ECU's MIB a blockbuster hit

By Brian Bailey
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These East Carolina Pirates simply love playing the role of the “Men in Black.”

Of course it’s not quite Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, but you get the idea.

The Pirates love their black uniforms and they play well in the role of MIB.

So far this year, East Carolina has wins over Virginia Tech and North Carolina in the all black wardrobe. Last season, the Pirates were a perfect 5-0 in all black, including that win over Ohio in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl down in Tampa.

Black is the new purple, at least at ECU.

UConn comes calling this Thursday night and now everybody gets a chance to get into the act. The Pirates are hosting a “Black-Out” for the game, asking all fans to wear their favorite Pirate attire in black.

When you are a big guy like me you already know the advantage of the color black. Black is the ‘slimming’ color and I for one use it to my advantage.

It’s also intimidating. The old black and silver of the Raiders was as daunting a color scheme as there was out there. They haven’t been so intimidating lately, but back in the day the black of the Raiders was highly respected.

Young people today are in love with the color black. East Carolina spent several years convincing its fan base that black would look great with the purple and gold accents.

The results say we’ll see plenty of black in the years to come.

“It’s not just about a “Black-Out” for us,” said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill at his weekly news conference on Monday. “We wanted to make sure it’s not a special deal. It’s a part of our uniform.”

This week the fans get to break out their black. That may be a challenge for some, but Coach Ruff says he looks forward to seeing everyone on Thursday night.

“It’s a special night for our fans,” said McNeill. “I’m excited to see the stadium. I know Joey (Perry, director of field operations) has something special going on the field, but I don’t want to see it until game day. I know it will be a great venue. The team is expecting a large, packed stadium. I expect our fans to be in early and give us a lot of energy and excitement. Their team, our kids and my sons are expecting them to be packed and really excited on Thursday.”

The Pirates may be dominant in black, but they have been less than stellar on Thursday nights through the years. East Carolina is just 5-8 all-time on Thursday night.

The squad is 16-19 all-time in games not played on Saturday. Oddly enough the Pirates are a perfect 4-0 in Sunday games, which includes East Carolina’s 51-49 win over Tulsa back in 2010 in Coach McNeill’s first game at the helm of the Pirate ship.

Get ready to break out the black on Thursday night.

The Pirate Nation and the MIB are big favorites against a 1-5 UConn team that has really struggled this season.

Get used to it. Black is the new purple at East Carolina!

BB

E-mail Brian Bailey.