National Crow Serving Time! (Updated 1:15 p.m.: Those who aren’t having to eat crow)

If you’re a longsuffering NC State fan, you will never forget the dark days, and you will certainly long remember the national dogpile on the “delusional Wolfpack fans” for running the poor Herb Sendek (who never beat Roy Williams despite being favored in 4 out of his 6 games against him) out of town. Criminy, it had reached a stage of almost religious mysticism to the sports reporting set; one got the distinct impression that every sports reporter, talk show host and hack journalist couldn’t get to sleep at night without uttering the phrase But the delusional NC State fans have got to realize that the next coach can’t expect to compete against Roy Williams and Coach K!

It got so bad that SFN got tired of the one-script wonders and started a thread devoted to “Chronicling the Criticism” — an impossible job, because the critics were legion. But they gathered some humdingers of self-assured, condescending claptrap aimed at Wolfpack Nation. Such as:

• “[Hiring Sidney Lowe was]a page out of the N.C. State football playbook. Walk loudly and carry a twig. What you have here is a trade-off that most State fans will welcome. The straight-laced, soft-spoken coach that wins more than he loses firmly in the shadow of his neighbors for the tough-talking State alum that isn’t scared to yell at Coach K or Skip Prosser to fire up his team. Style over substance never works over the long haul.” — Randy Capps, Shelby Starr

• “Until Saturday, N.C. State’s search was going beautifully. The Wolfpack hadn’t done anything smart like hire one of the ACC-ready head coaches in their own state, but they hadn’t done anything irreparably stupid, either. Like hiring Sidney Lowe.” — Gregg “Still Seeking John Simonds” Doyell

• “Whether it’s Sidney Lowe, Rick Barnes or John Calipari, it doesn’t really matter. There’s no way N.C. State will be able to topple the powers-that-be on Tobacco Road.” — Jeff Goodman, MSNBC

• “Given this sorry state of affairs, I’m guessing there are a lot of disappointed N.C. State fans, such as the one who goes by the handle gsu101 and posted the following message on an Internet message board two weeks ago. The message is addressed ‘To all Herb Haters’ and it reads: ‘You guys are now getting a reality check. There is no coach that can propel us past UNC and Duke, at least not right now, but Herb kept pushing the program along in the right direction. He was a classy guy, and a great coach. And his reward [was] ONLY CONSTANT CRITICISM AND SNOTTINESS FROM YOU FOLKS! Consider what is happening to State now as a fitting punishment, you ungrateful people.’ Can I get an amen?” — Seth Davis, SI

I’m not even going to try to take a snippet from Spam Central a la “The ACCBasketblog”; just read the paragraph upon paragraph of pure vitriol they provided.

I’ll end by quoting one of my all-time favorite writers. That handsome devil said the following:

Sidney Lowe won an ACC championship, and NCAA championship, and his team beat UNC with Michael Jordan and Sam Perkins without their leading scorer, Dereck Whittenburg.

DO YOU THINK ANYONE’S GOING TO TELL HIM WE CAN’T EXPECT TO COMPETE AGAINST UNC AND DUKE?

I would add, however, that this comment came before Coach Lowe hired an assistant coach who also won ACC and NCAA titles at NC State (Monte Towe) and another assistant who won an ACC title at NC State by beating a previously unbeaten-in-the-ACC UNC team (Quention Jackson).

Anyway, regardless of what all those jokers said back then, I just talked to my friend Scoreboard, and he says they’re all wrong. (Go here to read SFN’s coverage of Coach Lowe’s first victory against “we can’t expect to compete against” Roy Williams in his first try.)


Update: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention those sportswriters who “get it”; the ones who stood by the beleaguered Pack fans and bucked the trend among their peers. Such as:

• Tom Suiter

• Mike DeCourcy

• Caulton Tudor

• John Delong

06-07 Basketball General Media Sidney Lowe

59 Responses to National Crow Serving Time! (Updated 1:15 p.m.: Those who aren’t having to eat crow)

  1. jamieinkorea 02/04/2007 at 5:58 AM #

    I like to serve my crow broiled. It seems that my brother and sister, both UNC alums, like to eat it with a glass of “whine.”

    This is a marvelous day for Pack fans, because our first outing against the Holes nets us a win, which means that the Holes can’t have that as something to always talk about.

    I have been sporting my Pack sweatshirt proudly today, although most of the people I see on a daily basis can’t read it!

    Go Pack!

    Thanks, Coach Lowe, for letting us believe again!

  2. jamieinkorea 02/04/2007 at 6:06 AM #

    Coach Lowe after the game…

    “It’s one win, but it’s a big win. I’ve never shied away from the rivalry of the three schools down here, and it’s a big win,” Lowe said. “It’s not something that I made up — this was here long before me, and when I got here they told me this was a big game, and I believed them. I don’t see it ever changing.”

