A Call to Arms

Alums NC State Administration NCS Basketball169

 

If you didn’t believe it early last week, then surely you did late Thursday night. And if you didn’t believe it then…well, certainly your eyes were opened by Karl Hess on Saturday afternoon, or by the league office later that night. Now, there can be no going back.

NC State is no longer a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Neither is Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Maryland, etc. NC State just happened to be put on notice first. Lucky us. It’s a four member league now, and has been for some time – Duke, North Carolina, ESPN, and John Swofford’s ego. No more room at the inn. It doesn’t matter that this is the house that Everett Case built. If you’re not wearing blue, you are no longer welcome.

Each NC State student, alumnus, and fan has a responsibility. Under no circumstances can you let this go, let this blatant disrespect stand. If you do, you’ve announced to the Swofford cabal that you will absolutely swallow absolutely anything…then smack your lips and ask for another helping. This goes far beyond sports – the cabal has pissed all over your alma mater, your diploma, and the diploma of your fathers, mothers, siblings, and the future diplomas of your children. If you’re headed to the RBC Tuesday night…be creative. And angry. Really, really angry. Make sure the chancellor hears you. That the athletic director hears you. That the Board of Trustees hears you.

Don’t expect to hear happy words. Expect, nay, demand action. Watch for signs that things are building to a crescendo behind the scenes. And don’t throw in the towel, no matter what. To live on your knees is not living at all. Fight for the legacy of Everett Case and James T. Valvano. Fight for your honor and dignity. Fight for the student athletes past, present, and future who have given and will give blood, sweat, and tears to wear the red and white (and sometimes black). If you don’t fight for them…why would you expect them to fight for you?

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.

Alums NC State Administration NCS Basketball

169 Responses to A Call to Arms

  1. beeeejay 02/19/2012 at 11:19 PM #

    BJD do you have a newsletter I can subscribe too, I have agreed pretty much with everything you have written going back to us blowing the home football game against vt 2 years ago I believe.

    also this comment from a maryland supporter on thebiglead made me LOL for real

    “I really feel bad for the NC State fanbase. Delusional as they are no school deserves having that idiot as their AD.

    This ref is a complete idiot. I am actually shocked that he threw out an NC State fan. The ACC and their refs are so biased towards State, UNC and Duke that their fans should never bitch at the refs.”

    Yea refs sure are biased towards us……maryland fans are on my hatred list right beside the blues

  2. hickoryhound 02/19/2012 at 11:42 PM #

    Finally, a support source related to NC State that isn’t apologetic about being passionate and doesn’t think we should be apologetic the the acc Gestapo.

  3. sjmac11 02/20/2012 at 12:17 AM #

    First of all no one is going to do anything but complain. A call to arms, great..outstanding, let’s do it!!!! If it doesn’t work, if the AD wants nothing to do with the cause, if the chancellor isn’t willing to say enough is enough then stop buying f***ing tickets!!!!!! That is the only way to get through the first line of defense between the fans and the program, cheer from home. I have been so G* frustrated for years on any and every level imaginable. I’ve been quick to blame refs, officials and anyone opposed to the PACK. I love this site just because it gives me relief to read others are as frustrated as I am. LET’S ALL SHOW UP AND DO SOMETHING MONUMENTAL. WHO GIVES A RATS F**ING A**. DON’T DISRESPECT OUR SCHOOL BUT IT’S TIME TO MAKE A STATEMENT. STUDENTS BE CREATIVE, MAKE IT A GOAL.

  4. fmack 02/20/2012 at 12:25 AM #

    Wow!!! Guys. I haven’t posted in about a year but I’ve been reading almost daily. I love this site. I have been a WolfPacker for about 40 yrs and I’ve seen the exciting highs and have suffered through the crushing lows like most of you. As much as I want to make the league and the rest of the country understand our frustrations, I at this point simply cannot quite bring myself to want to leave the league. At least not yet.
    I will admit it is sooooo very frustrating to see my Pack treated like this. But we must also admit that it “seems” like when we go into any contest we simply assume the position first and act relieved when we don’t get handled. We “seem” to approach every contest, especially with the punk blue teams like it’s a prostate exam and then we’re relieved when they tell us to just turn our heads and cough (that is when we win). I’m pissed about the dookey loss. I’m tired of seeing lil mikey work the refs at certain times in the game only to see what appears to be a change in the way the game is called. I’ve always said that the acc refs let dookey stick their hands in your shorts all the way up and down the court but not allow my Pack to breathe on them. So I’m just as frustrated as any of you.
    I simply don’t think punking out and leaving is in our DNA. We finally have a coach with what looks like the right stuff. The IT factor. He also is much younger than the coaches for all that blue garbage and should be around long term. I hope so anyway. My conclusion is this. Let’s not punk out and run to another conference. Let’s find a way to dominate this one. I know, I know it’s easier said than done, especially when the deck is stacked. But unless we’re simply ready to accept defeat and roll over and give up. That’s just not in my nature and a fan of the Pack. I argue every call even the good calls that go against my Pack. But giving up that would go against everything Coach V was trying to say. I say this, on Tuesday night if we get slapped, we slap back. If we get dunked on we dunk on somebody even if it’s the ball boy. Just show some foam-at-the-mouth fight. If we get pushed, push back. If we get fouled, we foul harder. No easy baskets! Make them earn everything. Since we can’t get Swoff to hear us, make him hear them crying those guys are crazy! WE ARE NOT PUNKS! Make them terrified to come play here again. When they leave win or lose they should not be laughing like fla.st did. No one should ever again laugh at our team when they leave. It should be 40 minutes of absolute terror win or lose. Just my take.

