FOOTBALL Numbers better for Smith and staff With the big games that Shane Carden and Cam Worthy had offensively in a 28-21 win at Virginia Tech on Saturday, it's easy to lose sight of the contributions of the East Carolina defense in a 2-1 start as the Pirates get ready to host North Carolina (2-0) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU). ... More from Al Myatt...

FOOTBALL Big win means bigger opportunity East Carolina made it three in a row over ACC teams on Saturday, beating Virginia Tech 28-21 in Blacksburg. More impressive is the fact that each of the three wins came on the road. Now the Pirates can go for four in a row ... More from Brian Bailey... MULTIMEDIA Audio: The Brian Bailey Show The Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. Brian's guest was ECU RBs coach & recruiting coordinator Kirk Doll: Replay show...

Audio: Coach Ruff Weekly Presser ECU coach Ruffin McNeill spoke with the media at his weekly press conference on Monday (courtesy of Pirate Radio 1250; Bonesville file photo): Select clip...

FOOTBALL GAME CENTER Inside Game Day | Photos | Post-game Audio AAC SCOREBOARD >>> ..... Thursday > BYU 33, Houston 25 ..... ..... Friday > Cincinnati 58, Toledo 34 ..... ..... Saturday > ECU 28, Virginia Tech 21 ..... Missouri 38, UCF 10 ..... Boise State 38, UConn 21 ..... NC State 49, USF 17 ..... FAU 50, Tulsa 21 ..... Tulane 35, SE Lousiana 20 ..... ..... Carden leads poetic triumph BLACKSBURG, VA — The late British poet laureate, Rudyard Kipling, probably would have liked Shane Carden. In the poem 'If' Kipling says, "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same ..." The Captain, Carden, has experienced both triumph and disaster in the span of two weeks on the road against nationally-ranked teams as East Carolina quarterback. ... More from Al Myatt... Game Day Pix from Lane Stadium ECU quarterback Shane Carden gives offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley a bear hug after putting the Pirates ahead of Virginia Tech in the game's final minute. [W.A. Myatt photo] View W.A. Myatt's complete photo gallery... Audio: Ruff & Players Post-game... ECU coach Ruffin McNeill and some of his players spoke with the press after the Pirates defeated Virginia Tech on Saturday (recorded by W.A. Myatt; file photo): Select audio clip...

FOOTBALL Kevin's Keys to the Game Today’s game is a big one for both East Carolina and Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 2-0 coming off a huge win over Ohio State in the Horseshoe in front of 108,000 screaming Buckeye fans. The Pirates are 1-1 coming off a tough loss in which they went toe to toe against South Carolina and, arguably, outplayed the Gamecocks everywhere but on the scoreboard. ... More from Kevin Monroe...

FOOTBALL Irresistible force vs immovable object The crawl at the bottom of the screen on ESPN Saturday will note that the football game being played at noon in Blacksburg, VA, will be between East Carolina and Virginia Tech. But that’s only true in the strictest sense of the word. ... More from Brett Friedlander...

FOOTBALL Pirates seek to break Bud's shackles East Carolina averaged 40.2 points per game in 2013. The potent Pirates exceeded 50 points five times. Against this week's opponent, Virginia Tech, ECU was on the short end of a 15-10 score last season. After a 22-yard scoring pass from Shane Carden to Bryce Williams in the first two minutes, the end zones were off limits to the Pirates. ... More from Al Myatt...

FOOTBALL RECRUITING Florida talent pool still producing C.J. Maybin has always like to hit people on the football field, even when it wasn’t appropriate. “When I was younger my Dad started me off by signing me up for flag football,’’ Maybin recalled recently. “But it wasn’t fun to me just grabbing somebody’s flag. I wanted to hit. So I immediately started tackling the other players. “The other parents did not like it. So they moved me up to the tackle league.’’ ... More from Sammy Batten...

By Greg Vacek
©2014 Bonesville.net
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The term "House Divided" has been used to describe members of the same family that root for different teams when those teams play each other. On Saturday, there will be many families that have both East Carolina and North Carolina connections with an acute interest in the matchup in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Is it okay to have split loyalties? Is it okay to be a fan of both teams even if the opponent of your favored team is considered a rival?

Georgia-Florida? South Carolina-Clemson? East Carolina-North Carolina?

