I happen to have both ECU and GT season tickets - started watching the Pirates when my daughter was a freshman in the band in '98. She was drum major her last two years. It's a great school that has something of a "throwback" feel. Our first years in Greenville were Logan's good years - there were three bowl trips in the four years she was in the band.
Since her graduation the bottom has fallen out. The last three seasons have been horrible - they have fallen from a top thirty to bottom twenty program.
Personally, I believe Holland has overscheduled ECU to sell tickets to away fans to fill his stadium. Conference USA is a hard sell. But Coach Logan had it right when he said, "We have to see our conference games as our rivals, winning the conference as our goal, and non-conference games as a chance to see the Pirates play, and most of the time, win."
He felt that if you win and go to bowls and compete for the conference title you can fill your stadium with your fans to see them play even weaker non-conference opponents.
GT and ECU are indeed very different programs and schools. But, I do believe we have to develop a sense of rivalry with ACC schools and see conference games as the important games on the schedule. Winning the ACC should be Goal #1 for Tech teams. Obviously, the UGA game is a great rivalry like no other. But, win enough in the ACC and your non-conference games will be fun for Tech fans, even when we win big over an easy opponent. I don't want to give in to the notion we need to play non-conference rivals to sell tickets or get interest in the program. I want to see a stadium full of White and Gold in Atlanta and Purple and Gold in Greenville because both teams are winners in their conferences. This is the way to sell tickets. A stadium full of SEC fans in Atlanta or Hokies, Wolfpack, Cavalier, or Tarheel fans in Greenville sends a message that something is wrong with the program and that we are trying to correct it through scheduling good opponents to enhance the gate.