  5. Staffinfection 02/20/2012 at 1:25 AM #

    For what it’s worth, an update from within…

    First let me address the protocal for ejection at the RBC. I feel the security folks are getting some blame here that is somewhat un-due. The RBC security will only eject you immediately for: being belligerent, physical assault, verbal treats, throwing an object at anyone, etc… (FYI, it is a criminal offense to throw anything on a court or field of competition in NC). Other than that, they escort you away from the crowd (main concourse, a hallway, etc…) and have a friendly conversation reminding you of the family environment and good sportsmanship they try to promote. They then allow you to go back to your seat and stay for the remainder of the event as long as you act accordingly. They WILL however, relocate or eject you for a second offense, BUT ONLY with the RBC managements final say. Police officers are contracted by the RBC (except the ones beside the bench, they are usually appointed by NCSU). Officers must also take the same direction from RBC management or NCSU officials before an ejection unless of course it is a criminal act.

    I have had further conversations with prominent ‘Officials’. One of them being the person employed by the RBC who is the liaison for all things NCSU at the arena (I.e., BB games, graduation, silent auction, etc…). He was sitting at the scorer’s table during the entire incident. Here is the best account I can offer everyone from all my conversations.

    It really started during a time out when a student yelled “Stop looking at the dance team!”. Either the same student or another student yelled “Ref, you suck!”. The ref then approached the head official seated at the table demanding this student be ejected. The RBC, NCSU, and head official denied the request stating “you can’t eject someone for simply yelling… Ref, you suck!”. This embarassed him and made him even more agitated. The fans smelled blood and REALLY jumped on him at that point, including Chris and Goog. Once the game started back Chris and/or Goog were saying things like “But you really do suck Karl! You are terrible and should never be allowed to officiate an ACC tournament game! As bad as you are, you will never make it to the big league!” THAT’S when he stopped the game and said “You two are out!” Karl was supposed to discuss the ejection with the head official and the RBC / NCSU officials first but he did not. He took it all upon himself and went straight to the police officers and said “I want them out of here!” The police officers then started towards Chris and Goog, so they simply got up and left because they didn’t want to embarass the coach, team, or school by bringing more attention to the situation on TV. The police officers were simply going to let the RBC / NCSU officials discuss the situation with Chris and Goog in the player’s hallway (as per standard procedure). Chris and Goog were eventually offered the opportunity to come back to their seats but the damage was already done. They (C and G) declined because they didn’t want to draw anymore attention to the situation or away from the players and the game.

    This is why the ACC responded the way they did. KARL blew past all the appropriate officials and went straight to the police officers (on TV mind you). THIS is SIMPLY a case of Karl letting the fans get to him and he retalliated. As everyone now knows, it was VERY childish, immature, and unprofessional. I could be very wrong about my speculations. But if I had to guess, it may be a very long time before we see Karl at the new PNC Arena again. But who knows with THE SWOFIA protecting him and the other poor excusses…

  6. Dreadstone 02/20/2012 at 3:56 AM #

    You guys have no idea the depths of swofford. Anybody remember when Clemson got hammered by the Ncaa?

    Long story short – after the Ncaa handed down their ruling, swofford (then a muckity muck at unc), got together with the other AD’s and had all of them (except Umd and Wake iirc who had the courage to say ‘we don’t want any of this’ and walked out) to add ANOTHER penalty (year I believe) on top.

    Now, you think he’s gonna do the same when the Sword of Damocles falls on unc?

    If you do I have a Bridge in Brooklyn for sale.

