1. When did you become a fan of your programs (and why, if you care to share)?

In football, I grew up an Alabama fan but came completely to the UAB side in mid-90s after watching them live and listening to Bama fans at the same time. UAB players were proud and busting their ass for a fraction of what UAT players were handed, then their fans were acting so entitled even when they couldn’t find Tuscaloosa on a map.

2. Are you an alum?

Twice. BSME & MBA

Parents were alums and grew up in Greenville so I was always going to games and following the Pirates.

Went to ECU because it had some programs I was interested in going into out of high school.

'97 and '02 alum.

Currently shooting ECU games for Hoist the Colours.

My Dad was doing graduate work at UT in Austin in 1957. He got some cheap tickets (We sat in the flash card section..some of us on this board remember that phenomenon. It was very pre-Jumbotron) and we watched #13 Rice lose to #19 UT. 19-14. I was my first college football game. I remember the all blue Rice uniforms and King Hill.. the Rice QB …throwing a lot of passes. I was curious about Rice and my Dad said it was the best school in Texas.
I matriculated in 1968. Graduated in 1972. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Rice changed my life after growing up in rural W. Texas.
I went on to get graduate degrees and further professional training in San Antonio and New Orleans. But I bleed blue. I still feel a bit of euphoria when Rice wins in any sport. And, to me, it always hurts a bit when we lose.

(06-27-2023 05:34 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  In the summer of 1986 I went to the weeklong Naval Academy Summer Seminar. I had no intention of attending, just seemed like it would be interesting. A week later, I had decided that this was exactly the challenge I needed.
35 years after that trip (two years ago now), I retired from active duty.

So I suppose I paid a little more attention to Army Navy football my HS senior year.
Once I joined the class of 91, Navy sports are unavoidable. Home football mandatory, plebes have to attend any Army contest in the yard and one sporting event a weekend regardless. But more importantly, even for intramural warriors like I was, those are your classmates and companymates and roommates. Big, big Navy Rifle fan here (roommate was on the team).

We weren't great then. Robinson was in the rearview mirror and "go down to D1AA" was common.
Add to that, that the first decade after graduating is training commands, sea duty, then for me two consecutive tours out of the continental US...I mean you're always paying attention to Army Navy, especially at joint commands. You waych Notre Dame hoping to end the streak. I was in Hawaii for the great 96 season and Aloha Bowl with Paul Johnson and Ken Niumatalolo on the staff.

So, yeah, really got re-energized when the Johnson-Niumatalolo era came. There was still some sea duty, and even when we were living near Annapolis for a DC tour, the daughters were all small so only a couple games a year. But I was starting to push my chips in. I got on message boards. I watched and rewatched when people smarter than I cut up video of the PJ offense. Deployed to Africa watching games at ungodly hours. Then five years with the family overseas, but by the time we got back in August 2015...had season tickets and parking spot figured out before housing.

USNA 77 here. Been a Navy fan as long as I can remember watching Army vs Navy in football in black and white. My dad was a a reserve AEC aircrew chief flying P2V Neptunes when he retired with 24 years active and reserve. I'm prior enlisted, attended NAPS and got in with the class of 1977. Currently a season ticket holder for football. Blue and Gold in all sports. We make at least one basketball game and many soccer and lax, men and women while they're on the road in our area. Great to see Rugby win the National title. Always enjoy your posts. Cheers

(06-26-2023 08:34 PM)Blazer4Life14 Wrote:  

(06-26-2023 08:18 PM)Volkmar Wrote:  

(06-26-2023 09:13 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  East Carolina University (2002-2007) - BA

East Carolina University (2010-2012) – MA

I was a smart, underachieving high school student. I graduated with a 2.5 (I didn’t like to do homework) but also got a 1310 on my SAT (back when 1600 was a perfect score). My guidance counselor told me that I was very smart but very lazy. He was right.

I didn’t know much about state schools, honestly. I grew up in a Wake Forest family in Winston-Salem. My brother played football for a D3 school (Guilford College), and when I went to his away games, I got to see lots of little D3 schools in Virginia (Ferrum, Hampden-Sydney, Washington & Lee, Randolph-Macon, etc) and I fell in love with those places. I wanted to go to Hampden-Sydney and play football at one point.

I think I got my rejection letter from Washington & Lee before I even mailed off my application. LoL I didn’t realize they fancied themselves Harvard-lite.

So I decided to apply to some in-state schools. Western Carolina, Wake Forest, ECU, and UNCW. I got into ECU, Western, & Wake (huge nepotism going on… my dad was on the board of the business school at Wake). I knew I wasn’t a mature student at the time so I opted for ECU, knowing almost nothing about the place. Lots of my friends from my high school were going there. I wore my Wake Forest stuff at ECU early in my first semester… and by Christmas of my freshman year, I became a Pirate, 100%. Never looked back.

When I graduated (on the 5 year undergrad plan – standard at ECU haha) I moved to Charlotte and worked in financial services RIGHT before the economy collapsed in 2007-2008. I decided to go back to grad school in 2010… sold my house in Charlotte and moved back into a crappy college house with 2 of my fraternity brothers and we all did grad school from 2010-2012. College 2.0.

It’s a Pirate’s life for me.

Without looking it up, do you know why pirates wore eye patches on one eye?

Cause "Pirate" only has one "i"?

One of the UAB fans that posts regularly on here was in a bad car accident and, eventually, ended up wearing an eye patch (permanently?). Anyway, he came from work to an ECU/UAB basketball game years & years ago. He was wearing purple scrubs and the eye patch. It was hilarious. To me.