Alums and Fans Under 25 Have Never Seen Glory. Will They Live Long Enough To Ever See It?

AD & Department Alums Fans General NC State Administration NCS Basketball NCS Football Non-Revenue Tradition81

In the wake of yet another disappointing basketball season with yet another lackluster ACC Tournament one-and-done, I got to thinking about some of the current students, younger alumni and fans of NC State — and how much I feel sorry for them because they have rarely if ever gotten to feel the absolute joys that being a Wolfpack fan has afforded me through my lifetime.  Sure, a few wins against Carolina and Duke in hoops, a Gator Bowl in football, Philip Rivers, a few other things, but nothing like beating UNC in the finals of the ACC Tournament.  Nothing like beating the most-feared basketball team of its era in UCLA.  Nothing like standing in the Brickyard watching a huge bonfire, celebrating with thousands of other students and fans knowing that NC State had won a very unexpected but well-deserved national title in hoops.  When Lorenzo Charles put in the winning basket for his team in 1983, it wasn’t just for them…it was for all of us, his fellow students.  It sure felt that way that night, out there on Cloud 9.  And today’s kids…well, they’ve never come anywhere near that moment.  It’s as far away as Jupiter for them.

For me, all of those things were an integral part of my childhood and student life.  For today’s younger Wolfpackers, they’ve never gotten to experience anything remotely close to it.  At the rate things are going, they will probably be my age — squarely rooted in middle age — before it becomes even possible for them to see the things that we old farts saw and celebrated.

Think of it this way: a current undergraduate student was about two years old — or not even born — the last time NC State won an ACC Tournament.

If a fan is twenty-five, they weren’t born when NC State won the second of their two national titles in basketball.

If a fan is thirty years old, they’re too young to remember the last ACC title in football.  Jimmy Carter was still president of the United States.

That’s a long time, folks.  Too damned long if you consider that NC State is the largest university in the state of North Carolina and that it has a huge number of living alumnae in this state who give millions of dollars to help their beloved Wolfpack compete.

I recently had an exchange with a 26 year-old alumnus who said

“I am proud of my Pack no matter what. They have their moments and you know what if they win tonight [against Maryland]  I’ll be extremely happy .   They then play WF, which they have played before and beat once out of the two games. If State goes to the NIT who cares at least they are getting some post season play. I am a young fan and no I was not there for the 73-74 team i wasn’t even born and I was only 1 during the ’83 team. State has a tough time closing the deal on most games.  You know what I do tune into the Wolfpack radio because I support my team win or lose and I will continue to support the Pack no matter what.”

I know that in her heart of hearts, this young lady loves NC State every bit as much as I do.  I know that she goes to the games, or listens on the radio or watches them on television and cheers just as loudly as I do.  Thing is, she’s never gotten the payoff for her loyalty, even if she is young.  She’s never seen State’s players laughing while they cut down the nets, not even in the ACC Tournament.   She’s been conditioned to believe that an NIT berth is a “good season” for hoops.  In my day, getting dumped into the NIT was a booby prize not to be valued with much regard at all.  If she remembers 1989, it is through the eyes of a six year old.  You get old enough, and memories like that start seeming like a dream you had a long time ago that you can only remember glimpses of now.  She doesn’t even have that.

So I feel sorry for her, because her University has let her down.  She has to cheer for a school whose administration cashes her checks but gives her lip service to excellence in return.  She undoubtedly had to work as hard as any of us did for her degree, but unlike me, she cannot expect that the athletic teams that represent her school will reflect the excellence that goes on every day in the classrooms across campus.

And that is wrong.  She deserves better.

It is unfortunate that the school doesn’t see it that way.

She deserves better because she keeps the faith even when it seems hopeless.  I respect that beyond measure — a fan who stands by their team through times thick or thin.  That’s what a “true fan” is…not some Johnny-come-lately who jumps on the bandwagon when a team happens to have success.

Like I said, she deserves better.

For those young fans, I wish I could say it would be better soon, that State was on the cusp of a golden age.  Unfortunately I can’t.  All I can say is that I hope you live long enough for things to change and for new blood to take over that actually cares as much as you do.

