Dave from Carter-Finley

Yesterday the Raleigh News & Charlotte Observer (until somebody comes up with something better that’s what I’m calling it)  reported that former NC State football player and head coach Chuck Amato has cancer.  He was diagnosed with a cancerous spot on his tonsil back in December and will soon undergo treatment.

The doctors expect a full recovery since the cancer was discovered so early.  DFCF sure hopes so.  My thoughts and prayers are with you Chuck.  If anybody doubts Chuck’s resolve just listen to this quote from the man himself, “Now that the word has spread, I want to assure everybody that I will tackle this challenge just like I’ve tackled coaching throughout my career – full speed ahead.”

I have always had a soft spot for Chuck.  He was the coach while I was a student and we won a lot of games.  He single-handedly changed the culture of the NC State football program.  Every Saturday that I walk into Carter-Finley and look around at top-notch facilities we have now I’m grateful for Chuck.  I still think he got a raw deal on how he was forced out, but that’s a topic for another day.  Chuck is still a member of the Wolfpack Nation so we all need to get behind him and support him through this ordeal.

The best graduation present I received. It is still proudly displayed on my desk.

Haven’t posted anything in a couple weeks because I’ve been working on DFCF v2.0.  Hope you like it.  Leave feedback in the comments.  While the design of the website may have been upgraded, I’m sad to say I have not been.  Oh well.  DFCF v2.0 will allow me to expand my NC State fanatical reaches in this vast cyber universe.  Enjoy!

It’s been a depressing bowl season in the DFCF household with the Pack not participating.  Watching also-ran teams like Temple and East Carolina playing for a chance at a 10 win season, something the Pack has only done once in the history of our program (thank you Philip).  Both Temple and ECU ultimately fell short, but it was still a kick in the gut watching them play for that distinction.

Then Virginia Tech, a program that was an equally mediocre football program as the Pack as recent as the early ’90s, completed their sixth consecutive 10 win season with a spanking of Tennessee.  The only team with a longer active streak is Texas with nine.  Congrats to the Hokies!  They have proved that it can be done … take notes Lee Fowler.

My breaking point came on Monday night watching the Fiesta Bowl.  Yes Boise State plays in the weakest conference in the country, but even still they have done an outstanding job of putting together a very very good football program.  Sorry, that is as far as I’m willing to go in my praise of the Broncos.  I don’t know, maybe if they change their home turf color to green I’ll be able to take them serious.  Just seems too self-righteous and gimmicky to me.  Anyway, let me get back on topic.  With Boise State’s win in the Fiesta Bowl it gave them their second BCS win … let me repeat that … their second BCS win … in the last four years.  That is two more BCS wins than State has winning seasons in the same time frame.

I’m not some insane lunatic that thinks NC State football should be a top 10 team every year.  More like top 5, right?  So maybe I am an insane lunatic, but with our football facilities, die-hard fan base, fine academic university, and desirable location there is no excuse why we shouldn’t at least be playing in a bowl every year.  Is that too much to ask?

Merry Christmas from DFCF, Mrs. DFCF, and Ashes!

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the Murph,
Not a creature was stirring, not even Tom O’Brien.
The stockings were hung by the lockers with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The players were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of ACC Championships danced in their heads.
And Mrs. DFCF in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When out in Carter-Finley there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to the balcony to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the banners and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new flat sod field,
Gave the lustre of hope for the future to yield.
When, what to my wondering eyes should await,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight former Wolfpack greats.

“Now Philip! now, Roman! now, Torry and Ted!
On, Bill! On, Dick! On, Dennis and Jim!
To the top of the stadium! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each big foot.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the stairs St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed in NC State red, from his head to his toes,
And his clothes were all cluttered with ads and logos.
A bundle of footballs he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a winner, just opening his pack.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old dear,
Especially since the Pack beat the Heels 28-27 this year.
A wink of his eye and a flash of the wolf sign,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to fear.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And striking the most famous Heisman pose,
And giving a nod, up the elevator he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight,
“Merry Christmas to all Wolfpackers, and to all a good night!”