A little common-sense logic should clear up any confusion you may be experiencing. Follow Bonesville's "Rules of House Divided Etiquette" in choosing where to commit your zeal and you'll be able to live with your conscious no matter the outcome:

     1. Is one of the schools your alma mater? The time invested, education and life experiences make this the top reason people have a passion for a college team and relish every opportunity to return to campus. This trumps all of the factors below.

     2. Was one of the schools attended by one or more family member? Parents and grandparents indoctrinate you with their school's game day traditions at an early age, or they may have helped pay for you or your son or daughter to attend. Sibling loyalty also plays into the equation as visits to campus to see your brother or sister create a special bond with the school.

     3. Is your hometown team involved? Pride representing a town or region can be a big factor. Eastern N.C. needed something to cheer for after Hurricane Floyd wrought her destruction in 1999. The storm-stranded Pirates lifted a region by rallying to beat nationally-ranked Miami on a neutral field in 1999.

     4. Does one of the institutions employ you or a family member? Workplace pride, not to mention ticket discounts or other perks, can sway the heart.

     5. Is one of the schools the flagship institution for your state? This can be called the "Wal-Mart Rule." For Saturday's game, it applies mostly to fans that have never set foot in Chapel Hill. It can also be a motivator for transplants to North Carolina from another state.

     6. Does one of the schools have a team that is dominant in a sport in which your team struggles or doesn't compete? Rationalizing on this basis can be useful for fans of schools that don’t have a football team or that historically experience little success in basketball.

     7. The "Most Hated Team Rule" can also dictate your loyalties. There is always at least one team, that if it was playing the Russians, you would pull for the RUSSIANS.

     8. Your buddies can exert a powerful influence. Through a friend’s constant, enthusiastic exposure, you can get familiar with a team and adopt an instinctive rooting interest.

     9. National exposure can be hard to resist. A powerhouse program that you see on TV all the time can be the ultimate magnet for those that follow the "Bandwagon Rule." See Alabama and Notre Dame.

     10. Conference allegiance can be a factor, but can only go so far. You may want your conference strength rating to improve by having league mates winning out of conference — although it wouldn't be a stretch to speculate that many Tar Heel fans pull against Duke (and visa versa) in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

      11. Last but not least, there's the "Underdog Rule." No explanation required. It's always okay to root for the underdog as long as the opponent is not your team.

I know firsthand about a house divided. My mother attended Oklahoma and my father is a Nebraska alum. It was always fun at my house around Thanksgiving when the annual Oklahoma-Nebraska football rivalry took center stage. I am grateful that my father, who didn’t have ties to ECU, decided to start taking me to Ficklen Stadium on Saturdays. Those visits helped form my passion for Pirate football. For the Pirate Nation to grow, it needs more than just an increased level of alumni involvement. It needs support from adoptive hometown fans and fans across the region.

Recognizing that his team could benefit from new fans, Central Florida coach George O'Leary said to the members of the Rotary Club of Orlando: “You should be a Gator-Knight." He made the comments in an address to the club in 2011. "If the Gators aren't playing, we're the hometown team," he said. "I'm not telling you don't root for your team ... But, Seminole-Knight, Hurricane-Knight. Support your hometown team.”

While O'Leary’s request may be unconventional, real-life examples of his “Gator-Knight” concept regularly play out in other locales and for other schools. I am acquainted with two Clemson grads that have South Carolina season tickets. O'Leary would call each of them a "Tiger-Gamecock." I know a Marshall alum that lives in Raleigh and supports N.C. State by purchasing season tickets. He's a "Herd-Wolfpack" fan.

There are a number of Greenville area businesses owned by UNC-Chapel Hill alumni that are fierce supporters of the Pirates. My sister, a Pitt County native and a Tar Heel grad, texted me shortly after ECU's win over Virginia Tech last week with a “Congrats on the big win! Arrgghhhh!”

I'm not so sure my sister will be a Tar Heel-Pirate again this weekend, but I do know there will be some Wolfpack-Pirates, Hokie-Pirates, Gamecock-Pirates, Tiger-Pirates, a Cornhusker-Pirate, and maybe even a few Tar Heel-Pirates that will be wearing purple and rooting for an ECU victory at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday.