Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out

AD & Department Editor's Picks NC State Administration54

The above is, of course, a famous quote by Dr. Timothy Leary. Leary was a 1960s counter-culture icon who promoted the use of LSD as somthing positive for mind and spirit.

No, I’m not suggesting that you use drugs to numb yourself to the continued futility of all things regarding NC State (especially its embarrassingly incompetent athletics department). In fact, quite the opposite. I encourage you to break the hallucinogenic chains of enabling idiocy while hoping for the best. NC State’s athletics department doesn’t deserve one more dime from any of us. Not in Wolfpack Club donations, ticket sales, LTR fees, parking or concessions revenue. Nothing.

Will that change anything? Probably not. Will you be able to stop caring and watching completely? Probably not. But at least you won’t have to suffer the disgrace of enabling this freaking nonsense.

I will lead by example. I will continue my automatic monthly payments through the end of December. After that, they can kiss my ass.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

AD & Department Editor's Picks NC State Administration

54 Responses to Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out

  1. 44fan 11/01/2009 at 6:28 AM #

    I am a life long State fan…Will always be a State fan…Just moved to SC for job reasons..friend gave me tickets to the Clemson game this weekend…I made the decision to tailgate and pull for the Tigers (vs Coastal Carolina)since my friend gave me the tickets.I do have to say it was awesome being at a game where the fans acutally expect their team to win…no matter who they play.

  2. TOBtime 11/01/2009 at 8:36 AM #

    Agree with BJD95 and VaWolf. I quit giving during the MOC era and haven’t been back. Came close during the Amato era but didn’t give in. We either start demanding accountability from the AD down or our sellouts at CF are coming to a screeching halt.

    We are entertaining to watch. Not a good defensive football team but very entertaining. Unfortunately, so is the circus with its clowns and even they manage the clock better.

  3. Rick 11/01/2009 at 8:47 AM #

    little head jed’s ineptitude has longer term consequences than many realize.
    I agree with the “not give them a dime” philosophy. I adopted it a while back.

    IMO here are the long term consequences of lhj’s leadership. This is all conjecture so I might be wrong.
    I think there are three legs that are donating money to NCSU
    1) Big donors – Right now there are big dog donors that are propping up the athletic department. I have no idea what % of donations are theirs but I bet it is high.
    2) Lifetime seat licenses – this cash flow stops eventually and given continued suckitude they might even quit renewing their seats
    3) Regular givers – your everyday joe

    I have a feeling the $$$ flowing from the third group is slowing substantially. So right now we have 1 & 2 supporting the athletic program. But eventually the big dogs will die and the LSR’s will be paid.

    And because a lot of people just gave up their will be no new people to take up that slack thus the slide to irrelevancy will be complete.

  4. DRW 11/01/2009 at 8:51 AM #

    You’re right about the LTR money drying up. I paid mine off a few months back, so I’m sure others are as well. I will now only pay my minimum yearly donation.

  5. Scooter 11/01/2009 at 9:41 AM #

    We can’t call ourselves mediocre anymore. “We are now making our final descent in West Raleigh, please remain seated…”

  6. Dogbreath 11/01/2009 at 10:05 AM #

    I can find no other logical explanation for what is happening to our athletics department other than this is all part of a long term institutional strategic plan to de-emphasize athletics. I believe our BOT envisions NC State becoming Virginia Commonwealth or George Mason: commuter schools with 45,000 enrollment but with marginally supported athletics departments. Maybe by 2020, the triangle will be large enough to command a NFL team, whereby we can sell our stadium and surrounding real estate.

  7. sksr97 11/01/2009 at 11:26 AM #

    NC STATE athletics is cursed. Ever since the end of the Jim Valvano era. The curse will be broken when they put Jim Valvano’s name on the court at the RBC.

  8. CStanley 11/01/2009 at 12:18 PM #

    I’ve heard from some inside folks (not in athletics mind you, but in the know) that athletics donations are really down this year. Could be economy, could be lack of success. Likely a combo of both. Either way, I have a feeling some shakeups could happen if basketball is an utter failure this year (promising recruiting class or not).

  9. Rick 11/01/2009 at 1:11 PM #

    “I’ve heard from some inside folks (not in athletics mind you, but in the know) that athletics donations are really down this year. Could be economy, could be lack of success. ”

    They will blame the economy so as to avoid the possibility of circumspection.

  10. LRM 11/01/2009 at 1:37 PM #

    “NC STATE athletics is cursed. Ever since the end of the Jim Valvano era. The curse will be broken when they put Jim Valvano’s name on the court at the RBC.”

