NC State Football

The fan “Blog of Record” for NC State athletics is StateFansNation.

Started by one guy, it now has multiple contributors and is the place to go for good articles and links along with the usual chat and criticism.

One contributor, LRM, has written a series of articles about the recent history of NC State football. LRM sums up almost perfectly how I’ve viewed and experienced NC State football over the past decade or so. The hopes, dreams, highs and lows.

I, of course, was at the home games he describes – such as when we first beat Florida State at Carter-Finley. And I was at many of the away games - the Gator Bowl victory over Notre Dame and the game at UNC where the refs gave the game to the Tar Heels. I was also at the ECU Peach Bowl (and both ECU brawls at Carter-Finley), the cow bell Peach Bowl, the Florida Gator Fog Bowl and the thrilling triple overtime game at Ohio State.

Along with the hiring and firing of Amato, implementation of Life Time Rights, the facilities investments and building program, Phillip Rivers – LRM describes everything pretty much as if he were writing for me personally.

Part I – The 1990s

Part II – 2000 to 2006 (Chuck Amato)

I want to add to something that LRM touches on in Part II. He mentions the inconsistency caused by assistant coach turnover.

Actually, I think there was more to that than just inconsistency.

Assistant coaches under Amato left – every year. Far more than typical attrition.

It’s one thing if you have a great program and assistants get hired away for promotion type jobs – like coordinators or head coaches. But that wasn’t the case here. Coaches were just plain leaving. Every year.

Was it mismanagement? Could they tell the program wasn’t being run well? Or was it they wanted to get away from difficult working conditions?

I think they wanted to get away from their boss – Amato. My, off the cuff, not at all informed, and totally unsubstantiated opinion is that Amato was a dick to work for. Possibly emotionally unstable. Probably personality disorder. Which would go along with his outsized personality and ego.

Even before things began to disintegrate on the field – I was watching the yearly coaching exodus and I wandered what the hell was going on.

Part III – Phillip Rivers

Part IV – TOB

Part V – 2009 and Beyond

I agree with TRM 100% on this year and the future. We’re going to be a very improved team. I’ve been telling folks that this year we should be 7 and 5. With a break here, a little luck there - maybe 8 and 4.

One thing for sure – we’re going to be IN every game we play.

The important thing is – TOB has laid the groundwork. Each year we are going to get fundamentally better and better.

Improving from, say, 3 and 9 to 6 and 6 is a lot easier than going from, say, 8 and 4 to 10 and 2 or better.

I don’t expect the breakout to happen this year. I think 2010 is the year NC State will take its place on the national map.

And from there – anything is possible.