DENNY O'BRIEN: Fans must live up to reputation

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

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."

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.