(04-16-2018 08:07 AM)Chappy Wrote:  

(04-15-2018 07:58 AM)ken d Wrote:  I have the sense that you think I am anti-ECU, and perhaps even worse, an NC State fan. Neither of those things are true, of course. Nothing would please me more than to see East Carolina athletics thrive.

I've got to admit, I always assumed you were an NC state fan.

I think it's hard for many North Carolinians to believe you could live here and not pick one team to root for. But when you grew up around New York in the 50's your sports allegiances often tended to be with pro teams.

When you marry into a North Carolina family, especially one with ties to all the NC schools, picking just one didn't seem like the wisest move.

One of the first college football games I ever attended was the '75 (I think) game between UNC and ECU, when Carlester Crumpler shredded the Heels in a 38-17 win that really wasn't that close. We got the tickets from my wife's brother-in-law who was a Duke graduate, and went to the game with her brother, a State grad whose two daughters were attending ECU at the time. In short, it was complicated.

My ACC basketball watching was mostly on TV until State moved out of Reynolds Coliseum. Before that I had gone to two Carolina games - one in Carmichael Auditorium (Maryland) and one in the Dean Dome (Notre Dame), with tickets given to me by friends of assistant coaches from the visiting teams. I had gone to one game at Reynolds, and my neck hurt for a week because our seats were so bad.

So, when State moved to the ESA at the Fairgrounds 15 minutes from my house, I could actually afford to get tickets without having to get a second mortgage to get high enough on the priority list. Maybe that's why some think I'm a State fan. I finally gave up those tickets because I got tired of hearing State fans around me complain that UNC was out to get them when a call went against them even when they were playing somebody like Virginia at the time. It wore me down to the point it just wasn't fun anymore. So I'm back to watching the ACC (and ECU, on the rare occasions I can find them) on TV.