Paper: Little love lost for Chuck Amato

'06 Football Chuck Amato General74

An interesting article in the Charleston newspaper this morning:

CLEMSON – Normally, cheering in press boxes is strictly forbidden.

Apparently there’s an exception when North Carolina State loses to Akron.

When the Zips’ 20-17 victory over the Wolfpack was complete Saturday, a few scribes covering Clemson’s game at Boston College expressed their joy with whoops, claps and high-fives.

Just a hunch, but we’re betting this departure from decorum was perpetrated in a few other ACC press boxes as well. While the behavior was unprofessional and ultimately unacceptable, it was also telling because it highlighted a truth that has become undeniable:

People just don’t like Chuck Amato.

So much for the old comraderie of pulling for your ACC bretheren.

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'06 Football Chuck Amato General

74 Responses to Paper: Little love lost for Chuck Amato

  1. BJD95 09/14/2006 at 9:36 AM #

    Agree that it’s unacceptable behavior by the journalists. But there’s also no question that Amato contributed to this adversarial situation – and it’s a VERY BAD position for NC State to be in.

    Cultivating positive relationships with the media is an essential part of a coach’s job, IMHO. Without it, you had better win, and win alot. Even if you do win big, the target on your back will always be that much bigger.

    NC State athletics needs much, much better media relations.

  2. Girlfriend in a Coma 09/14/2006 at 9:47 AM #

    Caulton Tutor has been openly cheering for UNC in pressboxes for years. Interesting that we’ve never heard of that in the press.

  3. choppack1 09/14/2006 at 9:51 AM #

    Two wrongs don’t make a right. However, I agree – he’s putting us in a very bad position and Fowler needs to understand this. If Chuck is going to behave in such a manner, he needs to win.

  4. jaxpacker 09/14/2006 at 9:53 AM #

    Chuck has been his own worst enemy when it comes to the media. However, I don’t understand why the media would hate him. He is constantly giving them great material for articles. I doubt that they seldom have to do much work for an article about NCSU.

  5. Wulfpack 09/14/2006 at 9:55 AM #

    Unacceptable. There’s no denying that journalists have biases and prejudices just as we do — they’re human. The issue is when those biases and prejudices seep into print, unfairly influencing their readers. Now we have “journalists” regularly appearing on tv, radio and on various Internet outlets. When a journalist becomes somewhat a celebrity for expressing opinions, then we have a real problem in the profession. They had better have their facts straight as well as the balls to stand behind those facts. Far too often is the case that they have neither.

  6. newt 09/14/2006 at 10:07 AM #

    I’m cool with this. If journalists are rooting against NC State, I’d prefer that fact be right out in the open.

    Same goes for refs: “It was a close call, and I saw a chance to stick it to State, so I ruled it a touchdown and figured it would hold. Fortunately it worked out that way and State lost another tough game, which is what we all want. It was sweet.”

  7. BJD95 09/14/2006 at 10:09 AM #

    Like I expect Chuck Amato to keep his wits about him even when being badgered, I expect journalists to maintain professionalism even when they personally can’t stand somebody.

    But regardless of fault, it’s clear that NC State will bear the brunt of the fall-out, not the journalists. So the burden is on NC State to find a solution.

  8. redfred2 09/14/2006 at 10:09 AM #

    Bad form. Bad form. Totally unexceptable!

    But I’ll say this, it didn’t and wouldn’t have ever happened in basketball. There was not a chance in hell. You have to be at least be some kind of a factor in the sport your participating in to earn that kind of negative passion against you.

    Therefore the N&O and the rest of the media, we’re not there yet, but we’re sure looking larger than we ever have in football. We have a passion for football that even the positive or negative media coverage can’t dispell.
    And the media can’t generate that passion out of thin air for their more favorite programs, no matter what they write.

    It’s a, “Well, if they get much further along and just one or two breaks their way, we may never be able to catch back up” attitude and their trying to slow the pace at every opportunity.

    Chuck A has acted like an unruley seven year old recently. Just rein his ass in, sit his ass down, and give him some ultimatiums and clear guidelines to follow for on and off the field.

    I say that P Rivers was stable as a rock, just what any new head coach would die for, but everything has been is some form of disarray since. And that while some things are, a majority of this unsettling cannot pointed directly at the Head Coach.

    I want everyone on the planet to hate and envy NCSU for it’s successes. Hell, we’re not even close yet, and the press hasn’t given us a break just because of our ever growing and enlarging potential.

    I applaud Mr Chuck Amato for all of that.

    Now if he’ll forget about the hype, the facilities, his image, and all of this newly hatched BS, just get focused on and prepare his team for a few decent and well played ballgames, I’ll be right back on his bandwagon as hard as I ever was.

    Thank you.

  9. joe 09/14/2006 at 10:20 AM #

    I doubt there were any NC based writers at that game so that makes it a little more surprising that writers from SC would react that way to Amato – they mostly interact with him just 1 week a year when the Pack plays Clemson.

  10. Cardiac95 09/14/2006 at 10:22 AM #

    http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_ColumnistArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190611699&path=!sports!collegeteampages!ncsu!&s=

    Excellent new article out regarding the press conference on Monday.

    Just win Saturday & it’s old news.

  11. packbackr04 09/14/2006 at 10:23 AM #

    why do we have the worst AD and media relations people in the NCAA. Hell, the guy we sent up to App State to be AD a few years back is doing a bang up job…. Lets bring him back to raleigh. Purcell for AD? anyone. Fowler is a joke

  12. Packaholic1 09/14/2006 at 10:26 AM #

    Good catch.

    We’ve known this for years. Ask Monte Towe why Norm Sloan left Raleigh.
    They seldom slip up and let their biases show so openly.

