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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 248
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
By Denny O'Brien |
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Anti-Logan obsession a
puzzling phenomenon
©2005 Bonesville.net
A strange thing happened last Tuesday
during my afternoon commute. Very strange.
After a quick scan of the local AM
stations, I was greeted by a familiar voice from seasons past. It was former
East Carolina coach Steve Logan, who for the first time since the 2002
season was fielding questions from the host of a popular Triangle sports
call-in show.
The same Steve Logan who for years was a
cultural icon Down East for aggressively hoisting the region's super-sized
burden. The same Steve Logan who oddly has become a source of contention
within a fan base that once was woven so tightly that the sharpest dagger
could not pierce it.
It was him, with that unique blend of
Southern drawl and Oklahoma twang. And as usual, it was him refuting the
fairness of the Bowl Championship Series and pinpointing how it has
destroyed the fabric of college football and led to the decline of many
programs such as the one for which he once was responsible.
To a certain degree, his responses made it
seem as if his right knee still belonged to that familiar patch of Bagwell
Field turf down the sideline from his team. As such, I prepared for the
passionate outcry from the anti-Logan contingent expressing indignation at
his gall in deciding to return to the public eye.
On cue, the e-mails and anonymous message
board posts poured faster than a pitcher of sweet tea on a sweltering
southern day.
Some expressed anger for the man they once
embraced. Some pledged indifference to his mere existence. Others proclaimed
their interest in the candid, entertaining responses for which he was famous
throughout his ECU tenure.
Surprisingly there were no accusations that
his public reemergence was strategically plotted to undermine East Carolina
in some farfetched fashion.
It's that mindset — and the small minority
that subscribes to it — that has baffled me since the day Logan was
dismissed from ECU. Baffling because that line of thinking typifies the kind
of outlandish conspiracy theories some have constructed as
self-justification for their support of his firing.
There's the one about how Logan stopped
recruiting top talent as a means for undermining then-athletics director
Mike Hamrick. Or how he conspired with Charlie Adams and North Carolina high
school coaches to get the embattled AD fired.
Then there's my personal favorite — his
insistence on draining East Carolina of its last dime out of spite for how
he was treated in connection with his dismissal.
While Logan wasn't without fault, he
certainly isn't guilty of the many charges he has unfairly faced from vocal
detractors within the faction he once labeled the 'lunatic fringe.' Every
decision he made — whether the outcome was good or bad — was motivated by
what he felt was ultimately best for East Carolina.
Naturally, there will be those who contend
that the sole purpose for these thoughts is to resurrect Logan's image and
return the focus of the ECU constituency back to the decisions that were
made during and following the 2002 season.
If that were the case, such motives would
be construed by yours truly as irresponsible and divisive given the new leaf
East Carolina has turned under the leadership triumvirate of Steve Ballard,
Terry Holland, and Skip Holtz.
But it couldn't be further from the truth.
After seven-plus months under Holtz's
leadership, my gut feeling is that the football program again appears to be
on solid footing. Holtz seems to have a firm handle of the recipe that is
required given the Pirates' unique situation, and has the clout, enthusiasm,
and fan appeal the program desperately needs.
Though it is too early to tell, the early
signs point towards him having a successful run during a critical period in
ECU football history. If that indeed is the case, Holtz very well could etch
his name among the other coaching greats who preceded him.
And rest assured that Logan stands firmly
within that category. A résumé that includes the most wins and bowl
appearances in school history cements that much.
Even more important is the fact that he ran
a program free of blemishes, graduated players at a nationally visible rate,
and helped plant a ministry within the athletics program that changed the
lives of many student athletes.
None of that can be debated. Neither can
Logan's place in Pirate football lore or his love for East Carolina and his
embrace for the uphill battle it has and always will face.
Whether or not Logan was fired prematurely
is a fair argument. But how even the smallest minority can question what
Logan meant to ECU — or what he would insist the school and region still
means to him — remains a mystery to me.
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02/23/2007 02:00:12 AM |
