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Letters to the Editor
Submit letters to:
editor@bonesville.net
[2006 LETTERS, IN NEWEST TO OLDEST ORDER]
Pat Lane
December 8, 2006
For those
who can afford to support ECU through donated bowl tickets and/or the
continuity fund, which or both and how much?
The effect
of buying donated bowl tickets is quantifiable. Tickets bought
through ECU will be a known and reported fact. The BE will know
how many we bought when they consider expansion. They will see
the actual number of Pirates in Birmingham. Find a way to get to
Birmingham if at all possible; if you can’t, donated tickets count. What
about the continuity fund?
TH uses the
famous quote “if it is to be, it is up to me (us).” Maintaining football
staff continuity is our immediate internal challenge. No one else can or
will pay to keep our coaches other than us – the PC members/ticket buyers.
An investment in staff continuity of any amount enables TH to say to our
coaches that x,xxx supporters value their service through investing to keep
them. Participation is perhaps as important as the amount because it shows
our willingness to accept our role on the TEAM. I hope everyone can find a
way to be part of this effort. But how much will make a financial rather
than symbolic difference?
Look at each
individual. If each non-student PC member gives $28.57 to the continuity
fund each of the next two years, those 7,000 of us would provide $400,000 to
be supplemented by Circle of Excellence funds to incentivize our coaches to
remain at least through the 2008 season. Think about what two more years of
effort by our current staff could mean for ECU football – division and
conference championships, bowl opportunities and wins, more talented
athletes wearing the Purple and Gold and BCS membership. To me, it’s worth
investing what you can to be part of that effort. I hope most of us now see
that a modest investment can make the difference in ECU becoming a BCS
member or missing the cut again. Of course, all will not invest their $28.57
share so some need to do more. DO WHAT YOU CAN to provide TH with the
resources required to retain our coaches plus the numbers of
participants that he can use to impress upon our coaches their
importance to us.
No real
answer to the lead question. Both are great investment options. Just be part
of the TEAM.
Pat Lane
Chocowinity, NC
John Bland
November 29, 2006
Is This Asking Too Much? ... I Think not.
Through the years of conference realignment, Pirate faithful have been
waiting and wanting for a BCS type conference to come calling. The first
wave of realignment came at probably the worst time for our University. That
time is behind us, and the tide of support and enthusiasm at ECU has been
intensified and reinvigorated with the hiring of Steve Ballard, Terry
Holland ... Skip Holtz, Ricky Stokes and Mark Wharton.
What amazing leadership we have in place at East Carolina!
Well, my follow Pirates, now is the time that we as alumni, Pirate Club
members and Pirate faithful do our part. We need to show the administration
at ECU and the football world why the Pirate Pride Nation is so special and
deserving.
I’m sending a challenge out to all the Pirate faithful to purchase a
minimum of 3 tickets to the Papa John’s Bowl. If we all step up to purchase
just 3 tickets whether we can make the game or donate the tickets back to
the Pirate Family, can you imagine the signal this would give to the
football world? We would give our administration the ability to deliver a
statement that few others could equal.
This act would guarantee at least 25,000 sold tickets.
We need to support this University now more than ever; if we do this as
Pirate faithful, we will not be overlooked on the next conference
realignment.
I have faith in all the Pirates to come through and resolve to see that
we get this goal accomplished.
We Believe “23”
John Bland
Chapter President
Durham/Orange Pirate Club
Phillip R Dixon
August 23, 2006
The heading on
Henry Hinton's article on the UNC Board
of Governors is terribly misleading and
is an inaccurate description of the comments I recently made as a guest on
Talk of the Town.
Eastern N.C. remains underrepresented on the Board but we have made great
progress in a short time. When the Board was established ECU had three seats
but until recently only had one member, our Vice Chair, Craig Souza.
Recently we gained two additional seats on the Board and now have a greater
voice.
We also have a new President in Erskine Bowles, who recognizes how well
ECU is succeeding in helping N.C. address critical shortages in teachers,
nurses and other allied health professionals.
Moreover, it appears we may soon have the opportunity to use our
successful medical school model to establish a School of Dentistry with
clinics throughout the state in rural areas to help meet other critical
health care needs of our citizens.
It is obvious we are gaining more resources than ever before. Consider
all the new construction on the campus. Today, we are the system's fastest
growing campus and by far the leader in distance education.
I would hate for your readers to get a misleading impression of the UNC
System Board. Things are better than ever for ECU. I am proud to have the
opportunity to serve as one of several ECU advocates on the Board.
Phillip R Dixon (ECU alumnus)
Greenville, NC [Note from the Editor: The column referenced by UNC System
board member Mr. Dixon and authored by Mr. Hinton was published on
Wednesday. The headline of the article,
Cronyism fosters
dysfunctional UNC System
board, followed
by the subheading "Board Member and ECU alum Phil Dixon says new study
exposes biases of governing body," was composed by the Bonesville.net
editor, not by Mr. Hinton.]
A. Earnest
Willis
May 18, 2006
This letter is in response to
Mr. Den Dickerson from May 10th. I
believe Mr. Dickerson and I are in full agreement that we need seating in
that area and something permanent. The vision my friends and I had about the
Pirate Ship in the end zone would include a seating area and a concession
stand. I personally thought that something like this would be like a
manifestation of the great Pirate graphics we have all come to enjoy on the
scoreboard during the games. Maybe something like this is not feasible due
to costs and things I do not know about or maybe it can be built. There is a
church on the Outer Banks that is built so the outside of it looks like a
ship, and numerous restaurants are built that way throughout the country.
