NCSU vs. VT: Anticipation and Excitement Is Building

'10 Football Football Recruiting Tom O'Brien50

Wolfpack Gameday is almost here.  The Virginia Tech Hokies are coming to town to face NC State tomorrow at 3:30pm in Carter-Finley Stadium.  The game will be carried on ABC Network regional coverage, and anticipation for this critical ACC matchup between the two teams is reaching a feverish pitch with Wolfpack fans.

If you are looking for a ticket to this Saturday’s crucial match-up between NC State and Virginia Tech, then good luck. Tickets are scarce and expensive. Not since the Ohio St. and Virginia Tech home games in 2004 and 2005 respectively have tickets on the secondary market been this difficult to find and this costly. Over on the ticket exchange thread on Packpride, there have been a few face value tickets available from generous Wolfpack fans, however there are numerous State fans scalping other State fans.

I was perusing the VT message boards earlier this morning (yes, I woke up to watch the Ryder Cup coverage that is now delayed because of torrential downpours) and I found the following comment:

Have your tickets in advance, before you get down there. In 2005 I went to the game without a ticket expecting to easily get one outside the gate before kickoff, which is what I always do and I didn’t see one for under $200. I sat in the 3rd row against Boise for $20, and generally never have to spend more than that for any away game. I’ve been to ACC championships and Orange Bowls for $5…….but NC State was completely different. I saw 100s of people that didn’t get in. That could have been due to it being a primetime game featuring 2 ranked teams to kickoff the season… Regardless I figured Id warn the people that like to wait and get their tickets at the game. Hopefully most of you already have your tickets.

Remember how excited NC State fans were about that game?

With the football program’s first 4-0 start since 2002 and its first appearance in the polls since 2003, NC State fans are chomping at the bit to start the tailgate right now(I can’t be the only one). Increasing the demand for tickets was Lee Fowler’s scheduling of Parents Weekend on what everyone knew would be the most sought after ticket of the season. Here we detailed some of the issues that have been caused by this snafu as students were allowed to purchase two additional tickets in the student section for their parents reducing the number tickets available to students. Fortunately, our new athletic director Debbie Yow took action immediately and had temporary bleachers installed that allowed another 1500 tickets to be given to students.

Have we mentioned how impressed we are by Debbie Yow so far? This is a great story.

So my younger brother (now a senior) failed to get tickets to the VT game despite going through the lottery and standing in the pouring rain for three hours.

Needless to say he was pretty upset as he has been to every home game since he was a freshman and didn’t want to miss such a huge game. He decided to email the athletic department about some of the problems he sees with the ticketing system (as a recent graduate I can attest to these problems). About an hour later he got an email back from Debbie Yow herself explaining that she agrees and is working to correct the ticketing problems starting next year.

At this point he was already impressed and responded with another email about how he was grateful she was listening to the student body. Another hour later he gets another email from Debbie telling him that she secured a ticket for him and that he should come by her office to pick it up.

I have to say Debbie has impressed me so far… stories like this lead me to believe we made the right hire.

Just thought I would share this, I really liked it.

Stories like this one have been repeated over and over and over by every NC State fan that has had any sort of interaction with AD Yow. Hopefully, she knows that the changes since she has arrived haven’t gone unnoticed and that her efforts and those of her staff are much appreciated.

Not only are the fans excited about Coach O’Brien and the Pack, but the recruits are taking notice as well. It has been rumored that close to 100 recruits could be making official or unofficial visits this weekend.

Steve Williams from Pack Pride said:

Pack Pride from recruiting analyst Steve Williams: “As many as 80 recruits in attendance with most of those being kids with offers or ones that are a strong candidate to earn one. Of those, many will be juniors. This just adds even more significance to a game that was already extremely important. Obviously the atmosphere Saturday…

This has been a good stretch for NC State. Excitement over a top 5 basketball recruiting class giving us realistic hopes for an NCAA tournament bid, a new chancellor, and new AD, and a surprising 4-0 start by the football team have made NC State sports fun again. Here’s to hoping the momentum continues with a program changing win against VT on Saturday.

Need even more Wolfpack topics and discussion? Click here until your heart is content.

Courtesy of the NC State Alumni Association

'10 Football Football Recruiting Tom O'Brien

50 Responses to NCSU vs. VT: Anticipation and Excitement Is Building

  1. Gowolves 10/01/2010 at 7:52 AM #

    Great post. For years I have been reading this site. It was all doom and gloom most of the time. I think with the addition of these hires and the potential to turn around the football recruiting things(Athletics) could be looking bright for years to come. But then I sit back and think I have been a WP fan for 40 years. I know something will happen and ruin it all over again. For now I am going to enjoy this. No one can take it from me!

