Joe Ovies, on WRAL Sports’ Fankind blog has a word or two for fans who are planning to wear a bag over their head Saturday when the Wolfpack takes on the Terps:
“A few disgruntled NC State message board illuminati are planning to attend this Saturday’s game against Maryland with brown paper bags over their heads. A classic move by fans when they’re ashamed of a team. But this is Wuffie nation we’re talking about, and a very vocal minority is always willing to make the rest of the fanbase look like a bunch of irrational kooks.”
First of all, I have to say that I find it hyperbolic that NC State’s fans are somehow unique in having a cadre of fans off the deep end After all, one doesn’t have to look any farther than our friends in Chapel Hill, who had a meltdown over their basketball coach wearing a sticker and have been booing and throwing things at their starting quarterback recently.  Duke’s fans have moaned in their time, as well. The Lunatic Fringe is everywhere, friends, make no mistake about it.
Joe then goes on to say that doing this would be red meat for the press, something that our friend James at the “Yet Another NC State Sports Blog” orginally pointed out. Joe and James are correct, someone would inevitably use it against NC State.
Look, I get it. You’re pissed. I am, too. I imagine the tone of the previous post here conveyed that. I’ve been very disappointed in the defensive coaching and in coach Tom O’Brien’s stubborn insistence to shift the blame away from his coaching staff toward the players.
However, the LAST thing you need to consider doing as a fan or student is donning a paper bag, or any other highly-visible sign of discontent, to this week’s football game.
I say this primarily for this reason: Wearing a bag over your head provides any photographer or cameraman a perfect photo opportunity to land you in the paper or on TV. You may say to yourself, “Good. That’s the point.” But think of this: Any photo snapped wearing a bag cannot be “un-taken.” It will be circulated, filed away and reused at any time deemed necessary by a party outside of the university, most likely in a damaging fashion.
Anyhow, I really don’t see the point of the bags. They really won’t change anything, and wearing one is not all that unique.  Or funny.  But I don’t think wearing one would be irrational, and it won’t make you stand out as a kook. It just won’t change anything or shame the Wolfpack team into playing better.
NOTE: I have removed my earlier statement about the News and Observer. The reason why is because it contained a factual error that was pointed out to me: their circulation is not falling, their ad revenue is. In the age of increasingly electronic journalism, the print side of that business – be it a newspaper, a magazine or whatever – is facing that particular challenge.  Newspapers used to have a huge revenue stream from their classified ads, for example, but that has dived like a broken submarine. Readership apparently has not, or at least as much as it might seem.
Finally, let it be said that we stand up and point out when we are wrong and in this case, I was wrong. My apologies for my error. — Alpha
