SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE
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Pirate Notebook No. 290
Monday, November 27, 2006
By Denny O'Brien |
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Fans must live up to
reputation
©2006 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
DENNY
O'BRIEN'S HARRIS POLL BALLOT
Denny O'Brien is a member of the
2006 voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll,
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. O'Brien is
also the editor of The Pirates' Chest magazine, a senior
writer for Bonesville Magazine and co-host of WNCT-AM
Talk 1070's Game Day Countdown Show.
The
Harris Poll is a component of the BCS Standings. The
season's
seventh BCS Standings
were released on Sunday.
Here
is O'Brien's ballot for this week's Harris Poll,
conducted by
Harris Interactive:
1.
Ohio State
2. Southern Cal
3. Florida
4. Michigan
5. Louisville
6. Louisiana State
7. Boise State
8. Wisconsin
9. Rutgers
10. Notre Dame
11. Arkansas
12. Auburn
13. Oklahoma
14. West Virginia
15. Brigham Young
16. Virginia Tech
17. Texas
18. Tennessee
19. Wake Forest
20. Hawaii
21. Georgia Tech
22. California
23. Nebraska
24. Boston College
25. Texas A&M
Checking
In:
Texas A&M (25)
Checking
Out:
Texas Christian
Biggest
Jump:
Boise State
Biggest
Plunge:
Texas
|
BCS
STANDINGS |
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East Carolina's greatest asset is its
passionate rank-and-file. That was athletic director Terry Holland's
perception prior to his arrival in Greenville, and it is the resounding one
shared throughout the media.
ECU's constituency earned that royal purple
reputation for its die-hard devotion that was hallmarked by the weekly
caravans that took the Pirate Armada far away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Whether in Raleigh or West Virginia, most
of East Carolina's road venues historically have been heavily peppered with
purple and gold.
Even during lean years, ECU's faithful have
saddled up and followed the trail of their beloved football team. So much
that it has become as embedded in Eastern North Carolina culture as the
vinegary tang of the region's flagship delicacy.
Come hell or high water, ECU's fans claimed
temporary residency in the town in which the Pirates were playing. And
whether that meant donning tee-shirts or ponchos, they squeezed into
opposing stadiums like a pack of purple sardines.
"I think it's huge," Pirates coach Skip
Holtz said about ECU's following. "Because right now, that's one of the
things that has made East Carolina special, is the support, the Pirate
Nation, and the way that they follow this thing, support this thing.
"I know right now they're hungry for a
bowl, and I think that we have a chance to show the whole country just how
strong this Pirate Nation is. I'm a believer. I mean I've had an opportunity
to experience and see their support, the way that they've come out. It's
been awesome and now we have an opportunity to show the entire country."
Including the Big East.
League commissioner Mike Tranghese has
stated that his conference won't seek further expansion until it can find a
school that adds significantly to its football profile. If there is one
thing the Big East could use, it's another program so steeped in football
culture that its fan base can lure potential bowl opportunities on its own.
The Big East certainly gets that with West
Virginia, Louisville, and more recently with Rutgers. But beyond that trio,
the football aura lacks the hoopla the Pirates enjoy Down East.
The possible scenario that ECU lands in the
PapaJohns.com Bowl only adds to the importance of a strong fan showing.
Out-drawing a Big East opponent would be a major statement that East
Carolina's fan base parallels a traditional BCS outfit.
"We know our Pirates will do it if it can
be done," Holland said. "Those are long trips, and we appreciate the fact
that they'll make those trips."
That typically hasn't mattered anytime East
Carolina has received a bowl invitation. Regardless of the date, opponent,
or location, the purple core of the Pirates' fan base purchased tickets and
padded the economy of the game's host city.
Another strong showing certainly couldn't
hurt ECU's résumé if the Big East came knocking.
Beyond sending a message to a BCS
conference, ECU would benefit from a strong showing in the stands on several
fronts. For starters, it would earn the Pirates favor in the Conference USA
office and aid them in the future should there be a logjam vying for the
league's final bowl.
That goes without mentioning the impression
that can be made with the ESPN suits who get first dibs in determining ECU's
television fate. A sea of purple no doubt is more attractive than an ocean
of vacant seats.
And if ECU fans are interested in a more
immediate reward for attending the Pirates' first bowl since 2001, they need
only reflect on the team's protocol following each of its seven victories.
Each began with a purple parade towards the fans, reached its zenith with
the players crooning the ECU fight song, and was punctuated with a receiving
line of high fives to every arm that extended from the stands.
That recurring scene has become the
inspirational portrait of the Holtz era, and ECU's seniors deserve another
opportunity to march in that victory processional.
James Pinkney certainly does, for a career
marked with resilience and defying the odds. Aundrae Allison does, too,
especially after his high-wire touchdown act that deflated a Wolfpack crowd
that was seemingly outnumbered by purple and gold.
So does that small handful of seniors that
sprinkles a young defensive depth chart that has undergone a two-year
metamorphosis from C-USA's worst to arguably its best.
East Carolina's coaches and players have
more than carried their load during what amounted to the most pivotal period
in the Pirates' football history. They restored the pride and resurrected
the program from the Division I-A abyss.
How far they can ascend will take a
cooperative effort from the growing group of die-hards that has been
faithful with its attendance and generous with its funds. Painting ECU's
bowl destination purple should be viewed as an imperative, not an option.
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02/23/2007 02:03:34 AM |