  7. packattack13 02/20/2012 at 4:47 AM #

    Being that we are all on the point of “Carolina gets away with murder” does anyone else remember how Chris Paul was suspended for a game after punching Julius hodge in the groin, however the tarheel football player (can’t remember the name) wasn’t suspended after pinching the state player in the 2010 game. In fact I remember him saying since Jarvis Williams didn’t retaliate it wasn’t a “fight” so no suspension was necessary. Anybody else thinks that means since a state player had more class we don’t punish the tarheel.

  8. packattack13 02/20/2012 at 4:49 AM #

    Being that we are all on the point of “Carolina gets away with murder” does anyone else remember how Chris Paul was suspended for a game after punching Julius hodge in the groin, however the tarheel football player (can’t remember the name) wasn’t suspended after punching the state player in the 2010 game. In fact I remember him saying since Jarvis Williams didn’t retaliate it wasn’t a “fight” so no suspension was necessary. Anybody else thinks that means since a state player had more class we don’t punish the tarheel.

  9. tractor57 02/20/2012 at 5:19 AM #

    It was pretty obvious Hess over stepped his bounds. My issue is there has been no public penalty for being such a twit. Long holiday weekend so I’m withholding final judgement until there is a clear resolution. At this point I see none but I’m sure Yow is working behind the scenes. Her public statements to date are pretty direct once you parse them.

  10. wolfmanmat 02/20/2012 at 8:05 AM #

    The ACC will sell us when we become relevant again. Heck, they still try to sell Jimmy V every year and they show his run onto the court before every ACC game. And that was 30 years ago. They want to sell us, they want to show Jimmy V and David Thompson…we have to give them something to sell. They sold Wake with Chris Paul. They sold Gary with his teams. The sold Bobby cremins. Just because Duke and UNC have been relevant for longer than Wake/UM/GT in their best years doesn’t mean the ACC has a conspiracy to favor UNC/Duke. Heck, who voted against expansion and saw it happen anyway? Anyone who thinks the SEC is the solution is crazy. To think the SEC is somehow different and doesn’t sell their winners and largest fan bases, is just not accurate. See UK basketball.

  11. 4in12 02/20/2012 at 8:08 AM #

    Is Hess a Christian fundamentalist? I know he went to Liberty and more than a few fundamentalists have come through there. I ask because I wonder if this was all sparked by the “quit looking at the dance team” taunt. I’ve dealt before with ultra-religious types who over react to any sexual innuendo.

    Just asking. Comments, anyone?

  12. Wulfpack 02/20/2012 at 8:13 AM #

    Here we go again:

    “Despite what many college-basketball fans seem to think, Karl Hess is one of the best referees in the game, with a resume that speaks for itself: nine ACC championship games, five Final Fours, and more than 40 NCAA tournament games.”

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/19/3029332/ejection-without-reason-riles.html

  13. YogiNC 02/20/2012 at 8:55 AM #

    I don’t care if he has fish for lunch with the Pope every Friday, what he did was flat out WRONG. It’s time we cleaned house, Swofford and all of the refs. Bring in a neutral commish and new refs, and a new head of refs.

  14. BJD95 02/20/2012 at 9:09 AM #

    Yes, the Observer is perilously close to losing a bunch of Wolfpack subscriptions again (mine included).

    Looking forward to hopefully some fireworks Tuesday night. Students and alumni…don’t let a crazy blogger down!! 🙂

  15. Rick 02/20/2012 at 9:16 AM #

    “Seeing how we didn’t even get a weak-assed apology for yesterday’s shenanigans, I don’t see how we could ever dream to get the officiating substantively fixed.”

    The ACC gave us the middle finger by not doing anything about this.
    Everyone knows Hess screwed up but the ACC will never admit it. How can things get better if the problem is not even being acknowledged?

    And I predict the UNC game will be a bloodbath for us.
    The refs will support their co-worker.

    2-1 foul discrepancy and a 3-1 FT discrepancy. And that might be conservative.

  16. graywolf 02/20/2012 at 9:52 AM #

    BJD95 Says:
    February 20th, 2012 at 9:09 am
    “Yes, the Observer is perilously close to losing a bunch of Wolfpack subscriptions again (mine included).

    Looking forward to hopefully some fireworks Tuesday night. Students and alumni…don’t let a crazy blogger down!!”

    The RBC center will be electric. I think the ACC is worried about the crowd on Tue. night. GOOD!! I want to know what happens if the refs try to take over the game….will there be ice and cups on the floor, will they escort 19,000 people out of the arena and play without fans, will they call the game due to forfeit?

    If any of the above happen then the real fireworks will begin.

  17. Dreadstone 02/20/2012 at 9:54 AM #

    People still read the Charlotte Observer?