Christmas is one of the best times of the year and it’s just a few days away.  I guess my family is a bunch of procrastinators because they are still asking me what I want.  Sure there are those Callaway irons I’ve been checking out for a while now.  There’s even that 50 inch LCD TV that I’d love to replace my 40 inch model that has all of a sudden become too small.  Oh, and I almost forgot that AR-15 I’ve really been jonesing for.  All those material things would be great, but what I really want is:

• an ACC championship - the Pack’s last one was way back in 1979, before I was even born.  I’m tired of being mediocre.  Us long suffering Wolfpackers deserve a championship.
• Russell Wilson, 2010 starting QB - this seems like an obvious one, but he has to return next year to be the QB.  Russell graduates in May and with a good baseball season could decide to go into the MLB draft.  Russell is the best QB in the ACC and he gives us a chance to win every game.
• the 2008 Nate Irving – all signs point to Nate being ready for Spring practice, but who knows how this ordeal has really affected him … physically and mentally.  For our defense to be better next year we need “Nasty Nate” back at full strength.
• no more wave at Carter-Finley – the wave was cool when I was like 5 years old.  If you’d rather do the wave than watch the football game please do us all the favor and just attend your local Pop Warner game.
• the end of the 5 hour rule – it’s just stupid.  We’re all adults (well except for those previously mentioned that love to do the wave every game) so quit treating us like kids.
• a kicking game - our kicking game this year was _________ (you fill in the blank with the worst adjective you can come up with).  We were 73rd (out of 120) in the country in kickoff returns against, 81st in net punting, and 1 of only 3 schools with zero touchbacks this season.  All those have to change for us to be any good next year.
• tackling - I thought one of the staples of a TOB coached team was fundamentals.  Well this year’s defense was the worst tackling bunch I can ever remember at NC State.  Our 3rd down conversion defense of 42.5% was 94th (out of 120) in the country.  Most of that was due to poor tackling.  It wasn’t that long ago that we were consistently one of the best defenses in the ACC.  It’d be nice to get back to that.
• WPC get my parking right – yeah they fixed it this past year, but how hard is it to get it right the first time.  I’d bet they find a way to get it wrong again next year.  Hope not.
• keep my streak going – I did make it to every game this year so my streak currently stands at 12.  It’s no Dewey Corn (402 and counting) but I’m proud of it nonetheless.  Next year will be a little tougher with only six home games, but I’m up for the challenge.
• 4-0 – no explanation needed … GO PACK!

Yep that's a cookie jar

I know a thing or two about the Heisman Trophy.  Check out that awesome Heisman pose.  Desmond Howard’s got nothing on me.  The above famous picture was not taken after returning a punt for touchdown in a win over rival Ohio State on the way to actually winning the Heisman Trophy … that’s too cliche.  Rather that picture was taken in April 2006 at a wedding in Beaufort, South Carolina.  I didn’t even know the picture was taken until a week later.

So now that I’ve given you my Heisman credentials here’s my vote:  Stanford RB Toby Gerhart.  What an absolute beast.  I’ll even go as far as to say he’s been more of a beast this year than Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh.  Yeah Suh was dominant in the Texas game, so what, Gerhart has been dominant all year.  Gerhart had multiple TDs in every game except three and over 100 yards rushing in every game except two.  If Stanford had a defense that could have helped win another game or two Gerhart would be a lock, but as we saw with our own Philip Rivers back in 2003, the voters look too much at the team’s win-loss record.  Even though I think Gerhart should win, it looks like Alabama RB Mark Ingram is going to be the one to take home the hardware.  It’s pretty hard to believe that this will be the first Heisman Trophy ever for the Alabama program.  Maybe one day before I die I’ll see a Wolfpacker win the Heisman …

It’s just barely over a week since the 2009 NC State football season ended and I’m starting to go through Wolfpack Football Withdrawal (WFW).  I was really expecting to be planning for a bowl trip about this time, but the Pack football team didn’t get the memo.  I did go to the Carolina Panthers game this past Sunday to try and help soothe my WFW symptoms, but that didn’t work.  What a boring game and a boring atmosphere.  The tailgating wasn’t even that good.  The game did reinforce to me why college football is so much better than the NFL.