Isn't it great that we have Pirates discussing how to grow and promote
the program in a positive way and not bickering?
I have never met Mr. Dickerson that I know of. Maybe I will get a chance
to introduce myself to him, oh, around the 50-yard line at the Liberty Bowl
around New Years. One thing is for sure: I believe we both want the best for
ECU. I think that the Pirate Nation is at ONE behind the Pirates like never
before. Lets keep it that way.
A. Earnest Willis (ECU BSBA '91, MBA '93)
Vanceboro, NC
Den Dickerson
May 10, 2006
I am writing in response to
A. Earnest Willis' idea regarding a Pirate ship in the
end zone of Dowdy-Ficklen, which is a pretty cool concept.
While I agree with him about the need for injecting new ideas, creativity
and imagination into game day football events, if he would check the
Dowdy-Ficklen seating diagram for next year and beyond, he will notice that
there will be SEATS in the scoreboard end zone. SEATS that translate to
dollars. Dollars that we desperately need.
In those seats will be our band, some students and young grads. Having
this vocal group in the end zone will give us much more of a home field
advantage than a Pirate ship. Watch a UConn football game sometime and see
for yourself.
Also, I do believe Terry Holland has gone on record previously as stating
he would like to see a permanent structure in that end zone that could be
used for events other than football, like concerts.
Den Dickerson (Class of '75)
Statesville, NC
A. Earnest
Willis
May 6, 2006
Has anyone in Pirate Nation ever seen an NFL game from Tampa Bay? The
Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a Pirate ship built at one end of the stadium.
Many members of Pirate Nation have mentioned to me that it would be very
cool if ECU had something like the Buccaneer Pirate Ship constructed behind
the end zone at DOWDY-FICKLEN. It could be a permanent structure that could
have a concession stand, a seating area and cannons that fire and add to the
overall home field advantage.
Also, with the growing reputation of ECU's schools of Medicine, Business,
Education and many more growing programs, the facility could be used for
fundraising by non-profit organizations connected to ECU or non-profits
connected to the overall health and cultural heritage of Eastern North
Carolina.
Showing a little creativity and a little added fan support may be just
enough to help that All-American recruit decide to play football at ECU or
that Bowl Scout to choose ECU over another school, or push that conference
official to invite ECU into a bigger and better conference.
What do you Pirate Fans think about this idea?
A. Earnest Willis (ECU BSBA '91, MBA '93)
Vanceboro, NC
Don Tyson
May 3, 2006
Come on September. One of the things that get me through the hot eastern
North Carolina summer is the knowing that the PIRATES will be teeing it up
soon. We are on our way back. It will not be an overnight deal. It will take
much work, the least of which is between the white lines at Dowdy-Ficklen.
WE the PIRATE NATION must do the larger part. If you are a Pirate Club
member, thanks, but have you asked 10 more people to join? Have you
increased your donations?
My friends, this is the part that no one wants to talk about. We all are
quick to point fingers of blame, we all have the answers, we all want to be
in the ACC or B-East. When we have 35,000 or so season ticket holders and we
fill the stadium every Saturday (even when we are not playing a national
power), all your WANTS will come alive.
As a former player and one who loves the PURPLE & GOLD, get busy. Skip is
going to do his part. Let's do ours.
Don Tyson
Fayetteville, NC
Editor's note: Don Tyson was a member of East Carolina's much-heralded
undefeated freshman football team in 1966 and
lettered for the varsity Pirates in
1967-68. He was
profiled on Bonesville.net in a "Pirate
Time Machine" feature by Ron Cherubini in 2002.
A. Earnest
Willis
April 30, 2006
Now that Spring football is over, we in the Pirate Nation can look
forward to the upcoming season. I have full confidence in Coach Holz in
correcting the center snap problem and the kick return problem that seemed
to plague the team almost every game last season. This is going to be one of
the most — if not the most — pivotal seasons in ECU's football history.
While we all like Conference USA affiliation, wouldn't it be so sweet if
we could get into the Big East and the West Virginia game was for a
conference title. Maybe I am dreamer, but the only way we can get into a
better conference, not just for football but for all of our sports teams, is
to put BUTTS in the seats. I plan on attending at least every ECU home
football game this fall. I hope you do, too.
If we as Pirate Fans are there on Saturday and the team has a WINNING
year, we can only see bigger and brighter things for East Carolina
University. We may even hear an announcer say we can "paint this one purple"
from a bowl game.
A. Earnest Willis (ECU BSBA '91, MBA '93)
Vanceboro, NC
Greg Zittel
April 23, 2006
I find it quintessentially ECU that our biggest problem in football right
now is a center whose hikes leave the QB looking as though he were waiting
"to make a fair catch." When this peccadillo is long gone I will miss this
strange occurrence.
I thought our past coach, Steve Logan, who was known and adored for his
creativity, might find a way to use this imperfection to advantage. For
example, surprising the defense by lining up our center backwards, the coach
could use this natural talent as a forward pass. Just a thought. Go Pirates!
Greg Zittel (ECU alum)
New York, NY
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