AD & Department Alums Fans General NC State Administration NCS Basketball NCS Football Non-Revenue Tradition

81 Responses to Alums and Fans Under 25 Have Never Seen Glory. Will They Live Long Enough To Ever See It?

  1. thekind 03/14/2009 at 4:08 PM #

    raging wolf-
    I like the effort. I do agree that Wolfpackers need to step up and present a unified effort to make a change at the AD position. I’m in.

  2. redfred2 03/14/2009 at 4:13 PM #

    X

  3. highstick 03/14/2009 at 5:16 PM #

    Leewolf, not only could you smoke in Reynolds, I used to take a pint of bourbon into the upper deck w/o any problem. In fact, you never had a problem even finding a few seats to stretch out in.

    BBall season is over. The only thing to look forward to is for someone to send the Heels back home to bitch for another year about how they got screwed or “if Lawson’s toe wasn’t bothering him”, yada, yada. Hope somebody just rapes Hopsborough!

  4. wolfpack4evermore 03/15/2009 at 1:06 AM #

    As a long time, “old school” Wolfpacker, I have been reading this site almost from its inception. I enjoy reading most of the opinions expressed whether I agree or disagree with them. We are all passionate Wolfpack fans. I am old enough to have enjoyed the ’73 and ’74 teams of David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Monte Towe, the epic struggle that was perhaps the greatest basketball game ever played between Maryland and NCSU for the ACC tournament title and the subsequent victories over UCLA and Marquette to win the title under Norm Sloan. I enjoyed the ’83 “Cardiac Pack’s run to the national title with coach Valvano. I survived the self imposed dark times after the Jim Valvano era. However, the 10 year regime of HWSNBN pretty much drained the Wolfpack life from me. For anyone longing for the days of HWSNBN, this report came in earlier tonight. With a projected top 5 lottery pick guard and a projected 1st round pick post player, HWSNBN just squandered a 15 point half time lead and lost to the #6 seed Southern Cal in the Pac 10 tournament. He never had an inside scorer like Jeff Pendergraph or a lottery pick like James Harden while in Raleigh or if he did, he stubbornly refused to use them as such weapons on the court. HWSNBN’s ceiling was high mediocrity. With the exception of one season, we were usually NCAA bubble material at best. He did not care whether we were reasonably competitive with Duke or the Tarholes or Wake, Clemson, Miami, BC or anyone else for that matter. He scheduled enough cupcakes to have an NCAA bubble record on most occasions and we usually suffered through late season swoons against better competition. We plodded along at a game pace that produced ugly wins and even uglier losses. He did not care about the fan base and is at least partially to blame for the current apathy among us. His playing style did not lead to upper echelon talent signing on the dotted line to play for NCSU. I can not explain the James Harden to Arizona St. scenario that unfolded for all the money in the world. Instead, we had various collections of talented players with large holes in their games or players that never deserved a scholarship from an ACC school. The group that he left behind were as emotionless as he was with the occasional exception of Ben McCauley. They either had minimal basketball IQ’s to begin with or he removed that from them with his coaching style. He was so rigid, he could not change strategies in a game even when they were failing miserably. He has, perhaps