  13. choppack1 09/14/2006 at 10:28 AM #

    great article – very fair and explanatory of the press conference. What a novel concept.

  14. Cardiac95 09/14/2006 at 10:29 AM #

    joe: I’m currently living in SC & can tell you that it goes way beyond 1 week a year for them. The whole Tammy vs Chuck thing started heating up a few years ago over some monitors in a coach’s box & has been simmering ever since.

    With the USC media….its partly “SEC Superiority” & partly the Spurrier/FSU/Amato connection.

  15. GoldenChain 09/14/2006 at 10:29 AM #

    Hate to say it but I’m not hearing or seeing anyone in the WP nation covering Chck’s flank right now. Heck, Herb at least had his supporters and could lay out their arguements for their support.
    Chuck has put himself in a bad spot.
    You know you’re in trouble when LF isn’t even carrying your water!

  16. redfred2 09/14/2006 at 10:33 AM #

    Doesn’t anybody at NCSU wear socks? They’re cheap, and work really well in avoiding unfortunate PR blunders.

    I am John Q Public, an NC State fan, that PUBLIC relations blunder was very bad, it will not be forgotten, but it can be lessened. But from it’s history NC State will internalize the problem. They will never make a suitable public apology regarding the heat of the moment, which in all reality should have been done already and about five minutes after CA boo booed, with LF speaking up standing right there beside his head football coach.

    If they do ever make a public statement it will be totally on the order of a ‘whipped pup’ in it’s nature. Mark my word. It will be public proof for all to see that NC State doesn’t have any backbone, is a laughing stock, and will not stand up for it’s own people during adversity.

    Wolfpack back in it’s own little shell, in hidingfor another ten or twenty years until the smoke clears.

  17. PBdafan 09/14/2006 at 10:34 AM #

    Journalists cheering, a parade of assistant coaches leaving – could they all be wrong?

  18. BoKnowsNCS71 09/14/2006 at 10:38 AM #

    So true. Winning fixes all of this.

    I can understand a reporter from UNC (or another CC school) high-fiving whenever State loses. That’s private activity and its hard to not to let your emotions show. However, they need to be fair in their writing and reporting. That’s the public domain.

    I’m not sure that press relationships are Coach Amato’s forte. The Wolfpack network is mostly aired via WPTF. However, the major sports talk shows are on 850?620/ESPN etc. We are sort of like the good politician who can’t get his message out (and loses).

    I hear very few interviews on the latter and if there are any on WPTF — no one is listening (unless they want to wade through all the constant political drivel). Heck I hear more interviews with the 3 other Big Four coaches than hearing any interview with Amato.

    Channel surfing — I stumbled on a talk that Amato gave on TV last week. He was good. He had a sense of humor. Had some good facts. Made his points. Yet you could tell there was some negativeness or sensitivity to certain writers in the audience.

    I would give the NCSU PR office a C or C-
    I would rate openness to the press as C
    I would rate avaialability of WP info to all fans at a D or C-

    If you don’t get your info and opinions out there. What else is the public and and press going to think?

  19. GAWolf 09/14/2006 at 10:40 AM #

    For some reason this really doesn’t bother me. As someone pointed out above, this is something we’ve known for years… it’s not just Chuck Amato. And to be honest, I don’t really blame anyone for giving a chuckle when they saw that score pop up. How many times do you hear reaction to an unusual score put up on the jumbotron in Carter-Finley that State really has no beef with either team? I big upset, and despite our painting of it in many different shades it was a big upset, warrants a reaction.

    I’m much more pissed off about Swofford and his chronies and their constant neglect of all things NC State than the attention we get from a bunch of highschool nerds who never played sports but write well.

  20. Cardiff Giant 09/14/2006 at 10:43 AM #

    NC State has to have the worst media relations department in the country, bar none. It’s almost impossible to conceive of a more inept management of media affairs, from the Chris Paul nonsense to the Lowe hiring to this incident. It’s as if they just stand by and let it happen – or let others, like in the WSJ article, do their heavy lifting for them.

  21. Packaholic1 09/14/2006 at 10:44 AM #

    John DeLong:

    “That’s why Amato’s critics will never run him off.”

    Being an alum, he is well aware of the biases in NC and southern sports reporting. Good article.

  22. Packaholic1 09/14/2006 at 10:46 AM #

    From the same Charleston reporter (who doesn’t post where he went to college on the paper’s bio):

    “Still optimistic

    North Carolina receiver Jesse Holley knows his Tar Heels are 0-2, but he seems to think it’s ridiculous to think the team is headed for a losing record.

    “Somebody don’t know what the hell they’re talking about,” he told reporters when presented with the notion.

    North Carolina plays host to Furman on Saturday. Next week, the Tar Heels travel to Clemson.

    This week’s upset special: North Carolina over Furman.”

  23. GAWolf 09/14/2006 at 10:50 AM #

    As for that Winston-Salem Journal piece, I just don’t understand the comparison to Herb. I never ever got the feeling that Herb took responsibility for any loss we ever had. Regardless of why we lost he would drop lines like, we got open looks and didn’t hit them. That is the same as Chuch saying “Our offense got our receivers open but Stone didn’t hit them.” In that respect, Chuck is head and shoulders above Herb. Chuck might whine and make excuses, but I’ve never heard him throw his own players under the bus in a post-game press conference.

    If I’m wrong, please correct me.

  24. GAWolf 09/14/2006 at 10:53 AM #

    Cardiff-Giant… couldn’t agree more.

  25. redfred2 09/14/2006 at 11:02 AM #

    Is there anything below an “F” as far as NCSU’s administration’s handling of the media and adversity?

    Yes, stopping the work, giving up and quitting altogether.

    Been done already.

    Now it’s time for those students to quietly gather up their things, and remove their mundane and burdensome personalities away from the premises.

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