  2. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 8:05 AM #

    Gowolves, I rather enjoy writing pieces about strongly competitive Wolfpack teams and our passionate cheering fans. Problem is, I also like to tell it like it is. Unfortunately the past few years in the two major sports has left us with little choice: to tell it like it is, we can’t exactly be sunshine and lollipops. In fact doing that only reinforces the forces of mediocrity and failure.

  3. Gowolves 10/01/2010 at 8:10 AM #

    I agree but I feel sometimes that we lose the fact that these are young kids playing a sport. Hell I forget it sometimes. In my younger days when the pack lost I would be in crappy mood the whole weekend. Wife could vouch for that. Sometimes a little perspective is good. Anyway I think we are both in agreement that the past few months and the coming years could be great for Wolfpack nation

  4. Pack1997 10/01/2010 at 8:11 AM #

    I must admit I have been thoroughly impressed with Yow so far. She seems to understand that you have to run an Athletic Department like a business. That means catering to your customers (students and alumni) as much as possible.

    No matter what happens tomorrow, I think we can all agree we are on the rise!

  5. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 8:14 AM #

    It may be young men and women playing the sports, but the people in charge are professionals and adults all. Those are the people who I almost always criticize, or at least try to. Lee Fowler, for example, is a big boy and is subject to the slings and arrows. So is a coach. The kids? Not so much, other than pointing out when they make a bad play or something like that. The latter are palpable facts not a denegration of their attempts.

    Over the years I have gotten some perspective and bounce back from tough losses more quickly.

    Hopefully I will not need to do that tomorrow!!!!

  6. NCStatePride 10/01/2010 at 8:23 AM #

    ^^I’m usually with you, Gowolves, but as Alpha Wolf said, sometimes you have to tell it like it is. I have been particularly pleased with “good signals” from the basketball team for some time, while others have still been doom and gloom, but football is a little different and this article speaks to it. Unlike basketball where you could see hints and flashes of improvement (obviously not translated into significant winning gains aside from arguably last season… sort of), the football team has been flat lining for three seasons. This 4-0 start to the season really sets you back a bit. Even the biggest critics of TOB (like myself) have to admit that he is doing some good things this season.

    However, one 4-0 start doesn’t erase 3 years of losing records. If he can (a) continue achieving at a superior level and (b) follow-up on one season’s success with another season’s success, I’ll be completely back on board. Until then, ‘cautious optimism’ is the Order of the Day.

  7. Sweet jumper 10/01/2010 at 8:23 AM #

    The crowd should be tremendous and loud on Saturday. Believe me, the Pack team will feel the support and love from the fans in CF. I hope they can channel the adrenaline and energy to a dominating performance on the field. Goooooooooooooooo Pack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

  8. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 8:28 AM #

    Not only will we be helping the team on the field, we’ll also be showing the recruits what it means to play a big game in CFS. That should really help the coaches when they ask talented players to don the red and white.

  9. Gowolves 10/01/2010 at 8:31 AM #

    Yeah I am looking forward to the game. The tickets are tough to come by. I tried to get one from a person in the Atheltic dept and they didnt have any and he always does. Oh well TV will be nice too! As long as they win. I think they will. Looking at it with an open mind I just dont think they can stop Russell. Their red zone offense has struggled at times. I don’t think TOB will let them rest on what they have done. I know they shut out BC but BC is struggling offensivly right now. Their QB situation is fluid. If we can get something out of the running game anf not turn the ball over we should win. I also don’t think it will be close. 31-17

  10. LKNpackfan 10/01/2010 at 8:34 AM #

    Those temporary bleachers need to be permanent.

    And no, you’re not the only one. I’ve been a kid on Christmas morning all week.

  11. GoldenChain 10/01/2010 at 8:39 AM #

    I’m just wonder what the reaction will be if we play hard and lose.
    I figure there will be people wanting to fire Tom Owns Butch and putting Glennon in over RW.
    I can just here it, “Well we’re finally exposed!” “I knew it wasn’t ‘for real'” “Just a house of cards!” etc & so forth.

  12. LRM 10/01/2010 at 8:40 AM #

    71 and sunny and I have a 22-lb Hokie ready to drop into the fryer.

  13. Gowolves 10/01/2010 at 8:42 AM #

    I think you are taking it too literally about the doom and glomm comment. I can hanlde bad news and the honest truth as well as the next person. My comment was menat to state that wolpack athlettics havenet been all that enjoyable to write about up until a year ago. You know what I thought the other day… I remeber when we had Sheridan as our coach and things were going so well with the program and then he suddenly resigns due to health issues. I keep thinking TOB will stick to his five year retirement plan and leave right when we get the ship going in the right direction. That is the nature of a wolfpack fan.

  14. coach13 10/01/2010 at 8:44 AM #

    I thought my anticipation and fixation on the upcoming GT game was bad last week! I have thought alot about this game all week. Not healthy but I love the Pack.