    See? All those idiots with a keyboard that fancied themselves to be “experts” on Tobacco Road hoops know nothing about this. This is what the Sidney Lowe era will be all about: appreciation of the rivalry and the the understanding that Pack fans have to see and deal with Tarhole fans on a daily basis.

  3. oldflyingfarmer 02/04/2007 at 6:13 AM #

    Best win for us in a long time. Worth two wins anywhere else.
    Go NCSU!!

  4. class of 74 02/04/2007 at 6:53 AM #

    Great piece in today’s Durham Herald-Sun by Frank Dascenzo on Coach Lowe and his mentor. Give Coach Lowe equal or nearly equal talent against the two neighbors and he will win more than his share against the two legends. To win that game yesterday with the talent and depth dispairity, well, it was just amazing. Coach Lowe embraces our past, unlike his predecessor who I believe felt threatened by the past greatness of the program. I firmly believe we have a legend in the making in Raleigh and his name is Sidney Lowe.

  5. Texpack 02/04/2007 at 8:01 AM #

    It was so sweet yesterday when, right here in Houston, some poser Carolina fan (my son’s terminology) writes “Go UNC” on a piece of paper at the checkout where I’m returning leftover science project supplies with my two sons. We’re all wearing our State stuff so I just smiled and said “Maybe they can beat us in Chapel Hill, ’cause they sure couldn’t do it today.” Thank goodness Calamari said no.

  6. Rochester 02/04/2007 at 8:05 AM #

    I submitted this to Gregg “Dickhead” Doyel on CBS Sportsline:

    “Happen to catch the NC State victory over UNC yesterday? Do you finally get why NC State fans wanted a coach who could get up for a big game? Remember how you bashed us all for “running Herb out of town”? Herb left because he couldn’t handle the pressure of winning big games. He tried to say they were all the same, no matter who they were against, as if rivalries and tradition didn’t exist. We were favored against UNC and lost by 24 last year on our home court. That was an embarrassment to the program. Under Sidney Lowe, UNC was favored by 16, and the Wolfpack won. You can run your apology column any time.”

  7. Lunatic Fringe 02/04/2007 at 9:07 AM #

    I looked at the videos from WRAL where they kept asking the coach and players do you consider this a big win (big game). They ALL game the same answer…YES…of course it is a big win.

    Funny…I guess when the previous staff gave the impression that it was “just another game” for so long that the media was a bit surprised to have the coaches/players actually share the sentiments of the fans.

    Gavin was quick to point out that this was just the beginning.

  8. jamieinkorea 02/04/2007 at 9:11 AM #

    Lunatic Fringe Says:

    “Funny…I guess when the previous staff gave the impression that it was “just another game” for so long that the media was a bit surprised to have the coaches/players actually share the sentiments of the fans.”

    Of course they said that… THEY LOST!

  9. tractor57 02/04/2007 at 9:27 AM #

    It is wonderful to see the BB program on the rise. There will still be challenges such as lost games that should have been won, some bonehead plays on court and the like but the fire is back.
    Big win? That is the most stupid question I’ve ever heard. OF COURSE A BIG WIN (as all victories over UNX should be – regardless of the pregame stuff).

    Yes, hiring Lowe was the worst thing we could ever have done (second to allowing Herb to leave) .

  10. GAWolf 02/04/2007 at 9:50 AM #

    Just listened to Lowe’s postgame statements. He’s such a great interview and fantastic man. I’m more and more impressed with the guy everytime I hear him speak.

  11. IrishPackFan 02/04/2007 at 9:51 AM #

    ^
    “Yes, hiring Lowe was the worst thing we could ever have done (second to allowing Herb to leave)”

    Are you seriously mad, man?! Sidney comes out with less talent and half the depth, wins against a 16 point favorite, winning what Herb couldn’t ever do and you say that?! Seriously; crack kills.

  12. Sw0rdf1sh 02/04/2007 at 10:18 AM #

    I think he was being sarcastic.

    I’m now in day 2 of the most blissful state I’ve been in since 2003.

  13. Sw0rdf1sh 02/04/2007 at 10:19 AM #

    I think he was being sarcastic.

  14. tractor57 02/04/2007 at 10:49 AM #

    IPF –
    “Step away from the beer”

  15. Rochester 02/04/2007 at 11:05 AM #

    It’s probably a safe assumption that when someone says something here now about how much better things were under Herb that it’s sarcasm to mock the crap we all heard all summer. Like if I said “Gee, I wish we were 0-11 in conference instead of 3-5 with wins over back-to-back ranked opponents, including our most-hated rival,” you might think, hmm … either delusional, or maybe it’s sarcasm.

