…. I promised you guys a comprehensive update on two local college FB programs…. I have arbitrarily chosen UNC & NCSU for such, I hope that’s OK with most of you .… A bonus feature will be a brief report on BobLee’s on-going insurgent terrorism relative to a notorious regional media outlet …. But first, lets talk some FOOTBALL!
All but the most numbnutted of the respective Shineola factions would agree that UNC and NC State Football programs have been star-crossed linked for the past six seasons. Despite narrow victories the past three seasons, UNCers can hardly claim “dominance” although a few extreme loonies always will of course.
Before we jump into what to expect in 90 days and beyond, lets spend a few paragraphs in recent yesteryears. I have selected four pivotal events which, combined, bring us to the here and now.
- The Philip Rivers Effect at NCSU
- Dan Orner’s crossbar tickler at Wally Wade in 2002.
- TA and the goal line stand in 2004.
- The marijuana bust at UNC 24 hours after TA’s non TD in 2004.
#1 Philip Rivers’ tenure gave Chuck a false sense of his own abilities as a Head Coach. To mix a metaphor, getting Rivers immediately put Chuck on 2nd base and he thought he had hit a stand-up double. PR disguised Chuck’s liabilities as an executive manager and gave Lupine loyalists a false sense that a For-Real Prodigal Messiah had arrived. One had, but he was wearing #17 not orange Oakleys and he left in four years.
#2 …. Orner’s crossbar tickler at Wally Wade. If that ball had one less inch of air under it it would have meant back-to-back losses to Duke and certain curtains for the Bunting Era at UNC.
#3 …. “the fatal tick bite” from which Chuck would never recover. No way that game should have ever been that close and, to lose, regardless of how controversially, set Adios Chuck in motion. Chuck’s head coaching liabilities were now public knowledge.
#4 …. Many forget that The Three Amigos Incident occurred just 24 hours after John Bunting’s potential program re-launch. Any impetus from “the miracle goal line stand” was negated by the loss of three of the premier athletes needed for Bunting to build any sort of competitive program. John’s boast of “recruiting Carolina-type kids” officially bit a huge chunk out of his butt on that fateful night. While there were assorted “good times” in the aftermath, there was no sustainable period of corner-turning. That week-end back in October 2004 was the beginning of the end for both Chuck Amato and John Bunting ….. and the subsequent arrival of Tom O’Brien and Butch Davis.
Some who might wish to argue various other incidents and individual plays here and there. I have a fascinating line of thought about how “9/11” had a GREAT impact on Carolina Football history! Be advised that I do not debate anything with anyone who has more than 10 posts on any fan message board …. We no hable Shineola in BobLee Country
That the backyard blood-feud should be so irrevocably linked with the hiring of these two new coaches is, in my opinion, Simply Wonderful. That both programs made coaching changes at the same time and both went with established seasoned men rather than firey young “maybees” or nostalgic school color bleeding alums needing extensive OJT sets the stage for some terrific sports drama in the next 4-5 years.
The two men are alike in the most important way … yet different in public personas in a way that will add just the right amount of spice to the rivalry.
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NOTE: Nothing that we have said or will say here will have any effect whatsoever in the local cybe
r septic tanks inhabited by the Dungeon & Dragon crowd in either fan base. Coaching changes or any other real world goings-on never impact “that world”. “We” are always God’s chosen people and “they” are always up to no good and breaking 147 NCAA rules every morning before breakfast. I have yet to receive a report that a UNC-loonie is claiming TO’B to be “a member of the mafia” or from a Wuff-loon that Butch has bought Caulton Tudor a lot at Governors Club but both will be posted eventually as sure as God made little green apples. If you prefer your UNC v NCSU info to be dripping with acrimonious ignorance, look elsewhere than here.
Later this Fall, 100s of sad souls will put aside their overweight wives, under achieving children and dead-end jobs and bet whats left of their so-called “lives” on the outcome of one game. Aren’t you guys glad you are spared that humiliation simply by being BobLee Buddies?
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The “alikes” with TO’B and Butch is in their established reputations as successful head coaches and the core veteran staffs they have both assembled. Both men know how to win and have done so over time …. albeit they go about it in slightly different ways.
Yes, there have already been BS reports …. UNC loonies were flopping around like epileptic seals that TO’B had treated a BC player poorly and, of course, Wuff Loons are hooting that Butch is recruiting miscreants “like he did at Miami”. Expect to see other such conspiracy salvos launched from time to time ….. ignore all such unless you read it here.
I have been asked by a few of you “is Butch’s cancer worse than is being reported?” All of my inside sources refute that. His reaction to chemo treatments might have been more visibly apparent than many expected but there is no reason to question the status reports coming from the UNC SID office and from Butch himself.
The #1 difference between the two men and how they will build their programs is in their recruiting styles.