    I don’t like to put the cart before the horse but you couldn’t script a better schedule beyond the VT game. If we can pull it out this Saturday, we get BC (no offense) and ECU (no defense) which I think we should win (yes pending continued performance). And then for our 2 hardest games left, we get 12 days to prepare for FSU in Raleigh! Followed by 9 days to prepare for Clemson on the road. If I had to schedule extra prep time for 2 games, those are the 2 I would want it for. Then we close with WF (sucks), @ UNC (we own but yes will still be difficult) and close with Md (sucks).

    Virginia Tech, the mission at hand!!! We win here I would put money down on a 10 win season.

  15. coach13 10/01/2010 at 8:49 AM #

    Unless we get absolutely smoked and ebarassed, we come away from this as a good solid team even if we lose a close one, and we still finish better than I think anyone projected before the season. But I coach. I watch games. I like what I see and I thhink we win here.

    Alot to eyeball this weekend. Anxious to see how Clemson Miami shakes out. Someone is going to be exposed in that game. I don’t like Miami period. Other than kick/punt returns, they look mediocre with a mediocre QB to me. Don’t know what the spread is but I’d take Clemason.

  16. YogiNC 10/01/2010 at 8:50 AM #

    Alpha, kids are just that kids. When I see one making a bad play I chalk it up to coaching. Sure, sometimes they just do bone headed things, but that is the learning process. If they were perfect they wouldn’t be on the field, they’d be solving huge problems for mankind, or getting crucified, YMMV.

  17. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 8:54 AM #

    ^ True.

    Only thing is that at 18, you’re old enough to march into Kandahar and decide who lives and who dies. That’s an adult.

    An 18 YO football player is an adult too. It’s reasonable to expect them to make sound moral decisions, like not taking money from agents or breaking into cars in the dead of night. Dropping a football or missing a three-pointer is one thing. Even 35 YO players do that. Behaving like scofflaws, as we see certain players in light blue doing the past couple of years, is another entirely.

  18. YogiNC 10/01/2010 at 9:14 AM #

    Whoa there horsey, I was ONLY talking about football, or basketball, or pick your sport. As a Chief Petty Officer in the Navy I also saw many many 18 year olds that still needed plenty of coaching (as well as some 30 year olds but that’s another story). Agreed, marching into Kandahar will make you grow up fast, but a Saturday afternoon football game, we need to be aware that they are kids playing a GAME. At least that’s how I look at it. If we lose I usually chalk it up to two things, we were out coached OR the other team had more talent. In the past few years I feel it’s been largely the latter. Thankfully TOB and his staff are finally coaching up, and the players are stepping up. And we’re 4 – 0, but if after Saturday we’re 4 – 1 they will still be kids and I’ll still be cheering for them. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed with the effort or the coaching. If one of the kids makes that bone head play and costs us the game I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience. If I didn’t view it this way watching the games would drive me insane. AND that’s the only way I was able to coach those 18 year old seamen up to becoming Chief Petty Officers.

  19. NCStatePride 10/01/2010 at 9:16 AM #

    FWIW, you can get UMd tickets at UMd for like $13 online. Living in VA, I plan on heading to this game and really hope to find some other heading up there.

    [/tangent]

  20. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 9:25 AM #

    Yogi: we agree on that point. And thank you very much for your service to our great country.

  21. coach13 10/01/2010 at 9:33 AM #

    $13 sounds good. How long does it take to get to college park headed up I-95 from Johnston County?

    NCStatePride: 5 Hours and 30 Minutes. I would not head straight up I-95 all the way. Around Exit 104, take 207 to 301 which will take you across the Nice Bridge but will come around the backside of DC rather than going through it. That is how I will be heading down there. Send me a private message if you would like.

  22. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 9:38 AM #

    ^ At least there won’t be a lot of the utterly obnoxious UMD fans in attendance. Their own players are complaining about attendance.

  23. YogiNC 10/01/2010 at 9:39 AM #

    coach, with good traffic it’s about 5 hours, unless you drive like my nephew who thinks the 95 on the signs is the speed limit.

  24. coach13 10/01/2010 at 9:40 AM #

    State had a good promo for the BC game. Intended for youth footballers, tickets were $13. I got 5, and yes my son who plays 11-12 youth football is going. It would be a dream (though I understand such opportunities are far and in between) to see him playin for the pack some day. He is 11 and excells at all sports. He Hit his first outta the park homerun at age 9. He is a beast in basketball and football, with average size of a 14 year old (5’5″ – 140 lbs lean). Doctors project 6’4-6″. Good speed for his size. All A student.

  25. Alpha Wolf 10/01/2010 at 9:42 AM #

    ^ He will look VERY good in red and white, Coach!

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