    Mike Archer will hold an opposing offense to fewer than 41 points before that will ever happen.

  11. wolfpacker 11/01/2009 at 1:51 PM #

    What wikipedia says about Archer…this GUY’s a JOKE!!!

    Apparently he was on his way out the door at Kentucky and N. C. State got unlucky enough to pick up this …

    Archer had been the defensive coordinator at UK from 2003-2006. He had worked to build a unit that was challenged by low scholarship numbers, injuries, and inexperience. After Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks took over play calling the defense began showing signs of improvement during the 2006 season, as the Wildcats posted an 8-5 record, including a 28-20 victory over Clemson in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Archer_(football_coach)

  12. Gene 11/01/2009 at 3:17 PM #

    “NC STATE athletics is cursed. Ever since the end of the Jim Valvano era. The curse will be broken when they put Jim Valvano’s name on the court at the RBC.”

    Valvano had some success, but it wasn’t more than Case’s impact here or Sloan resurrecting a faltering post-Case program and putting together the best squad in NCAA (and maybe ACC) history. Given the importance and success of Case and Sloan, I can’t see naming a court after Valvano.

    **************************

    I’m not mad about hiring TOB. We got a proven coach, with a good track record. He has his short comings as a coach (as voiced by BC fans), but plenty of successful coaches have had their issues in big games and had limits to their success. When I was a little kid, I lived in Ann Arbor and Bo Schembechler was coaching Wolverine’s football. He was a great coach. Won a lot and was very popular, but never could pull of a national title and struggled mightily in bowl games. He was good for 9-10 wins a year (in an 11 game season), only winning fewer than 8 games a couple of times late in his career, and won plenty of Big Ten titles. He just couldn’t get to 11-0.

    I”m still hoping TOB can put together an 8-10 win a season program here before he leaves.

    The real concern needs to be future looking because this year is lost. Enjoy any win and find something to do while the games are on because paying attention to NCSU ahtletics, right now, is a bad for your mental and physical health.

    What I’m wondering is (1) How well are TOB & Co. recruiting, especially in positions we need help in like LB, DB, OL (2) will we see upgrades at any position, with current recruits coming in or red-shirt freshman getting playing time next year (3) will TOB blindly stick by Mike Archer and (4) can TOB explain what type of football he expects to bring to NCSU, because firing Archer and replacing him with another bad DC isn’t really improving things.

    For the life of me, I don’t know what type of team TOB really wants to have. Some coaching favor physical running teams, blitzing a lot on defense, have dominant special teams, but there’s some sort of “stamp” they put on a football program.

    I just don’t see any particular philosophy governing TOB’s teams. They seem to do what his assistants have in mind, which has me worried that he won’t make a decisive hire in replacing Archer because he doesn’t have a particular idea of what he wants to do on defense.

  13. Alpha Wolf 11/01/2009 at 3:33 PM #

    We can’t call ourselves mediocre anymore. “We are now making our final descent in West Raleigh, please remain seated…”

  14. 61Packer 11/01/2009 at 5:42 PM #

    Alpha Wolf, that’s a good illustration above, but you’re a little late. The plane crashed on September 5, 2000.

  15. goforit 11/01/2009 at 7:08 PM #

    “1) Big donors – Right now there are big dog donors that are propping up the athletic department. I have no idea what % of donations are theirs but I bet it is high.”

    Rick, how do you know that?

  16. Primewolf 11/01/2009 at 8:04 PM #

    BJD,

    As I read and recall your comments, you propose we all quit going to games and quit donating to the WPC. And then at some point, things will be good. Can you expand upon your proposition, as in how to effectively achieve your goal. Are you going to organize it. Please tell us how your scenario plays out.

    Otherwise SHUT UP. How could your whining make it to a lead article on SFN. You end up saying the same crap over and over.

    We obviously need a chancellor and BOT that demands excellence out of athletics. We need some folks on the BOT and we need to figure out how to changeover many things at the university.

    I hate fair weather fans. Are you one of those. While I think Fowler is a true idiot and poor leader, I find it childish to say I ain’t gonna support my school without a reasoned alternative.

  17. Alpha Wolf 11/01/2009 at 8:54 PM #

    So you are saying, “it doesn’t matter what happens, accountability is irrelevant, support the school no matter what.”

    That sounds nice, but is effectively being the enabler half of a codependency.

    At some point, no matter how much you love a friend, a relative or a child, or a college, someone can say “I am not going to support this behavior any longer.” I think that BJD has reached that point and has offered his idea of better alternatives for quite a long time. Perhaps he is not entirely correct in those suggestions, but it is clear that the current leadership has failed.