learned a few lessons from his days in Raleigh, based on Pendergraph not shooting 3’s and wandering the perimeter as a power player. However, his teams still display an incredible knack for playing some of the ugliest games in the NCAA. My son and I regularly use the term “Sendekian” to refer to long scoring droughts, ill advised 3 point attempts, inept inbounds plays or late game folds. I do not know, nor do I feel qualified to judge Sidney Lowe’s coaching ability. I do, however, know that he has a passion for NC State. I refuse to pass judgement on our coach based on the last 3 years. He was thrust into a no-win situation due to the inept coaching search. Two complete recruiting years were lost with the exception of Dennis Horner. He had to gamble on players due to this situation that have not worked out for one reason or another. I feel that he has made significant strides in recruiting. Javi, Tracy, Julius, C.J. all seem to play with passion. They do make mistakes. All freshmen and sophomores do. They are inconsistent. Most young players are. However, they do seem to have pride in the uniform they wear. These young players and the incoming class of Lorenzo Brown, Scott Wood and Richard Howell appear to provide a nucleus to move forward. Hopefully the following class of Ryan Harrow and C.J. Leslie (if they follow through with their commitments in spite of the on-line ridicule of the program and coach they have selected) and perhaps others that have not committed will continue to lift up the program. If, however, we flat line as a mediocre program, then so be it. I believe that as a “Wolfpacker” with a love for the institution, Sidney will fall on the sword himself, so to speak, and move on or accept another position within the university as Les Robinson did. If I am wrong, I still do not want the current athletic director employed by NCSU to ever complete another coaching search for a football or men’s basketball coach. Sadly, he will eventually hire a replacement for the late Kay Yow. We can not be lucky enough for another coach to fall in his lap at his lake front home as Tom O’Brien did. Perhaps, he still has the slick haired ESPN analyst on speed dial. Wouldn’t he look great on the sidelines as coach of the lady Wolfpack? As I stated earlier, the 10 year reign of HWSNBN has really taken its toll on this Wolfpacker. However, I also, want to applaud BSIE80 and com state 10 for their optimism. I hope that they are rewarded for their loyalty to Sidney and the future Wolfpack teams. I hope that they get to celebrate as we did in ’74 and ’83. If Sydney is not the answer, my hope is that “Coach Jed Clampett Folwer” is not in charge of finding the replacement. My son came back to our seats in between the NCSU-Maryland and the Thursday nightcap game in Atlanta saying that “Jed” was talking with Tommy Burleson, David Thompson and another gentleman within the athletic dept. in the concourse of the Georgia Dome. I had the opportunity to talk for a few moments with Tommy at last year’s tournament in Charlotte and I would have loved to share my displeasure with the current management of NCSU’s athletics department but they had departed before I got to the the area where they were located. I am all for any well organized effort to oust this leech of an AD that is draining the very life out of the NCSU athletic programs. I apologize for the length of my first post to the forum. It is well run and I applaud the efforts of the moderators. If this happens to be my last post, GO PACK!

