This series MUST continue.

(10-17-2013 10:35 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  This series MUST continue.

Somehow, someway, somewhere!!!

(10-17-2013 10:59 AM)stinkfist Wrote:  

(10-17-2013 10:35 AM)PurpleReigns2012 Wrote:  This series MUST continue.

Somehow, someway, somewhere!!!

Hopefully.

:cheers:Pirates and USM have forged a strong bond over the years. It is refreshing to have such good competions with many big games between us. I have nothing but good wishes and respect for ECU. I know we will meet again soon most likely in a bowl game. Good luck after Sat. I hope we can make this final game equally as good as all the rest.
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI USM GO EAGLES!

I just wish we were competitive enough to give this last game a proper send off.

East Carolina has always been my second favorite team.

It will be sad to see this series end on Saturday some great memories and some bad ones too. And to my friend MadEagle aka James the one good thing is we will never have to cheer against each other again. Well I won't say never because something tells me never wont be that long. College sports and conference realignment is crazy.

Watching USM destroy Houston is one of my favorite non-ECU C-USA memories, even if it cost our schools money.

After Saturday, I'll be pulling for Southern Miss until we meet again.

Not much of a rivalry 11-27

(10-16-2013 06:11 PM)MadEagle Wrote:  This game has meant a lot to me over the years, the first time I ever saw Southern Miss on tv was 1996 Lee Roberts came in and completed his first 16 passes in a roll for a Southern Miss 28-7 Victory, 1998 the first time I ever saw the Pirates in person, I met a lot of great fans and they had nothing but good things to say about Southern Miss despite a Southern Miss 41-7 victory after that I always cheered for East Carolina so in 1999 when they beat the Miami Hurricanes at NcState I was jumping and equally pumped up for them as many of their fans probably were! Later that year two ranked teams would play and Southern Miss would take a hard fought win 39-22 win, the next year we played in the mud bowl game, me and my dad might of been the only southern miss fans there "kidding" and Southern Miss lost that game 14-9 but what a fun game to watch, Fast forward to 2005 I met a guy who would become my best friend Bleeds Purple and between us the rivalry grew into something even more special, having talked to Bleeds aka Kyle I have learned so much more about the East Carolina program and how much East Carolina and Southern Miss have in common. The last few years have saw East Carolina dominate the series, but this series has and will always have a special place in my Heart, I hope that our schools can do something to ensure that it'll be played again oneday, but until then I hope that Southern Miss can come into Saturday's game with a little chip on its shoulder and end this series with a win, but I can guarantee after this game is over I'll be back to cheering for that team in Greenville!

ECU is a lot different from USM. They're actually well-loved by people in their immediate area. And if the shoe were on the other foot and ECU were trapped in impostor C-SBC-DOA 2.0, they'd be trying to get out instead of acting like ******* and resigning themselves to never playing us again.

(10-17-2013 07:31 PM)AndreWhere Wrote:  

(10-16-2013 06:11 PM)MadEagle Wrote:  This game has meant a lot to me over the years, the first time I ever saw Southern Miss on tv was 1996 Lee Roberts came in and completed his first 16 passes in a roll for a Southern Miss 28-7 Victory, 1998 the first time I ever saw the Pirates in person, I met a lot of great fans and they had nothing but good things to say about Southern Miss despite a Southern Miss 41-7 victory after that I always cheered for East Carolina so in 1999 when they beat the Miami Hurricanes at NcState I was jumping and equally pumped up for them as many of their fans probably were! Later that year two ranked teams would play and Southern Miss would take a hard fought win 39-22 win, the next year we played in the mud bowl game, me and my dad might of been the only southern miss fans there "kidding" and Southern Miss lost that game 14-9 but what a fun game to watch, Fast forward to 2005 I met a guy who would become my best friend Bleeds Purple and between us the rivalry grew into something even more special, having talked to Bleeds aka Kyle I have learned so much more about the East Carolina program and how much East Carolina and Southern Miss have in common. The last few years have saw East Carolina dominate the series, but this series has and will always have a special place in my Heart, I hope that our schools can do something to ensure that it'll be played again oneday, but until then I hope that Southern Miss can come into Saturday's game with a little chip on its shoulder and end this series with a win, but I can guarantee after this game is over I'll be back to cheering for that team in Greenville!