  18. BJD95 11/02/2009 at 9:45 AM #

    Alpha stated it much better than I could have. Watch an episode of “Intervention” sometime. We are the heartbroken father that can’t accept that his kid is a hollowed-out heroin junkie, whose every utterance (regardless of actual words_ boils down to “shut up and give me some money.”

    In this case, there’s no way that breaking the enabling will result in the junkie gettinh help. Too many other high rolling enablers out there. But at least I won’t be enabling going forward. That’s all I can control.

  19. wolfpackdawg 11/02/2009 at 11:17 AM #

    You have to hit rock bottom before you will seek help. This will occur on 11/28.

  20. DRW 11/02/2009 at 3:11 PM #

    You also have to know that you have hit rock bottom.

  21. Moose Hunter 11/02/2009 at 4:24 PM #

    I think the problem is Archer, (as does everyone else) but at this point, I agree with TOB in supporting him until the end of the season. Thats when decisions will be made. I fully support TOB until he either keeps Archer or lets him go. If he keeps him, I will begin to doubt the man. If he lets him go, he’s a head football coach. There is no manner of coaching that can explain many weeks in a row of 40 plus games against this defense.

  22. ldr of the pk 75 11/02/2009 at 6:53 PM #

    Sad day when we start biting one and other. But, this is a site where opinions come by the bucket full. Some good some bad.

    Venting does make one feel better at times. I think we can all agree that the state of atheletics at State is bad and getting worse. I doubt any out there won’t pull for the Pack the next time any team plays, though.

    But Primewolf, maybe the average Joe is just trying to think how they can have an effect. Is it by blindly stepping up to the plate everytime the call goes out to pony up? Is it by being quiet? Or is there a way to en masse get out the demand for better accountability? I don’t think it is a stretch to say that the “Big Donor Dogs” haven’t done anything because, by virtue of the donations, they are being catered to on a personal level in both the atheletic area, and at the University level like the BOT. That is until you have to appear at the Grand Jury, or whatever, with our illustrious former Governor or Chancellor.

    If you have any insight as to how the mid level and average Joes can be effective, let us know.

  23. PackerInRussia 11/02/2009 at 7:58 PM #

    We could have cut out the middle man and kept Amato around. The TV announcers reminded us that Amato believed he was just one year away. I assume he meant one year away from total destruction. There’s no logical alternative.

    The loss and lack of defense really covered up some great offensive play. Part of that is probably due to FSU’s D (they’ve given up tons of yards all year), but RW made some great throws and great decisions as usual and TB saw some nice action. I liked how they made sure he was fresh at the end of the game (I’m assuming that was on purpose).
    I thought when they held them to a FG that that could have been the ballgame for FSU, but the offense couldn’t capitalize. Oh well. I thought it would be a close game, but have given up on expecting to win. That provided an enjoyable game experience.

  24. gcpack 11/03/2009 at 1:32 AM #

    Thank you Primewolf for those comments.

    BJD’s comments are just one of many, and not necessarily just from BJD,
    at SFN that are making me think that maybe this site is an attempt at satire with NCSU being the punch line.

    I say this at the risk of being censured, as I have been before, but it sure seems like there is more interest & an over-emphasis by some of the contributors in finding the negative with our sports programs at State.

    Who would benefit if we all just closed the pocket books and cancelled season tx purchases as well annual contributions to the Wolfpack Club? It won’t be the school or the football or basketball programs. More likely help those schools that recruit against us and prefer to keep the negative up about our fanbase when its time to hire another
    her coach.

    Is that going to solve the W-L record? The only thing that will do is feed the negative fever and some sheep will surely say “me too”.

    I guess I am saying that now I am not so sure that the negative contributors are really trying to undermine fan support.

  25. Primewolf 11/03/2009 at 8:47 PM #

    I am tired of the whining and lets just quit donating and somehow that will solve the problem. It is obvivous we need to organize. We need to show up at BOT meetings several hundred strong and meet them as they enter the alumni building. We need to go the faculty meetings and attempt to convince those squirrels that athletic excellence will lead to higher number of applications, higher avg SAT scores in the freshman class, more acadmemic donations, etc.

    I for one would be willing to participate in such activities. We need to make ourselves heard in intelligent ways. Most of us like college sports and NC state sports enough to keep giving and going. I just don’t agree with the childish suggestions of dropping out without trying harder than whining in a SFN leadoff article.

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