A Terrific Triangle TriFecta and.....
.... Oct 7, ’12: Was it THE GREATEST FOOTBALL SATURDAY in Triangle History? Don’t know who keeps such records but it would be hard to imagine a better one.... AND you coulda seen all three in-person. I opted for two of the three..... Recapping Week Six ..... and a Night of Fame attracts the famous. Yet another memory for William Neal Reynolds Coliseum ......
Before Saturday there was a Friday and this past one was the formal induction ceremony for the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame. It’s not
“Sports Hall of Fame” but that’s how most will likely refer to it. It was yours truly’s privilege to be among the 800 or so attendees
courtesy of THE Bob Kennel.
After a year or so of closed door meetings and suggestioning and unsolicited advice from the usual gaggle of goobers and well-meaning partisans..... a first-year “class” of ten individuals was decided upon. Two certainties were certain:
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The first 4-5 of the first ten would be obvious.
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The remainder of inductees will be questioned relative to the order of induction. Some of those questioning the good sense of the selection committee in the years to come will get really nasty and reflect poorly on the NC State fan base in general.
The above scenario would apply to any similar Hall of Fame.
I have had some involvement with Halls of Fame over the years. These things rank just behind “putting mamma in a nursing home” as an effective way to divide a family. In this case a fan family.
I thought their first ten inductees were just fine. Who cares what I think about this? Ya might be surprised.
I’ve attended some dreadful Halls of Fame ceremonies. MOST such ceremonies are dreadful. I call them “rubber chicken root canal surgeries”. Three to four hours that seem like days of addled brain codgers babbling on incoherently to a room-full of equally addled brains all of which have their hearing aids tuned to different frequencies. This one was MUCH better. This one was very well done!
Whoever was in charge of this evening was either very good or just lucky. They avoided all the usual tiger traps and black holes that usually plaque these things. Heck, even the A/V stuff worked flawlessly. How rare is THAT. There was only one inductee speech permitted proving (1) there IS a God and (2) Jim Ritcher is a very impressive gentleman.
Jim gave a 7-minute thank you tribute to NC State and what the institution meant to each of the inductees. I think Jim should hire-out to do that speech for other HoFs.
The heavy hors d’oeuvre reception was perfect for the occasion. A variety of outstanding dishes perfect for stand-up eating.
The floor of Reynolds Coliseum was divided into the reception area and the mini-auditorium for the formal ceremony. Again, well planned and executed.
My SaidWHATMedia pal
AgentPierce was present and was spied plotting some devilement with his arch enemy – that ol’ rascal BELO.
The ceremony was
“like a lady’s skirt – long enough to cover the subject / short enough to keep your interest”.
Chancellor Randy did make one snipy remark about "we are The Flagship" but no mention of The Wolfpack Way and no gushy tribute to The Putz....... At the conclusion of the ceremony, guests were encouraged to return to the reception area for autographs from the famous personages present. And THEN.....
As David Thompson, Ted Brown, Roman Gabriel, Ritcher, etc moved thru the crowd..... guess who was the first person to be asked for his autograph by a devoted fan? .... a certain roguish Internet Legend who has attended even fewer classes at NC State than Washburn, Shackleford, McLendon et al. Yep - ME! I've signed my share of autographs but "then & there" was very cool!
Apparently my sterling reputation as the Internet’s most acclaimed “tell like it is-er” had preceded me.... right there on the celebrated floor of The House That Ev Case Built on the night they honored their heroes. Is that it? Not quite.
A few minutes later the honcho of The Raleigh Sports Club approached me – “Are you BobLee of BobLeeSays?” By now I was on full alert. “Yes sir.” “Would you be available to speak to our club? We pay an honorarium.” “Yes sir, I would be.”
Legendary sports scribe, and friend, A.J. Carr overheard this and just shook his head. “You beat all, you know that.” .... Is that it? Not quite.
My very favorite UNC Brd of Governor guy had texted me he had played golf that afternoon with a State “mega-hottie”. As we were preparing to leave, the Wolfpack version of Brookyn Decker floated across the room to say hi and, I guess, flirt with Kennel. It was THE Kellie Harper dressed to the nines. Hubba Hubba and Lordy Mercy.
I almost bailed on even going to this event. Truly divine intervention determined otherwise. It was a humdinger.
Thanks Bob!
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What about The Terrific Triangle Trifecta? Oh yeah......
Carolina whupped the Hokies like only top tier SEC teams used to do. Has BeamerBall finally run its course. That sound you hear is angry Hokie Clavins Exiting Sandman from the Beamer Bandwagon. The Fighting Fedorians remain undefeated in Kenan!
The new/old white helmets were a MEGA HIT. See my column on HUDDLE w/ THE HEELS. Those new unis were soooo cool they actually made Gio about 2.62% faster. I have already ordered Bubba to “keep’em’. He said he would.
Next.... over at The Wally, CutcliffeBall slaughtered the Hoos. All in all a miserable trip south for teams from The Old Dominion. It’s mid-October and Duke has the best W-L record in the Triangle. That woulda won ya a few bar bets.
THEN the day ended with Jimbo’s Noles apparently saving TOB’s JOB by rolling over like roadkill in The Carter. N&O scribe Caulton ‘Toots’ Tudor had columned that the long knives were coming out for The Marine. All of my sources said Toots was spending way too much time dumpster-diving on PackPride. A humdinger of a comeback by The Carter homies before a screaming mob of reved-up rabid wuffs.
I was reminded why I no longer watch games from the stands. Uncomfortable seating and nitwits standing up in front of you for no reason at all. I “get” everyone being jazzed in the final minutes but all game long. Spare me Lord.
My “other team” the SEC’s hapless Mizzou Tigers actually lost to Vanderbilt. I thought their agreement with the SEC guaranteed a W over the Commodores. Check the fine print, Coach Pinkel.
Those cool white helmets..... Run Gio Run..... Duke’s juggernaut.... Cardiac Pack..... and “the autograph in Reynolds” AND Kellie Harper...... Life IS Good!
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