  16. packpigskinfan23 02/04/2007 at 11:10 AM #

    I am with State fans…. its been hard not to smile since really the first half of the game yesterday. I am extremely proud of that team, and that coach.

    I really loved Gavin’s comment about hoping Coach Lowe was here to retire. I sure hope so!!!!

    I’m not gonna be delusioned enough to think the rest of this year is going to be easy for us… cause it will not be at all. But this game shot us ahead at least one year. let the recruiting begin!!!!

  17. 98st8 02/04/2007 at 11:21 AM #

    doesn’t it feel good to be part of the WOLFPACK family today? This win feels so much different than the wins over UNX when Doherty was the coach. It is such an uplifting win. The SLEEPING GIANT is awake my Wolfpack friends and family. This is just the beginning…

  18. JimValvano 02/04/2007 at 11:24 AM #

    Speaking of Herb…He was integral in us b’eating the tarholes yesterday…the lamb chops were “herb encrusted”…and not expecting us to have any fight or emotion or for that matter offense in us.

    Did any of ya’ll see Ben McCauley play last year? I did. And when I heard Brackman wasn’t going to play and realized McCauley was going to start…I was devastated. McCauley sucked. I mean…he looked unathletic, uncoordinated, and incapable of being an ACC player. He was all hunched over…looked scared to death…I just thought that he was okay at taking up space when we were desperate. WHAT DID THEY INJECT HIM WITH??? Was it steroids? Nope. Was it some form of gene therapy? Nope. Was it adrenaline, self-confidence, an allowance to breathe, have a heart, play with and show emotion, and have a coach who believes in him? Ab-SID-lutely!!! What a transformation.

  19. packpigskinfan23 02/04/2007 at 11:28 AM #

    A couple of guys in my class have Ben in a class with them, and so does my girlfreinds roommate… aparently Ben has been going around telling teachers that he can not wait for the coming years of NCSU basketball. He knows that this program is on its way up, and fast. He is a true blooded Wolfpacker!! I love that guy.

  20. StateFans 02/04/2007 at 11:34 AM #

    ^ Guys like Ben and Brandon are the kind of HUMANS that you want in your program. They are articulate and have the opportunity to be announcers or coaches after their NBA days are over.

    See – Del Negro, Gannon, Towe, Levi, Gainey, Levi, etc

  21. tvp 02/04/2007 at 11:53 AM #

    Ben had a great postgame interview that you can see on WRAL’s website. Very collected, articulate, and confident. Love that guy.

    Frontcourt next year will be SICK. Costner, depending on how long he stays (and I think 4 years is a pipe dream) has the chance to be one of our all time best players. There is nothing he cannot do.

  22. Jamie 02/04/2007 at 11:55 AM #

    This fine blog doesn’t belong to me, but hey, I have an idea. Let’s turn this into a crow preparation post. In other words, how do you serve yours? I’ll start:
    This afternoon, I am going to my office (where the owner and half of the staff are Tarhole fans) and connecting a CD player to our music on hold/intercom system. It will be playing, on loop, our fight song when they all get there tomorrow.
    Next, when he (the owner) walks into his office tomorrow, he will find his beloved 2′ statue of Rameses (or, feces, if you please) stuffed in an old school, metal NCSU trashcan.
    Serve before allowing to cool, serves 4.

  23. IrishPackFan 02/04/2007 at 12:18 PM #

    Tractor…sorry, can’t “step away from the beer”, but I did jump the gun. I’m so stoked with this win I expected some Herb lovers to say something to the effect of “Sidney can thank Herb for the win because they are all players he recruited”…yeah but Sidney developed them more in his first year than Herb did…

    From a Crow serving standpoint, a co-worker will get hers served as breakfast in the morning. The last time the Holes beat us she decked my desk out with Carolina everything, from parking signs to white and blue balloons and streamers. She will come to her desk tomorrow with NCSU EVERYTHING along with a stuffed Rameses, with its head torn off and sitting on her keyboard…

  24. PurplePeopleEaters 02/04/2007 at 12:21 PM #

    The thing that makes this so much better is that we have the worst NC state team talent wise of the past 5 years and they have their best team (arguably) talent wise, over the past 5 years. Yet with one simple coaching change we’re able to take it to them with a 7 man rotation that includes a walk on.

    The scary thing is, Lowe did this with virtually no recruiting class this year. When we actually have some players that can step in late in games and add crucial minutes we are going to be scary.

    A frontcourt of Hickson, Costner, and McCauley. Wow.. That’s scary stuff. Plus we add Degand, and the transfer from U tennessee as transfers in our backcourt.. we’re not gonna have to hold open tryouts next year.

  25. 98st8 02/04/2007 at 12:25 PM #

    IPF, take the U N C letters off of her keyboard

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