BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
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By Brian Bailey |
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"Pulmonary Pirates" live
on the edge
By
Brian Bailey
©2007 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Those “Pulmonary Pirates” are
at it again. You know, the team that takes your breath away in every game.
Saturday night’s thriller will
go down as one of the most exciting victories in East Carolina’s football
history.
Most of us, including yours
truly, were relegated to watching the game on TV with friends and other
Pirate fans, instead of seeing it in person.
According to the people I
talked to, every place that showed the game had overflow crowds on Saturday
night. That, in itself, is a testament to the support this team continues to
get.
Again, the Pirates certainly
didn’t disappoint. Rob Kass threw an absolute bullet on the last play of
regulation, sending the game to overtime. ECU then won it on a Kass
quarterback sneak in OT.
The “Pulmonary Pirates” had
done it again!
“I like that,” said Pirate
coach Skip Holtz on Monday, referring to the ‘Pulmonary Pirates’ phrase.
“It’s a good thing that we are developing this heart center in Greenville!
When you look at these games that we have played, it has been one heck of a
season.
"I think it speaks volumes for
these players, because we haven’t been perfect, but we have fought to stay
in games and then win some.”
It’s almost like a broken
record. Every game seems to have it’s own emotional importance.
Now comes North Carolina
State. The Wolfpack is just 1-5, but you had better believe that this is a
team that will come to Greenville and like nothing more then to wreck the
Pirate party.
Coach Holtz said that last
season's N.C. State team was as talented as any team his squad faced all
year. He also made a great point about the Wolfpack schedule.
“You look and see who they
have played and you understand just how tough their schedule is,” said
Holtz. “I told our players that our record might just be close to 1-5 if we
had played that schedule. They’ve lined up and played good teams like
Clemson, Florida State, Louisville…”
State also lost on the road at
Boston College, a program currently ranked in the Top 5 in the nation.
This will be the Wolfpack's
second trip to Greenville. The 1999 game featured the largest crowd in
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium history at 50,092. East Carolina won that game 23-6,
led by current Jacksonville Jaguars starting quarterback David Garrard.
North Carolina State leads in
the all-time series with ECU 14-10, but the Pirates have won five of the
last seven games between the two teams.
Coach Holtz says his team
wants to be the best in North Carolina. He hopes to follow the win over UNC-Chapel
Hill with a victory over the Wolfpack.
“That’s certainly not taking
anything away from Duke or Wake Forest,” said Holtz. “We don’t have them on
our schedule. We do have a chance now to go 2-0 in the state.
“This is a big game for the
players, the coaches, the fans… So many ECU fans work with N.C. State
graduates in Greenville, and the same in Raleigh. It should be an electric
atmosphere, for sure.”
The Pirates are a four-point
favorite. The game is a sellout, but you can catch it on CSTV.
It should be another good one.
Take a deep breath because you
may need it. The “Pulmonary Pirates” are ready to go again.
BB
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04/21/2008 07:04:08 PM |