It’s just hard to believe that I wait what seems like forever for the Wolfpack football season to get here and when it finally gets here it’s over just like that (technically it was over back in October).  The easiest way to handle WFW is to start planning for next year.  The Kay Yow Spring Game is just around the corner, April 17th to be exact, so mark your calendars.  Lord willing, I’ll be there.  My birthday is that week so all I want is to tailgate and watch Wolfpack Football … and my wife says I’m hard to shop for.

I’m also already making plans for the first road trip next year to Central Florida in lovely Orlando.  Never been to Disney World so that’s the angle I took to get the wife’s approval.  Sneaky, huh?  I think about NC State football 24/7/365 so I’m also working on upgrades and additions to our tailgating.  We absolutely brought it this year, but there’s always room for improvement.  Just this past Friday me and the wife went on a wild goose chase trying to find a NC State tailgate table.  I find at least five Carolina ones everywhere we go, but have not found a State one yet.  Very frustrating, but surprisingly a good treatment for my WFW.

Note:  I’ll be checking back in randomly throughout the offseason so if you want to know when something new is posted just subscribe to my blog by clicking the link on the right side of the page.

My reaction to Clem Johnson's interception that sealed the Pack's 28-27 win over the Tarheels.

No words can describe how good it feels to beat the Tarheels.  The picture says it all.  Major props to Mrs. DFCF for capturing the moment.

Celebrating the Pack's 31-27 win over the Heels back in 2007 with game MVP Jamelle Eugene and others. Check out my highwaters ... HOT!

So this weekend the hated Tarheels come rolling into Carter-Finley with a little payback on their minds.  The Pack has won the last two in this series including last years 41-10 romp that still ranks as the most awesome NC State game I have ever watched.  In 2007 the Pack weathered two Daniel Evans pick sixes to pull out the 31-27 win.  Jamelle Eugene had his career day with 159 yards rushing and 3 TDs.  After the game yours truly celebrated with him, Curtis Underwood, DeAndre Morgan, Ray Michel, Darrell Davis, Javon Walker, and Wayne Crawford at the Hillsborough Street Applebee’s (see above picture).

A lot of other college rivalries get more press for being hated and ugly, but for me the Tarheels are the Mecca of Hate.  Words don’t describe how much I hate the Tarheels.  Still to this day I can’t understand how a Wolfpack grad/fan could marry a Tarheel grad/fan … more like fan right, because let’s be honest, less than 1% of Tarheel fans actually went to school there.  Screw that house divided crap.  I puke a little in my mouth everytime I see one of those license tags or bumper stickers.  My wife applied for grad school at Carolina and it’s safe to say we probably wouldn’t be married right now had Carolina not dropped her program.  Whew, dodged a bullet there!

I’m holding onto a little bit of hope here.  Carolina is currently a 5.5 point favorite and the underdog has won something like 8 of the past 12 straight up.  Knowing that stat I still don’t have a good feeling about this one.  We’ll be replaying last year’s 41-10 beatdown at my tailgate to try and bring some good karma to our boys.  It is Senior Day so we will be saying goodbye to the likes of Willie Young, Alan-Michael Cash, Ray Michel, Jamelle Eugene, Jeraill McCuller, and many others.  It will also be my brother’s last game as a manager.  I’ll probably shed a tear or two.  Hopefully these guys can go out on a high with a win over the hated Tarheels.  Go Pack!