Butch will recruit nationally, going toe to toe for Top 25 players with Weis, Carroll, Saban, Brown et al. Unless it is a blatant felon like a Willie Williams, expect to hear that one of Butch’s “go get’em” gang has the player on radar. If you hear that John “The Closer” Blake is involved you will know that the assumed level of possible collegiate miscreantcy is deemed controllable. Factor whatever you hear from so-called “gurus” with the fact that Butch and his guys REALLY do know how to “jerk a knot” in potential miscreants prior to the perp perpping. We’re not talking “slush funds at the local PD”. We’re talking “fear o’ God in’em” from the get-go. I hear that Butch is a tad bit more creative than “dawn patrol gassers and push-ups”
NOBODY wins consistently at the Div 1 level with choirboys. Thats as silly as trying to win in basketball going all-Caucasian … ain’t gonna happen. That’s a fact. It’s keeping that asocial aggression under control off-the-field that keeps the alums happy. Butch and his guys understand that.
Butch will also pursue all the top in-state kids THAT HE THINKS MEET HIS ATHLETIC REQUIREMENTS. Do not look for him to waste a scholly on some local whiz-kid that has maxed his potential at the high school level. If an in-state kid does not have UNC on his very short-list it’s because Butch decided that before the kid did. UNC will not get every kid …. because of personal and emotional reasons that Butch’s salesmanship cannot compete against. Playing time against national name recruits will effect many young egos … and rightly so. Look for Butch to land a big-un or two every year. Recruiting loonies will regularly go rabid bat loco over Butch’s in-roads with 5-stars …. some real, many simply imagined.
Meanwhile TO’B will fill his roster with less glamorous names but likely no-less able to perform admirably at the ACC level. Alas, NCSU loons who labor under UNC-aphobia 25/8+ will squeal and fret against the bloviating bombast of their Tar Heel loon counterparts. “Coaching up” less heralded athletes has been successful for TO’B thru-out his career …. It will continue to be his MO at Raleigh.
That TO’B is so often compared in his stoic, no-nonsense approach to Dick Sheridan is “a good thing” for Pack loyalists. That Butch is not really compared to any previous UNC coach is an exciting turn-of-events for Heel fans.
Accept the reality that Butch will ALWAYS win the February recruiting “star wars” game vs TO’B. EVERY TIME …. Take it to the bank. Which is why fans with double digit IQs will pay skant attention to such foolishness.
Last time I checked, a football is still an oblate spheroid specifically designed to take unpredictable bounces ….. all the Super Bowl rings and 5-Star recruits cannot control that pesky pigskin when it starts rolling around ….. and there in lies the excitement of the game.
As for “live mic oops” which were daily under the previous coaching regimes …. There has been only one minor one with TO’B. When asked about what Butch might be doing over in Chapel Hill, TO’B replied that he was no more or less concerned with Butch than he was with anyone else on his schedule. Uh oh !!! That is known in West Rawlee as the Sendak Gambit. It did not sit well with Wuffs when Herb said it. It will be equally un-well received coming from TO’B. The outcome of certain games DOES mean more than others ….. maybe not waaay up yonder in Chestnut Hill but this ain’t there Tom. Yo TO’B think Red Sox vs Devil Rays compared to Red Sox vs Yankees. Have Frank Weedon take Tom to lunch in Amedeo’s backroom …. Quick!
Too much comparison of TO’B and Butch to each other will be fatal. Both men must navigate thru quite tough ACC waters every Fall. Other than Duke, the coaching vets in the ACC have field cred. The weakest two who did not are gone which is why Butch and TO’B are where they are. OK, the new whozit at BC is an unknown and Randy Shannon is a rookie at “the U” but all others CAN win any week …. Or stink up a joint on occasion as in the case of Algroh who enters 2007 on two banana peels.
Up in Blacksburg, Frank has had more trouble with Krazy Korean Kids and reoccurring Vick nightmares than with either Butch or TO’B. Ho hum … he’s faced’em both and had’em both blink more than once or twice.
If either Butch or TO’B should lose to ECU this Fall the effected loon faction will go bat guano loco and immediately eat its own young. Its strongly recommended that neither Butch nor TO’B risk such a meltdown in Year One especially Butch in early September. Should Butch lose to ECU in early September methinks Prince Tassel Loafers will need the Groucho glasses disguise again.
The focus in both programs this Fall will be on the two head coaches more than the players. If UNC punts in its first offensive series vs “the Dukes” of James Madison there will be at least one Kenan idgit who will grunt “same ol’ Carolina football”. If that idgit is sitting anywhere near you you have diplomatic immunity to strangle the dumb b*stard with your bare hands. If an usher tries to stop you tell him BobLee said it was OK …. He can call Willie Scroggs to verify.
In Rawlee, TO’B’s stoic sideline demeanor will irk the hell out of the Wuff bottom-feeders who prefer marching to a more maniacal beat. Am I the only one who noticed that Chuck still gets more local coverage for his silly inane utterances from Tallahassee than TO’B gets locally. Mainstream Wuffs need to take back Carter-Finley from the hooligan element both for tail-gating and enjoying Wolfpack Football. Organize vigilante posses to flush out the morons.
Expect both fan bases to behave to their established goofball stereotypes at least well into October. The positive effects of the two new coaches will be gradual but it will happen. There will be a few big wins and a few painful losses for both in the early going. Both of these guys are “for real” sideline CEOs. Support yours. They deserve your support and they will both prove to be wise choices. I promise.
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