Sept. 5, 2007

It was my intention today to write a post to the Pirate Nation noting what a wonderful experience our Pirate fans had in Blacksburg. There were no losers in Blacksburg on Saturday and college football was the biggest winner of all. The Virginia Tech fans went out of their way to provide an example of what true sportsmanship can be when the focus is on healthy competition and respect shown by all parties.

In fact, in 47 years of collegiate athletics as a scholarship player, coach and administrator, I have never been prouder of college athletics (and ECU in particular) than I was during the check presentation to the Hokie Spirit Fund. The Pirate Nation has never stood taller than on Saturday than when we knelt to help a suffering neighbor.

However, after seeing this e-mail (below) forwarded from the Chancellor's office this morning, I am overcome with a true sense of concern about our ability to achieve our objectives to have the Pirate Nation become the kind of team we have to have to win at the highest level:

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Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 (10:53 PM)
Subject: news release ??

Chancellor,
This has to be among the more ill conceived/poorly timed/etc/etc news releases I have seen associated with ECC/ECU in 47+ years of association.

I never supported the idea as conceived and this just adds insult to injury. If this gift was necessary(and I'm far from convinced it was) it should have come from ECU over your signature, not the Pirate Club.

From The Chancellor
Dear (unnamed),
I'm very sorry you feel this way because nothing in my first 3.5 years at ECU has made me more proud than this gift. I have no idea what you mean by insult to injury. I dare say that over 65,000 people in Blacksburg really appreciated it and the national response has been overwhelmingly positive.

Best regards,

Steve

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The writer is a Pirate fan with whom I have traded dozens of e-mails since my arrival at ECU and to add "insult to injury" on my part, he did not even copy me on his e-mail to the Chancellor. While I like to think I respect everyone's right to their opinion, this individual viewpoint stands in stark contrast to the reaction of most members of the Pirate Nation and I will add some of those comments at the bottom of this post.

However, this e-mail should serve as a reminder to all of us how easy it is to tear down even when you are a well-intentioned great Pirate and also how difficult it is to build anything in today's world. From a personal standpoint, in just a few minutes, I went from feeling so proud of ECU and the Pirate Nation to wondering what the heck we have to do.

To help us keep building this program, and because it is the right thing to do, please join me in welcoming our guests from Chapel Hill who have come here to help us celebrate our Centennial Year. I am going to ask the cheerleaders to begin the Purple - Gold chant just before kick-off. Then after the third Purple-Gold is loud enough to be heard up in the Triangle we will add a fourth chant of WELCOME from the Purple side and TAR HEELS from the Gold side.

Many of you normally welcome visiting fans but it would be appropriate to be even more conscious of opportunities to do so on Saturday, just as the Virginia Tech fans took advantage of every opportunity to welcome the Pirate Nation to Blacksburg last Saturday. It is important to remember that you have to add a little extra to make up for those few Pirates who prefer to tear down rather than build.

The comments below are pulled from e-mails received since last Saturday and show the impact good sportsmanship can have on every individual:

1) A proud display of ECU sportsmanship, before and during the game, both on and off the field. From what I read it would appear the tv network missed a key moment: the moving presentation before the game and the "thank you...Pi...rates" from the VT fans. The image of the teams running simultaneously onto the field and then after the game kneeling together shoulder to shoulder will be remembered long after the stats fade.

Thank you for raising the bar and thank you to the team for reaching beyond it!

2) Coach,
We had a wonderful time in Blacksburg! The VT fans were very nice, shook our hands, thanked us for coming, asked how we had been treated and thanked us for our spirit and donation. We had 13 in our group and were scattered in sections 19 and 39. There were four of us sitting together in 19 when the guy in front of us "left." He returned from the concession stand with peanuts, popcorn and drinks for all of us!

I wish the Pirates had won, but I was very, very impressed with what I witnessed. I hope our fans treat UNC well, but don't expect me to share my tailgate with them, that's just more than I can handle. I'll be nice, welcome to Greenville, then be glad when they leave with their first defeat. Go Pirates!

3) Coach,
(unnamed) and I just returned from the game this weekend. We both have been a part of over 25 years of pirate football both home and away games. I have never experienced such an incredable day both personally and as a Pirate fan.

The atmosphere was unlike any other. The Hokies are class people as I expected but it was so much more than that. Saturday was bigger than "the big game". It truly was bigger than all of us as individuals. Being together in that stadium made the next step in healing seem possible.

We sat behind Hokie Marching Band Alumni. They were so gracious and so much fun. All the fans were more than polite. There was none of the usual smack talking from anyone. I cannot tell you how many Hokie fans stopped me and thanked me personally for coming. My cousin is Tech Alumni. We met up with her after the game and she took us around campus. We went to the memorial. The emotions cannot be described into words yet.

I am so glad we went to what was the best game I have ever seen. Although we came up short on the scoreboard, we won as witnesses to what people can do for one another as brothers and sisters. I am looking forward to a great football season. We have much to build upon. We have so much to be proud of.

Go Pirates!

4) Dear Mr. Holland,
As an ECU graduate, married to a former Duke football player/alumnus, and mother of two VT graduates, I felt compelled to write to you at the conclusion of today's game. You can imagine that the sport is big in our house, but not nearly as important as the class and integrity that your coaches and players showed today. Win or lose, they demonstrated that they understood the solemnity of the event. From their entering the field together with the Tech team to leaving together, they made me proud to be a Pirate! They played hard despite the difficulty they must have experienced just to stay focused. On behalf of my family, and all those who feel as we do after watching today's game, please convey to your entire football program how impressed we are with their skill, their grace under pressure, and most importantly - their dignity.

5) Mr. Holland,
I would just like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist Chancellor Ballard, as well as yourself, in the presentation of the $100, 000 check to Virginia Tech. It was such an honor for me to represent the student body of this great institution and the university in which I love and respect so much. As I looked up into the stands that day seeing both purple and gold, and orange and maroon, I knew that the students of East Carolina were so proud to say that they were Pirates and that we had come together as one for the greater good. Despite competition and rivalries, despite our own needs, the Pirate community saw a need to make a difference and extend the hand of service and leadership. That is something we have always prided ourselves on, but now, we serve as an example for this country. I have heard it said so many times, that to be a Pirate at ECU you must be able to rise to a challenge, overcome adversity, and move onward; which is exactly what we continue to do! Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of something so much greater than just a check presentation, but the unity of our campus, not only with each other, but with college communities as a whole.

I look forward to a great season! GO PIRATES!

Keri L. Brockett
Student Body President