With this post I denounce ETSU and forever sever any chance of future reconciliation. This is a similar position ETSU took a while back regarding me but unlike ETSU my decision comes after considerable contemplation rather than the over-night opportunistic position they stampeded toward.

I am here because I wish to change my allegiances to Kennesaw State. I realize this comes as a shock to many of you and maybe even an outrage to some but I assure you my intentions are pure. This is not a disguised attempt to take over the Kennesaw boards nor is it an effort to bide my time until I go back to ETSU. There is no going back. I will go into great detail as to my reasons for wanting to become a Kennesaw fan below but I would like to start by saying that if this is something the Kennesaw fan base is against then I will respect your collective decision and stay off this board. I realize the name Goldfinger is synonymous with Kennesaw slapping....but shall not the enemy of my enemy become my friend?

For about two months I have stayed away from these boards not out of fear from the administration, as some have mistakenly suggested, rather I can assure you all there is zero fear of ETSU on my behalf. I've had two lawyers inform me that if I want to file a lawsuit against the university I would have a very strong case and ETSU would probably move to settle out of court to prevent publicity. This is a course of action I may yet pursue. I'm not normally a big lawsuit person but I have yet to really make a decision in this regard.

No, the reason I stayed away from the board and dropped all contact with fellow posters is because I wanted some time to get away and reflect. In this time of personal exile from all things ETSU it has become undeniably clear to me that ETSU is no longer worthy of my interest. It is an athletic program, as pointed out by your very own KB, that has seen its day in the sun and is now regressing to insignificance. I like to think of it as ancient Rome. A once great and glorious empire that has been torn apart from within and is now being picked to the bone by the mighty Attila the Hun known as Rick Byrd.

I cannot pretend that old ETSU teams will no longer hold a place in my heart but I can tell you with the utmost sincerity that the current teams nor any future team will hold any sway over me. ETSU is dead. The Bucs have put two of the worst teams on the floor during the past two seasons that I've seen in a long time. It's only going to get worse. Without football they will never leave this conference and I can tell you that I will be an old man before ETSU suits up for football again. If then. For ETSU fans...this is as good as its going to get. For even if Stanton retires Wilsie Bishop is being groomed to replace him. Despite what ETSUfan1 will tell you I have it on a much higher authority that culturally inept woman is not in favor of restoring football nor does she think anything is wrong with any aspect of ETSU, athletically, academically, or foundational.

It doesn't end there for the ETSU fan. Not only is ETSU committed to regression and now stagnation it is at war with it's own fanbase. Consider its efforts to reprimand fans like bucfaithful, who attends games peacefully with his daughter, for being too passionate. Or forcing "bartender" ETSU's widely known number one fan out of his season tickets that he had purchased ever since I've been alive. The Stalinist tactics they've admitted to deploying over the removal of football signs. The reprimanding of fans for screaming "air-ball" at the A-sun tournament in Nashville. The banning of reporters who question their decision to drop football. And let us not forget the banning of the fan, who played a major role in encouraging Courtney Pigram out of his slump which enabled them to win their 8th trip to the NCAA, for telling a fifty year old joke.

Degenerates is the word that comes to my mind and I've had just about enough of it.


So rather than demand justice and try to rally those who will be too busy eating the king's table scraps only to be right back where I started from (supporting a team that is never going to the next level) I began looking around at my options. And rather than becoming a fan of Duke or someone big the name Kennesaw kept popping up in my head. Why? Because Kennesaw is genuinely committed to doing something big. It's true that I criticized many of you for making claims that you would step right into D-1 in a prominent way. Well it doesn't happen over night and you're finding that out. But wat is intriguing about Kennesaw is that you are making an undeniable play at becoming a respected athletic university. Nothing, in my mind, suggests this more than the announcement of adding scholarship football. I know the decision to fire Ingle was controversial but whether it was the right decision or not it ultimately shows that the school is demanding a winner. And to me this is exciting. You're literally on the ground floor starting with nothing other than the ambition for greatness. Once you have football and a little bit of success I predict you will leave the A-sun for greener pastures and this is something any fan should want to be a part of. Plus I can't understate the joy of being able to look forward to Saturdays in the fall again.

Concerning basketball you currently have one of the leagues best players in Cummings...now you have the chance to hire a coach who can come in with a system that gets the most out of him. You are a school that is clearly growing. There is no denying it. As many of you have passionately stated being so close to Atlanta gives you the chance to really pipe into some heavy recruiting. It's no secret that you all believe in the possibilities for this program and it just so happens that I am in the position to attend several KSU home games next year. All I'm asking is that you let an old adversary in to see if he can catch the fever too. I realize that I was the most hated of all the ETSU antagonists....but as the old saying goes "Only Nixon could go to China"

As one of your staunchest critics I have no problem adding another fan to the fold. A bad fan is still a fan, and when you are trying to build support we welcome anyone that wants to cheer on the black and gold. My guess is that this is just a fad and that eventually you will go back to ETSU, but until then welcome to the boards. It is about to get pretty boring around here being the basketball offseason, but it should ramp up again early school year next season.

Hey KB, where's that block user button again? Haven't had to use it in about 2 years...

I too have my doubts about your longevity here, but would like to extend my own welcome to KSU's newest fan. We look forward to your insight and support. Hopefully KSU will not disappoint you like your Alma Mater.

This is completely legitimate I assure you. I would think with the naming of a new coach on the horizon this board will get some play in the coming weeks. But I could be wrong. I have no idea who is on the list of candidates. In fact I have no idea about much at all concerning Kennesaw so for the most part I will be learning from all of you. I would guess that Kennesaw would be the type of school someone would hope to build an uptempo highly athletic type of team. But again I can't say for sure. My "insight" skills will have to start all over here. From reading the other posts I have gotten wind that the possibility of scholarships being removed by the NCAA is a possibility? My intention is to start slow anyway. I don't know a lot about Kennesaw. But I assure you this is 100% legit. I will never go back to ETSU. Not ever.


I completely understand the hesitation...especially on Nick M's part. But I've given this quite a bit of thought and this is something I'm rather serious about. There is hope in Kennesaw. Things might look down right now but the desire to get better is there. Coming from a place where that doesn't exist I can tell you that is your greatest commodity right now. Your AD might of mishandled the Ingle situation (I don't honestly know) but that wound will heal with time. Kennesaw as an administration is not working against itself.

So there you have it. I can't claim to possess the same mad love I did for ETSU....but perhaps that can come with time. I plan on attending a few KSU games next year. I do not predict KSU to be very good next season. Poor records are tough for a fan base to handle. But let's see who gets hired to replace Ingle and what kind of NCAA probationary problems, if any, said coach will be facing.

Go Owls (never thought I'd say that)

Time will tell if you are sincere. If you are, I hope that you enjoy the ride. Interesting times lie ahead!

Considering how crap the B-ball team was this year, I am encouraged by the increase in support at games in general. Even removing the anomalous attendance from the Tech game, there were more people at games this season than the last few years. I think people are catching on to the fact that we have an up and coming athletic program and are starting to take a more active interest.