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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 134
Friday, August 8, 2003
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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Fans have vital role in game
of league dominoes
©2003 Bonesville.net
In East Carolina’s pursuit of inclusion in a conference with
a direct tie to the Bowl Championship Series, several key roles have been
clearly defined.
Chancellor William V. Muse obviously is the point man, and
it is paramount that he present ECU’s potential to not only thrive in a BCS
league, but also raise the prestige and increase the piggy bank of any
conference with which it is aligned. The hiring of former Southeastern
Conference commissioner Roy Kramer as a consultant shows that ECU's CEO has
firm control of the helm of the Pirate ship.
First-year head coach John Thompson quickly finds himself in
the hot seat and will be pressured to produce a winner this fall. Though
wins and losses ultimately won’t be the make-or-break factor when conference
invitations are sent, the importance of East Carolina staking its claim on
the field can't be marginalized.
Perhaps even more important, though, is the sense of urgency
with which Pirates fans must operate during these uncertain times, by making
a major statement with Pirate Club donations and increasing sales at the
ticket counter.
“They’ve energized me,” Thompson said in reference to the
ECU faithful. “I knew it was good. I had no idea coming in the way this past
spring would have gone. People have gone nuts. What a great thing.
"At all the Pirate Club meetings and all the functions that
we’ve had, people have really been involved. It has energized our team, our
staff.”
And to some degree, ECU's mass constituency appears to have
been energized, too.
Pirate Club membership is up 14 percent from last year at
6,500 members. That number includes 688 members of the Student Pirate Club,
of which 410 are first-time donors.
So far, the Pirate Club has received $3.1 million in
pledges, a seven percent increase over last year. Approximately $2.65
million already has been collected, which is a nine percent improvement.
Ticket sales, however, are another story.
Less than a month before the home opener against West
Virginia, ECU has sold roughly 14,500 season tickets. That’s a marginal
increase over last year and is surprising in consideration of the lineup of
opponents that will invade the Pirates’ home turf this year.
One would think a rare home-opening visit by long-time rival
West Virginia and a historical first-time appearance by North Carolina would
be enough to elevate sales to a record number.
The lack of frenzy about season tickets is disappointing
from a fan base that often compares itself to Virginia Tech and desperately
craves a position alongside the Hokies in the upper reaches of the national
pecking order.
Sell-outs have traditionally been considered a big deal in
Greenville, while eye-popping turnout are considered par-for-the-course in
Blacksburg. To better illustrate the contrast, Hokies fans arrive in flocks
for matchups against lowly Temple, whereas good seats always are available
for an ECU fracas against its biggest Conference USA rival, Southern Miss.
Considering East Carolina is relying on its strong fan
support to enhance its appeal to the Big East, it is crucial that Pirates
fans make their collective presence felt in emphatic fashion in a season
that is vital to the school’s athletics future.
Translated: Empty seats should be at a minimum, regardless
of the opponent.
Pirates fans aren’t in a position to directly lobby for
ECU’s inclusion in a BCS league. Nor can they have a direct effect on the
outcome of a game.
But they can answer the challenge by filling Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium on a weekly basis.
In the end, that could be the differentiating factor that
elevates East Carolina’s profile when the next round of conference expansion
commences.
Battle Flag has home
East Carolina’s new Battle Flag will fly high above Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium this season on a new flagpole located near the Pirates’ entrance to
Bagwell Field.
Prominent Pirate Club members Mark Hatcher and Mike Yorke
led a private fund-raising campaign that will purchase the flagpole, which
will be accompanied by an edifice that includes a ship and cannon at the
base.
The idea is that the flag will be raised ceremoniously prior
to each game, and the Pirates will touch the cannon as they sprint onto the
playing surface, much like Clemson players traditionally touch Howard’s
Rock.
Yorke hopes the pre-game ritual will add to East Carolina’s
gridiron tradition.
“What I see we are doing is returning the Jolly Roger
tradition,” Yorke said. “Returning this is a huge victory for ECU.”
Once Hatcher and Yorke received the go-ahead from the Board
of Trustees and Chancellor Muse, the rest was easy. Yorke solicited the idea
on an unofficial but popular ECU Internet message board – BoneyardBanter.com
– and received over 75 responses.
All totaled, the duo received more than the projected goal,
which was somewhere between $5-6 thousand. Approximately 60 contributors
took part in the project, which took less than a month to complete. The bulk
of the cash was donated in a brief two-week span.
Former Pirates earn NCHSAA
honor
Two former Pirates are among the nine who will be enshrined
in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Stuart
Tripp (’44) and Pat Harrell (’61) will be inducted November 8.
Tripp is a legend in Eastern North Carolina, having built
Ayden into an athletics powerhouse. From 1946-62, Tripp coached football,
basketball, and baseball at Ayden, compiling impressive records in all three
sports.
Tripp served a one-year stint at Tarboro then returned to
Ayden to finish his career, coaching basketball from 1965-68, compiling a
72-4 record during that span. Overall, Tripp’s teams collected seven
conference titles in football, six in baseball, and 12 in basketball.
He also won two state titles on the hardwood.
Harrell left his mark primarily in administration. He served
as superintendent of the Perquimans County Schools from 1976-88, and held
the same position in Dare County from 1988-93.
Throughout his career, Harrell remained heavily involved in
high school athletics and served two terms as the NCHSAA president
(1988-90).
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02/23/2007 01:51:32 AM |