  5. primacyone 03/16/2009 at 1:25 PM #

    The above post deserves repeating:

    wolfpack4evermore
    March 15th, 2009 at 1:06 am
    As a long time, “old school” Wolfpacker, I have been reading this site almost from its inception. I enjoy reading most of the opinions expressed whether I agree or disagree with them. We are all passionate Wolfpack fans. I am old enough to have enjoyed the ‘73 and ‘74 teams of David Thompson, Tommy Burleson, Monte Towe, the epic struggle that was perhaps the greatest basketball game ever played between Maryland and NCSU for the ACC tournament title and the subsequent victories over UCLA and Marquette to win the title under Norm Sloan. I enjoyed the ‘83 “Cardiac Pack’s run to the national title with coach Valvano. I survived the self imposed dark times after the Jim Valvano era. However, the 10 year regime of HWSNBN pretty much drained the Wolfpack life from me. For anyone longing for the days of HWSNBN, this report came in earlier tonight. With a projected top 5 lottery pick guard and a projected 1st round pick post player, HWSNBN just squandered a 15 point half time lead and lost to the #6 seed Southern Cal in the Pac 10 tournament. He never had an inside scorer like Jeff Pendergraph or a lottery pick like James Harden while in Raleigh or if he did, he stubbornly refused to use them as such weapons on the court. HWSNBN’s ceiling was high mediocrity. With the exception of one season, we were usually NCAA bubble material at best. He did not care whether we were reasonably competitive with Duke or the Tarholes or Wake, Clemson, Miami, BC or anyone else for that matter. He scheduled enough cupcakes to have an NCAA bubble record on most occasions and we usually suffered through late season swoons against better competition. We plodded along at a game pace that produced ugly wins and even uglier losses. He did not care about the fan base and is at least partially to blame for the current apathy among us. His playing style did not lead to upper echelon talent signing on the dotted line to play for NCSU. I can not explain the James Harden to Arizona St. scenario that unfolded for all the money in the world. Instead, we had various collections of talented players with large holes in their games or players that never deserved a scholarship from an ACC school. The group that he left behind were as emotionless as he was with the occasional exception of Ben McCauley. They either had minimal basketball IQ’s to begin with or he removed that from them with his coaching style. He was so rigid, he could not change strategies in a game even when they were failing miserably. He has, perhaps learned a few lessons from his days in Raleigh, based on Pendergraph not shooting 3’s and wandering the perimeter as a power player. However, his teams still display an incredible knack for playing some of the ugliest games in the NCAA. My son and I regularly use the term “Sendekian” to refer to long scoring droughts, ill advised 3 point attempts, inept inbounds plays or late game folds. I do not know, nor do I feel qualified to judge Sidney Lowe’s coaching ability. I do, however, know that he has a passion for NC State. I refuse to pass judgement on our coach based on the last 3 years. He was thrust into a no-win situation due to the inept coaching search. Two complete recruiting years were lost with the exception of Dennis Horner. He had to gamble on players due to this situation that have not worked out for one reason or another. I feel that he has made significant strides in recruiting. Javi, Tracy, Julius, C.J. all seem to play with passion. They do make mistakes. All freshmen and sophomores do. They are inconsistent. Most young players are. However, they do seem to have pride in the uniform they wear. These young players and the incoming class of Lorenzo Brown, Scott Wood and Richard Howell appear to provide a nucleus to move forward. Hopefully the following class of Ryan Harrow and C.J. Leslie (if they follow through with their commitments in spite of the on-line ridicule of the program and coach they have selected) and perhaps others that have not committed will continue to lift up the program. If, however, we flat line as a mediocre program, then so be it. I believe that as a “Wolfpacker” with a love for the institution, Sidney will fall on the sword himself, so to speak, and move on or accept another position within the university as Les Robinson did. If I am wrong, I still do not want the current athletic director employed by NCSU to ever complete another coaching search for a football or men’s basketball coach. Sadly, he will eventually hire a replacement for the late Kay Yow. We can not be lucky enough for another coach to fall in his lap at his lake front home as Tom O’Brien did. Perhaps, he still has the slick haired ESPN analyst on speed dial. Wouldn’t he look great on the sidelines as coach of the lady Wolfpack? As I stated earlier, the 10 year reign of HWSNBN has really taken its toll on this Wolfpacker. However, I also, want to applaud BSIE80 and com state 10 for their optimism. I hope that they are rewarded for their loyalty to Sidney and the future Wolfpack teams. I hope that they get to celebrate as we did in ‘74 and ‘83. If Sydney is not the answer, my hope is that “Coach Jed Clampett Folwer” is not in charge of finding the replacement. My son came back to our seats in between the NCSU-Maryland and the Thursday nightcap game in Atlanta saying that “Jed” was talking with Tommy Burleson, David Thompson and another gentleman within the athletic dept. in the concourse of the Georgia Dome. I had the opportunity to talk for a few moments with Tommy at last year’s tournament in Charlotte and I would have loved to share my displeasure with the current management of NCSU’s athletics department but they had departed before I got to the the area where they were located. I am all for any well organized effort to oust this leech of an AD that is draining the very life out of the NCSU athletic programs. I apologize for the length of my first post to the forum. It is well run and I applaud the efforts of the moderators. If this happens to be my last post, GO PACK!

  6. jhmd2000 04/29/2009 at 8:51 PM #

    One of my favorite protests was the “giving” campaign Dook alumni put out during the LAX debacle. Former big time donors wrote checks for 88 cents, to signify their protest to the 88 professors who had declared jihad against the three defendants in the school paper.

    What about a widespread campaign of donating checks for 83 cents until positive change is enacted?

    P.S. To the recovering Wake fan who said State has enjoyed dominance in football over UNC, how is that defined? A single game? Two? No offense, but yall don’t believe that do you?

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