ECU is a lot different from USM. They're actually well-loved by people in their immediate area. And if the shoe were on the other foot and ECU were trapped in impostor C-SBC-DOA 2.0, they'd be trying to get out instead of acting like ******* and resigning themselves to never playing us again.

>_>

(10-17-2013 07:02 PM)TheBigEastSucks Wrote:  Not much of a rivalry 11-27

Mutual respect and good games go a long way. And up until the last few years a CUSA E title was on the line when we played.

What a great rivalry. First game I believe I ever saw in this series was back in 1988. USM won a thriller 45-42. I worked for the university newspaper and had a chance to interview Brett Favre after the game. Little did I know at the time how successful he would go on to become in the NFL. I really hope somehow this series continues in the future.

CHEERS to the EAGLES !!

I think it is starting to sink in that we will not be playing USM after this year. I am sad that this may be the last match up for awhile.

USM will be back on top soon and maybe we are lucky we won't be here to receive the annual ass beating. :)

(10-17-2013 03:38 PM)nastybunch Wrote:  I just wish we were competitive enough to give this last game a proper send off.

Something tells me it will be a VERY competitive game. I just hope we pull it out in the end.

ECU's uniform for tomorrow

LOVE IT.

(10-18-2013 01:11 PM)TheEastisPurple Wrote:  ECU's uniform for tomorrow

Which means we win.

(10-16-2013 09:23 PM)TheEastisPurple Wrote:  It is crazy to think that this series has been played every year since before I was born and it won't be played next year.

Does anyone know why it started if there was a specific reason? Or did it just happen? ECU/USM has seemed completely normal to me my entire time as a fan of the Pirates. It is a cornerstone of the schedule. If you look at it though it is kind of crazy that two independents located more than 800 miles apart played every year for 14 years before we were ever conference mates.

I don't know how USM fans view the series but to me, and every Pirate fan I know personally, it is very much a rivalry. As such it has to be one of the more unique rivalries out there. We aren't that close geographically. There are other rivalries like Notre Dame and USC like that. At the risk of bashing USM and ECU we aren't exactly Notre Dame and USC on a national scale.

While I have never been to Hattiesburg and honestly don't know a ton about the place it seems to me like Hattiesburgians and Greenvillians would get along famously if we were located closer together. Seems like there is a lot of similarities between the places we live and the things our schools and athletics programs have had to face.

It seems like a match made in heaven and it's a sad statement on the current status of college football that this series is being broken up (yes I am aware that is ECU's fault). I have come across threads on ECU message boards asking whether we should attempt to continue the series, and in every one I have stated that it would be a mistake to let this series end. It is already sad that there will be a break in the series but I sincerely hope that the people in charge at ECU and USM value this series as much as I, and many other ECU fans, do and will find a way to continue it.

To me college football is nothing without history and tradition, and while I know the ECU administration made a decision that they thought was necessary to advance our athletics, I think it would be a shame to let this series become a thing of the past. Sure either team could schedule some more marquee opponents but none with more history (at least for ECU and probably few and far between for USM).






I won't even pretend like ECU's move puts them on a higher level than USM (or any other C-USA team for that matter). We did what we felt we had to do and it is done. For any misguided ECU fans or higher ups that feel we are suddenly too good to play USM and have nothing to prove, I have one thing to say....

11-27


We have PLENTY left to prove. Here's to hoping this series is continued in the future and that ECU evens it up a bit!

I've once asked this to the old superintendent of my county's schools (ECU basketball player in the 60's, Athletic administration staff in the 70's and 80's). He told me that it was just a result of necessity. Both teams were having a hard time scheduling home games. At a time when it was really important to distinguish ourselves from lower-level teams, ECU had to schedule Mizzou, UVa, NC State, Florida, FSU, UNC, West Virginia, and Auburn. Problem was, none of them would return a visit. The only home games we could get sometimes were against those teams we had to separate from. USM was almost in the same situation.

That caused the schools to play each other. Always a guaranteed opponent. WVU was really the only other team to do the same.