Wolfpack fans voicing displeasure on social media

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 22, 2013 1:48 PM

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Online bloggers are expressing their displeasure, especially after N.C. State dropped an overtime decision to N.C. Central on the basketball court Wednesday evening. NCCU had never beaten an Atlantic Coast Conference school.

Some of their disgust derives from a particular billboard that appears throughout different regions in North Carolina -- a block-letter "S" and the proclamation "This Is Our State." That declaration of domination hardly seems appropriate. The Wolfpack has lost to every in-state foe since September, except for Appalachian State.

N.C. State fans in online chat rooms and Twitter feeds have consistently bashed players for not giving maximum effort on either the football field or basketball court.

They've grown tired of NCSU athletics director Debbie Yow and wonder why she agreed to play the Pirates through 2022. Some have called for her resignation and some have said that they will not make donations to the athletic department. Others have said they're going to write the legislature and ask to have Yow's commitment to ECU overturned.

They're embarrassed that the school's marketing office has stolen two ideas used by other universities -- Mississippi State's "This is our State" and the East Carolina midfield logo. The second is actually a knock-off of a previous marketing strategy used by another in-state school -- North Carolina. (Which by the way, is NOT the originator of the idea, either).

Remarkably, most of the Wolfpack fans remain thick-skinned and optimistic even though their teams are going through a "bad patch."

N.C. State resides in the same neighborhood as UNC and Duke, universities that contend for national championships in basketball on a regular basis. Duke may become the second team from North Carolina to play for the ACC football championship in the modern era.

The Wolfpack have never participated in either a BCS bowl or played in one of the five major postseason games during their entire football history.

Of course, all these woes that have caused most N.C. State fans to whine throughout the season could change Saturday. A victory over East Carolina would save face, and remove some of the sting that has surrounded the athletic program during the last 31/2 months.

A loss?

Then N.C. State will undoubtedly become a "State of Despair."