stuff is out of the way I want to send out a hard earned and well deserved Congrats! to the NC State University Class of 2010. Good luck to you all in the next chapter of your lives. Go out and change the world … just don’t get drunk on your birthday and lose the next iPhone in a bar. You’ve been warned.
I will be attending the ceremonies today since my little brother will be getting his degree. Congrats bro! It won’t be the same next year looking down on the Carter-Finley sidelines and not seeing you. Hurry back!
The tone of my posts over the past few weeks have been more serious than normal so I wanted to lighten up the mood a little. I went to YouTube and searched ‘funny nc state football’ and the second result was this video. BOOM! I’ve been taking dance lessons with Mrs. DFCF for a while now, but we have yet to learn this move. I feel shafted. And this guy got escorted out of Carter-Finley. Man I’d love to swap stories with him because this is one that I could be proud to tell my grandkids about. Enjoy!
Today I took my semiannual trip to the dentist. Woohoo! With all the Diet Dr. Pepper I drink (I’m addicted to that stuff like Tiger Woods is to … women) it’s a miracle that I didn’t have any cavities, but everything checked out good so no worries. How does this relate to NC State football? Well everything I do somehow relates to NC State football. For example, the dump I just took ran through me like Travis Leggett (21 car, 129 yds) ran through the second team Defense at the Kay Yow Spring Game. Where else can you get Spring Game analysis like that?
Anyway back to the dentist visit, when my dental hygienist was done poking sharp pointy metal things around in my mouth for half an hour she tried to schedule my next visit for October 28 … the day of the Thursday Night ESPN game vs. Florida State. It took me about five milliseconds to start telling her why that wouldn’t work. Come to find out she’s a Carolina fan, most likely of the Walmart variety. What a shame, I was just starting to like this dentist office.
So if I haven’t bored you to death or grossed you out, let’s move on to some more Spring Game analysis. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again … you can’t take too much away from a Spring Game. It’s good for the coaching staff because they can evaluate progress (or lack thereof), see younger guys/walk-ons in game like situations, try out different things, and work on specific situations. It’s also good for the fans because it gives us a chance to tailgate (I might not have been at Carter-Finley, but I was still tailgating on Bald Head Island) and get a taste of football to hold us off until the Fall. I’m not going to go through all the stats (go here for that) because most don’t tell you much, but there are a few that do. Here’s the things that really stood out to me:
More than 20 regulars were held out with injuries so only 46 scholarship players participated. Most of these injuries were nothing more than minor tweaks. With so much time to heal before actual games begin I’m a little curious why they were all held out. Smells a little fishy to me.
The secondary is still very bad. Mike Glennon is a great talent, but he’s our second team QB with the following career stats: 24 of 39 for 248 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Against our first team Defense his Spring Game performance was 21 of 38 for 423 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Most of the time it looked way to easy too.
The Offensive Line is still not the strength that it should be. They can pass block, but it still seems like they aren’t physical/nasty enough to dominate the line of scrimmage in order to run the ball effectively. James Washington had 12 carries for a paltry 27 yards against a Defensive Line that is a huge question mark heading into next season. These stats can be a little misleading because Dana Bible does get very pass happy and absolutely abandons the running game at times. Even so the Offensive Line has got to get more push and open up more holes for the running backs.
The defense worked on adding the 3-4 all throughout Spring Practice, but I didn’t see any in the Spring Game. [Note: I was watching on Pack Pass so I could have missed it. Correct me if I'm wrong.] It will be interesting to see how and when we implement this into game plans this season.
Nate Irving was only suppose to play in the first half of the Spring Game for precautionary reasons. Nate had other plans, though, and didn’t want to come out so he played the first series (maybe two) of the second half against the will of the coaches. You have to love his passion for the game and it sure is great to have him back on the field.
Jeff Ruiz can punt a pretty good ball … when there’s no rush in his face. Knowing that can we scrap the stupid spread punt formation. Here’s where the worn out cliché ‘trying to put a square peg in a round hole’ comes to my mind.
Our team still has a long way to go before Western Carolina comes to Carter-Finley on September 4th. I’ve examined the schedulebackwards, forwards, sideways, inside out, and upside down and I still can’t find more than five wins (best case scenario). The one thing I can say for certain is … it’s going to be a long, agonizing four months waiting for the season to get here.
I’m writing this blog from Bald Head Island. Sitting here on the deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with a nice cool breeze in my face, life couldn’t be any more perfect. Back in Raleigh the Wolfpack are taking part in the Kay Yow Spring Game. It’s the first Spring Game I’ve missed in five years and only the second since 2000. I have to admit I hate not being at Carter-Finley today, but this is way more relaxing.
I will take an hour or so away from my fun in the sun to watch the Spring Game on Pack Pass. It’s probably best I’m not there in person anyway. A second coach approached my brother at practice this week about my questions at the Badin WPC Caravan. He said I was ’giving TOB the business’ so there very well could be Wanted posters calling for my head.
Well enough blogging for now. Time to go enjoy the beach. I’ll check back later with my thoughts on the Spring Game.