  18. ncsu1987 02/20/2012 at 10:19 AM #

    To be fair, the Observer article also says:

    “If Corchiani or Gugliotta threatened Hess, used profanity or were otherwise offensive, Hess and the ACC should acknowledge those grounds for their ejection. If they were no different from any other fan in the building, Hess and the ACC owe them an apology.”

    Good call, and well said. We have heard several eyewitness accounts stating that none of the above occurred. Let’s all hold our collective breath until the apology emerges.

  19. BJD95 02/20/2012 at 10:59 AM #

    I would love it if things escalated and the Swoffy slurping crew called a forfeit. Absolutely love it. Then, there would be no turning back, genie totally out of the bottle.

  20. GAWolf 02/20/2012 at 11:19 AM #

    One key point that I thinks being lost today in the discussions if the Hess ejection and failure of the conference to appropriately respond to our concerns is that this incident did not occur in a vacuum. specifically, it came immediately after one of the worst examples of referees taking over a ballgame to instill their will on the outcome that we’ve ever witnessed. While no one officialy associated with NC State can say much of anything about what happened in the Duke game without getting fined by the ACC or worse, this Hess incident gives us a platform to raise generalized concerns about our players and fans “being treated fairly.”

    And there you have why this incident is the perfect storm for us, in a good way. On top of that you have our commissioner’s alma mater and longtime hated rival and beneficiary of oft slanted officiating rolling into town tomorrow night and the perfect storm is complete.

    This is undoubtedly a critical moment in NCState sports history.

    Let’s pose this hypothetical…let’s say we honor the 88/89 team, rile up the fans and players, and proceed to win the game. We march with confidence onto winning out e season, and then ultimately make the NCAA tournament. Won’t this otherwise somewhat minor, if standing alone in a vacuum, incident is the point we look back to 5 or 10 years from now as the event that changed e course

  21. GAWolf 02/20/2012 at 11:22 AM #

    … the course Pack basketball back to where it ultimately should be. There are enough if’s in there to make it almost impossible, but as one Wolfpack kid’s red t shirt said standing the middle of the Cameron student section,”Impossible is Nothing.”

  22. GAWolf 02/20/2012 at 11:24 AM #

    My iPad apologizes for the countless mistakes in the above post(s) making my IPad a bigger man than Karl Hess.

  23. TruthBKnown Returns 02/20/2012 at 11:52 AM #

    I have seriously gone from wondering if we’ll ever rise from the ashes, to wondering if the powers that be will ever LET us rise from the ashes.

    For a long time I have seen this in action, the officiating being slanted in favor of the blues, and I have told myself NO, that cannot be true. We just have to get better.

    But what I saw in that Duke game was a group of officials that were determined to do their part to prevent State from winning that game. Yes, we missed some shots. Yes, some of the foul calling was legit. And yes, Duke hit some big shots. But the refs did their part. They couldn’t hit Duke’s shots for them, so in that sense, we actually DID have a chance. But they did their part. They kept State’s best defender laden with fouls so Duke’s shooters could have a better chance of hitting those big shots. And they did. But make no mistake. Just because Duke hit their shots does not mean the officials didn’t have a hand in this.

    They absolutely did. They called State for ticky-tack fouls while letting Duke get away with murder.

    I can’t help but wonder if this kind of thing even takes a toll on recruiting. I believe our players know what is going on. Scott Wood said Corchiani and Gugliotta probably said, “Go State!” That cynical comment shows that Wood knows what is going on. And he’s right. He was justified in saying that. So what impact does this stuff have on recruiting? Do our current players let incoming recruits know that they will not be allowed to win? That they will win a few games to keep the fans buying tickets, but in the end, the BLUES are the ones that matter?

    I’m still disgusted. I may be done with basketball. I haven’t decided yet. I prefer football anyway, because I like it better. But I also like that plays being reviewed make it more difficult for refs to be as biased as they are in basketball. There is too much subjectivity in the calling of a basketball game.

    I’m disgusted.

  24. TruthBKnown Returns 02/20/2012 at 12:14 PM #

    And they say that UNX doesn’t foul because “they are more talented, and they’re usually playing while ahead, so they don’t NEED to foul as much.”

    There may be an element of truth to that.

    But how does that not also apply to State when we have clearly been out-classing Duke for the first 75% of the game en route to a 20 point lead?

    At that point, we don’t NEED to foul. Right? I mean, isn’t that how it works for the Blues?

    I guess what’s good for the geese is not good for the gander.

  25. choppack1 02/20/2012 at 12:24 PM #

    Acc basketball is kind of like boxing. You won’t dethrone duke or unc if it’s close. You either have to knock them out or so dominate the game you can overcome the bias.

1 … 4 5 6 7

Leave a Reply